CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A new law in the state of Iowa is allowing people to fire fireworks on the 3rd and 4th of July, as well as New Year’s Eve.

The law would mean cities and counties can no longer block people from shooting off fireworks from their properties this holiday, or the day before. This law is meant to boost celebrations around the nation’s 250th birthday. Many municipalities regulate when fireworks can go off, but this makes it clear that on July 3rd, July 4th, and New Year’s Eve, Iowans can largely shoot off fireworks unrestricted.

For Jill Meyers and her family in Central City, buying fireworks is all a part of celebrating the 4th of July.

“We love the excitement and getting together as a family,” she said.

She’s been buying fireworks in Iowa since it was made legal in 2017. This state change will let her family set off fireworks on the third and fourth without restriction from local cities and counties. That news came as a surprise.

“I didn’t know about it,” she said.

Iowa Fireworks Company Tent Manager Jessica McIntosh said Meyers wasn’t alone. That could be why sales haven’t increased yet.

“I would say 70%, 80% of people that come in, we’ve had to tell them that it is legal,” said McIntosh.

Her family is in its second year of operating the tent along 1st Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids, but based on her sales on the 3rd and 4th of July, she’s expecting to sell even more this year.

“We have a bigger tent, a lot more inventory, and a lot more space for product,” she said. “Hopefully, sell more products this year.

While McIntosh and her family prepared for those hectic two days of sales, Meyers said they were ready to light her fireworks and put on a show.

“You can’t go above a 7-inch shell in Iowa,” she said. “That’s the largest you can purchase in Iowa. That’s why I got 7 inches this year because the kids have never gotten to shoot off a 7-inch shell.”

Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.

REINBECK, Iowa (KCRG) – A methamphetamine dealer from Reinbeck has been sentenced to federal prison for the second time.

Information shared at a sentencing hearing and other hearings in this case revealed 39-year-old Austin Hansen worked with a source that he met while in federal prison to gain access to mass amounts of methamphetamine.

The source, located in California, shipped methamphetamine and marijuana to post offices located in Reinbeck, Dike, and Waterloo. Once Hansen received the shipments, he worked with other people to distribute the drugs across the Northern District of Iowa.

Hansen sent shipments of thousands of dollars to the California source in exchange for the drugs.

From December 2023 to May 2024, 37 shipments of drugs were sent to Iowa and $260,000 worth of payments were sent to the source in California.

Police intercepted one of the drug shipments during their investigation, finding over 5,000 grams of methamphetamine.

In May 2024, officers executed search warrants, completing one at Hansen’s home. Police found over 600 grams of methamphetamine, a gun, over $12,000, and receipts from the money shipments at the residence.

Hansen was sentenced to prison in 2011 on a previous conviction of a federal drug trafficking crime.

In December 2024, Hansen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance after having previously been convicted of a serious drug felony. Hansen faces 20 years in federal prison.

Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A man admitted to robbing multiple convenience stores in the Cedar Rapids area and money laundering.

Andrew Philip Derr, 22, of Fredrick, Maryland, stole over $7,000 from two convenience stores after being released from the military due to misconduct.

He covered up the crimes by laundering the money and making many deposits into his Maryland bank account.

He was previously charged for stealing $16,000 from the Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust back in January 2024.

He faces a maximum of 60 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, and 3 years of post-prison supervision. He must pay back the stolen money from the robberies and reimburse the victims of his crimes.

He remains in custody of the United States Marshal awaiting sentencing.

Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.