The Iowa City Police Department received 236 calls for service related to fireworks complaints from June 1 to July 8, according to a city memo. During the same period last year, the department received 136 calls.
As Cedar Rapids saw an uptick in fireworks vendors this year after a new state law eased restrictions on sales, some city officials are looking for options to alleviate the burden of handling fireworks reports on public safety personnel.
Corridor hospitals saw a decline in patients arriving in emergency rooms with fireworks-related injuries over the holiday weekend when compared to volumes in recent years. Cedar Rapids police also saw a decline in calls for services due to fireworks, but Iowa City totals remained the same when compared to previous years.
Under the new law, cities including Cedar Rapids and Iowa City will no longer be able to restrict firework sales to only certain zoning categories.
A bill waiting for Gov. Kim Reynolds to sign into law would strip local city councils of regulating the sale of fireworks, frustrating efforts of cities like Cedar Rapids and Iowa City to crack down on the consumer explosives in response to citizen complaints and a rise in injuries.
Iowa is donating 146 protective helmets and 714 ballistic vests to Ukraine. They are excess expired equipment from the Department of Public Safety and 18 other law enforcement agencies.
When hundreds of people are participating in illegal activity at the same time, police have little ability to stop us
Dozens of patients arrived at local emergency rooms this weekend with fireworks-related injuries, including burns and traumatic hand injuries, local hospitals report.
From a blazing port-a-potty to one house’s siding catching fire, Cedar Rapids sees rise in fires.
Fireworks are returning to downtown Cedar Rapids, plus dozens of other shows across the area.
Fireworks-related injuries at Iowa’s two largest trauma systems spiked after lawmakers legalized their sale in May 2017 — including a fourfold increase in injured kids, hit especially hard by the surge.
Sales in the pandemic were strong last year. Some vendors in the Corridor say they’re even stronger this year.
Fireworks, Balloon Glow, DockDogs, drive-through pancake breakfast among the events returning to the 2021 Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival.
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