Year in review: Iowans get first shot at legal fireworks in 80 years

*This storyline was voted as one of the top storylines of 2017 by Gazette staff. Other top storylines include the debate over the defunding of Planned Parenthood, Iowa's opioid abuse issue, and Branstad's new role as ambassador to China, among others.*

In 2017, Iowan got their first chance in 80 years to legally set off consumer fireworks.

In May, then-Gov. Terry Branstad signed into a law Senate File 489, which allowed for the use and sale of fireworks in the state during periods around the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve.

'We're eliminating an 80-year ban that's been put in place and Iowans are now going to be able to celebrate the Fourth of July just like many other American citizens across the country are able to celebrate by using fireworks,” Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel, who guided the bill to passage in the Senate, said at the time.

But the law set off a scramble by local entities to update their codes and decide if they would allow use of fireworks inside their borders.

While some cities including Cedar Rapids initially allowed residents to set off fireworks over the Fourth, cities including Iowa City chose to rewrite codes to allow for the sale but not the use.

Since then, Cedar Rapids - which faced intense complaints from the public - has become among the cities that decided to also ban the use.

The second sales period in Iowa - this month, to help celebrate New Year's - started as more of a fizzle than a boom.

Most Corridor cities reported little to no interest from sellers hoping to set up shop. The cold plays a role in that, of course, but so do crackdowns enacted in several cities that relegate sales to industrial zones only.