Our view of legalized fireworks in Iowa is mixed. We understand both sides of this discussion.
We acknowledge majority support among Iowans for legalized fireworks and appreciate the economic benefits of capturing part of a business Iowa used to lose to border states (including Nebraska and South Dakota) each year, but we understand the position of firefighters, emergency services providers and health care providers who want to prohibit them for safety reasons.
And we sympathize with residents who don't want related noise, or worse, in their neighborhood.
As a result, we weren't strong advocates for legalizing fireworks in our state, but we weren't opponents, either. Frankly, we would have been OK with either outcome.
The same holds true for us on discharge of fireworks within the city of Sioux City.