Fireworks Calls Have Gone Up a Ton in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City

Summer 2020 has been quite the season for fireworks here in Eastern Iowa, and a lot of people are not happy about it! According to CBS 2, police departments in both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City have seen an uptick in fireworks complaint calls these past several weeks.

The article from CBS 2 says that the Cedar Rapids Police Department has received 1,139 calls regarding the illegal use of fireworks, which is around 84% higher than this time last summer. In Iowa City, the police department has responded to 158 calls, which is up 97% from 2019. The CRPD says that 38 tickets were issued from June 1st through July 5th and that injuries were reported in three cases.

The Cedar Rapids Police Department took to Facebook last week to remind citizens to be courteous of their neighbors, but they also made a suggestion on where they could go to legally enjoy fireworks:

"Although the discharge of fireworks in Cedar Rapids is prohibited, you may consider going to a family or friend’s home where fireworks are allowed. For example, fireworks are allowed to be discharged on July 4 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. in the unincorporated areas of Linn County. These are areas outside of City limits. However, fireworks may only be used on the property owned by the person or persons using the fireworks, or with the property owner’s permission."

I'm not one to normally complain about fireworks, but the people in my neighborhood have gotten ridiculous. I can understand lighting them off on July 3rd or 4th, but I've had to listen to them every single night for the past week. It's especially frustrating when it's happening at 1:30 a.m. on a Monday night and I have to spend 10-15 minutes calming my dog down before I can go back to sleep. I'm hoping that things will finally die down this week, but I won't get my hopes up.