If you ventured out after dark on Saturday night you know it was going to be a spirited evening in the city. I personally don't remember ever seeing, hearing, and smelling so much firework activity on the 4th of July in Sioux Falls.

Last week we talked to Pyro City Fireworks store owner Kevin Lorenzen and he said that firework sales for both in-state and out-of-state customers were very busy this year. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancelation of many city-run Independence Day fireworks show. So there was some speculation that more folks would be conducting there own fireworks displays.

Despite the seeming increase in pyrotechnics use inside the city limits Sioux Falls Police Public information officer, Sam Clemens reported on Monday that firework calls were a little bit higher this year than at this time last year, but not by much.

Clemens commented that Saturday the 4th was a 'big night' with 228 calls compared to 213 calls in 2019. On the 5th of July, there were 77 this year and 65 for 2019. These could have simply been calls that came in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Clemens said: “That's probably about what we've seen before. Sometimes we've seen them higher, sometimes we've seen them lower.

From Monday, June 29 through Monday, July 5th there were 11 citations issued in the city of Sioux Falls. Each citation or violation of the city fireworks ordinance can cost as much as $107.50.

Within Sioux Falls city limits fireworks are limited to those that cannot be launched and don't have an audible sound report.

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