(Radio Iowa) – Fireworks are legal to buy in Iowa — but most cities have restrictions on their use or outright bans. Locally, fireworks may be used in Atlantic from July 2nd through the 4th, from Noon until 11-p.m. each day. Police have been issuing warnings to violators of the Ordinance for at least the past two weeks.

In Sioux City, Police Sergeant Jeremy McClure says the sounds of bottle rockets and other fireworks are already being heard there, even though they are not yet legal to shoot off. Mcclure says the number of complaints about fireworks is not as high as in previous years. “So far in the month of June here we’ve had about 94 complaints come in and that’s down about 42 percent from the previous year,” he says, ” and it’s down pretty significantly from 2020 where we saw over 600 complaints in about the same timeframe.” He says there have been no citations issued — as officers have to answer other calls first.

“We’re still getting the same number of calls that we get for everything else, whether it’s crimes or accidents and other emergencies,” according to McClure. “We have to prioritize our calls. And we’re going to respond to crimes in progress involving, you know, assaults and thefts and accidents and such. And then try to get to the fireworks when we can. Do the fact that we can’t always respond to fireworks right away. We don’t always catch people in the act. Mcclure says if they do catch you in the act, it could cost you.

“It’s 250-dollar fine if you’re discharging outside of the legal times and then if you discharge in city parks and the such it can be up to 500-dollar fine,” he says. McClure says the department hopes people will follow the law and be respectful of people who may be affected by the loud blasts such as some military combat veterans or pet owners. You can shoot off fireworks in Sioux City from 1 p-m until 11 p-m on Sunday, July 3rd, and from 1 p-m until midnight on Monday, July 4th.

You should check with your local officials to determine when you can legally use fireworks.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Lottery C-E-O, Matt Strawn, says the fiscal year is ending Thursday on a very good note. “The Iowa Lottery will post its second-highest gross sales total in history, as well as delivered the second-highest amount of proceeds ever returned to the state of Iowa, trailing of course only last year’s record performance that saw lottery revenues rise 22 percent and lottery proceeds rise 25 percent from the previous fiscal year,” Strawn says.

Strawn told the Lottery Board this completes the most successful two years of sales in the 37-year history of the Iowa Lottery — with only two years in which total lottery sales have surpassed 430 million dollars.  “This positive news does come with a note of caution for the future, as the Iowa Lottery is not immune to the strong economic headwinds generated by higher gas prices and inflationary pressures on Iowa households,” he says. He says things started to slow near the end of the fiscal year.

Iowa Lottery chart showing gas and scratch ticket sales.

“The month of May was the first month this fiscal year and the first month since March 2020, which was the onset of the pandemic, in which actual lottery sales failed to exceed that five-year monthly sales average,” Strawn says. Scratch tickets make up two-thirds of the Lottery’s revenue and May scratch ticket sales were down 17-point-five percent compared to the previous May. Strawn says that closely coincides with rising gas prices.

“May of 2022 was the first time this fiscal year that average fuel prices in Iowa exceeded four-dollars per gallon. And I can share with the board that this downward year over year trend and scratch sales has continued into June as gas prices cleared the four-dollar and 50 cent per gallon threshold,” Strawn says. He showed the Lottery Board a chart comparing gas price increases and the drop in scratch ticket sales.

“This data helps validate what we have been hearing anecdotally, from Iowa retailers regarding reduced store foot traffic as gas prices have increased. You know, essentially fewer folks are coming into the store after they’re filling up. And as you all know, the only way in Iowa can buy a lottery product is by walking into the store. Strawn says a June survey in Convenience Store News shows 53 percent of convenience retailers surveyed expect sales to be lower this summer compared to last summer.

Strawn says this is a note of caution that the Iowa Lottery will continue to face a challenging economic environment in the new fiscal year.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has rejected the appeal in the first-degree murder conviction of a Davenport man in his fourth trial. Stanely Liggins was found guilty in the 1990 death of nine-year-old Jennifer Lewis after her burning body was found in a field near Jefferson Elementary School in Davenport. The Supreme Court denied Liggins’ claims there were jury misconduct, due process violations, and some witness testimony should not have been included in his fourth trial. Scott County Attorney Mike Walton is pleased with the court’s ruling and hopes it might end the case.

“The legal proceedings will probably go on forever, or as long as Mr. Liggins is alive or incarcerated, but this ends the current matter. There are proceedings called post-conviction relief that can pretty much continue forever,” Walton says. He credits the Davenport Police Department for its thorough investigation that made the latest conviction possible, and Thursday’s court decision, 32 years after Lewis’ death.

Liggins’ first two convictions were overturned. A third trial ended with a hung jury, and he was again convicted during a retrial in 2019.