Stashed away in trunks and backseats, illicit products cross over Minnesota’s borders from neighboring states. Usage explodes each summer under the dark of night, leaving a trail of smoke behind.
I’m, of course, referring to fireworks, the kinds that require a crane of the neck to admire up high in the Fourth of July sky.
Minnesota’s laws forbid usage of aerial, exploding fireworks, setting it apart from neighboring states Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota. Unless you’re a municipality or fair association with a permit and a licensed operator, that rules out Roman candles, bottle rockets, firecrackers and really anything going boom in the air. Sparklers, fountains and snakes are fair game.
Based purely on my own observations as a lifelong Minnesotan — many of those years spent lounging on a lakeshore or pontoon watching explosions in the sky — this seemed like one of those laws many people are willing to break. Law enforcement agencies warn against this, obviously, due to the injury and fire risks associated with fireworks. But surely they don’t have the resources or will to widely investigate it, right?
Mostly right, according to district court data, although charges and convictions do happen.
Minnesotans caught exploding, using, possessing, selling or advertising fireworks can be charged under state statute 624.21. Statewide, the number of these charges filed in the years between 2020 and 2024 ranged from 44 to 85. Conviction totals ranged from 25 to 55.
Large swaths of the state have had no recorded fireworks-related offenses since 2020, with only 51 of Minnesota’s 87 counties having convictions under the statute. The most populous counties are near the top for convictions. Notable exceptions exist, however, including Sherburne County coming in at No. 1.
The central Minnesota county had 14 convictions under the statute since 2020, driven almost entirely by 13 in 2021 alone. No other county had more than 11 combined between 2020 and 2024.
State statute 625.25 details sentences for fireworks violations, using weight as a bar. Getting caught with 35 pounds or more could prompt up to a $3,000 fine, compared to a $1,000 maximum fine for possessing less than 35 pounds. Convictions based on these metrics are even rarer, occurring 26 times statewide since 2020.
Fireworks legalization is regularly proposed at the Minnesota Legislature, getting as far as the governor’s desk in 2012 after overcoming hurdles in the House and Senate. Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed it, citing opposition by the state fire marshal, public safety commissioner and dozens of organizations, including police and fire chiefs associations.
State Sen. Jason Rarick, R-Pine City, has been a supporter of legalization, first as a state representative starting in 2015 and since becoming a senator in 2019. He most recently authored a bill to that effect in January.
Current laws aren’t stopping Minnesotans from buying and using fireworks, he said, but they do push money out of the state. “Every state around us is now selling them to Minnesota residents, and we are missing out on that sales tax revenue,” he said.
His district borders Wisconsin, where residents can easily cross over and back to satisfy their firecracker needs. Wisconsin’s law is clever in a way, requiring state residents to obtain permits through their county to purchase fireworks, while allowing sales to out-of-state residents, Rarick said.
The rationale against fireworks legalization centers around safety and fire risks. Data provided by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety showed Minnesota had 26 known injuries from fireworks in 2024 and 22 in 2023. The running total since 1989 is 866, including three overall deaths reported in 2015, 2021 and 2022.
For fire damage, June and July dollar losses were as steep as about $3.8 million in 2023 from 106 incidents. The concern with illegal fireworks is partly about how far they travel away from the operator, stated Kat Barrett, communications specialist with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, in an email. Embers and sparks are hard to control far away.
Regardless of the fireworks used, she advised people to keep an eye on pets and children around them. Disposal should be done once fireworks are cool to the touch. “We suggest leaving them out overnight and soaking them in water to ensure all hot spots have been extinguished,” Barrett said.
Rarick intends to continue proposing fireworks legalization in future sessions. He doesn’t think injuries would increase if fireworks were allowed, as he suspects most people who want to use them already do.
Education campaigns could coincide with legalization, he said. Timing restrictions would be in place, as well, along with provisions for local control if a county or city still wanted to restrict fireworks.
Rarick expects, as would be usual in rural Minnesota, fireworks lighting up the night sky won’t be hard to find this Fourth of July.
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