Fireworks sales holding strong in St. Joseph after Fourth of July

By Ashley Luthans

The Fourth of July may be over, but firework sales in St. Joseph have not halted.

Area fireworks vendors are working to sell as much product as they can with a short window remaining.

According to Section 16-32 of the St. Joseph Code of Ordinances, firework vendors may only sell between June 20 and July 10 in compliance with Missouri state laws.

However, there are a few stores that have year-round licenses, like Border War Fireworks. The store will continue to sell fireworks until July 14.

Border War Fireworks employee Kinlee Jones said the store was very busy for July 3 and July 4, however, they had more customers than expected on July 5.

“It’s actually been surprisingly busy,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t have thought that it would be very busy today, at least in the morning, but we’ve had a good amount of people in here so far today.”

Another Border War Fireworks employee, Emma Orth, believes the weekend after Independence Day will also draw a lot of customers.

“Especially with the Fourth falling on a Thursday, we think this weekend will be pretty big,” Orth said. “These next few days we’re expecting to still have a few people come in.”

Capt. Jeff Wilson with the St. Joseph Police Department said there were numerous firework-related calls between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Independence Day, but there were no major incidents reported.

Other fireworks stores in St. Joseph include PJ’s Fireworks, Kovac’s Fireworks, Schneitter Fireworks and more. There are also several fireworks tents set up along roads and highways in St. Joseph.