Dodge City to lift fireworks ban for New Year's Eve

(DODGE CITY, Kan.) — Residents in Dodge City will be allowed to shoot off fireworks to celebrate the new year, and shoot off items they may have purchased for the fourth of July.

At a special meeting Wednesday, the Dodge City Commission lifted its ban on the discharge of fireworks beginning at Noon on Saturday, Dec. 31, and ending at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1.

Dodge City officials say residents must remembers that fireworks still cannot be set off on any public property, which includes school playgrounds, public parking areas, the Civic Center and Memorial Stadium.

The city banned fireworks over the summer due to severe drought conditions. The ban included the Independence Day holiday, when no fireworks were allowed. The city says weather conditions have improved enough to allow fireworks that people may have purchased for July Fourth.