a day ago
Have fireworks gotten out of hand in the Fox Cities? Tell us your thoughts in this short survey
Wendy Szczepanski arrived at Neenah City Hall with a simple request for police and elected officials: Enforce the fireworks law that's already on the books.
Szczepanski said her dog, a Cocker Spaniel named Luke, died of a massive heart attack on July 4, 2024, when an illegal M-80 firecracker exploded in her Neenah neighborhood. She's on a campaign to prevent any such reoccurrence.
"I don't want to let this drop," Szczepanski said. "I understand that this probably won't be effective for this Fourth of July, but I'm darn hoping it will for 2026."
Wisconsin's fireworks law states that possessing or using fireworks is illegal without a permit. Police define fireworks as anything that explodes or leaves the ground on its own power.
Opinions on fireworks, though, are diverse and divisive.
A 2018 online survey written by Menasha police found that 58% of the nearly 1,300 respondents favored additional laws or fines to stop people from lighting off illegal fireworks. Conversely, 55% rated the level of concern for their safety or property due to fireworks as "a little" or "not at all."
A vast majority of the survey respondents were from Menasha, Neenah, Oshkosh, Fox Crossing and Appleton.
Szczepanski said a lot of people are reluctant to complain to police about fireworks because they're afraid of retaliation from their neighbors or because they know police won't enforce the law. Neenah police have written only two citations for fireworks violations in the past two years. Both were for repeat offenses.
So how big of a problem are fireworks in the Fox Cities? Have opinions changed since the 2018 survey?
The Post-Crescent invites residents and visitors to share their thoughts by filling out the following fireworks survey. Responses will be collected through July 10, and the findings will be used in future reporting.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@ Follow him on X at @DukeBehnke.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Have fireworks gotten out of hand? Share your thoughts in this survey
