Clear Lake council approves funding for joint fireworks display with Mason City, Cerro Gordo County

CLEAR LAKE — The Clear Lake City Council last night approved a $2500 donation of city funds toward a tentative joint fireworks display on July 3rd at the North Iowa Events Center sponsored by the cities of Clear Lake and Mason City and Cerro Gordo County.

The Mason City Exchange Club traditionally holds its fireworks celebration on the Mason City High School campus on July 3rd, but due to COVID-19 and the need to socially distance the spectators, the North Iowa Events Center will be the location for the show.

City Administrator Scott Flory says he talked with Mason City and county officials as well as the Exchange Club about the idea and they were all for it.  “We’ve had several conversations with them. We still have some work to do on that. We still need to talk logistically with the Department of Public Health and kind of work through some of those issues. Typically the Exchange Club has their show out at high school and this would be at the North Iowa Fairgrounds. We’d have a show on July 3rd. Flashing Thunder would be the fireworks provider shooting them off.”

Flory says it would give an opportunity for people to stay socially distanced in their cars and still have an Independence Day fireworks display.  “Likely visitors would stay in their cars and watch the fireworks show from their cars. Probably about a 20-25 minute fireworks show. Certainly nowhere near the scale obviously that Clear Lake puts on, but there are very few in the state if any that would rival that kind of show. Again it gives folks a legal, safe alternative to watch fireworks with their family and children, kids, in again that opportunity.”

Mayor Nelson Crabb reiterated why a traditional 4th of July fireworks display in Clear Lake could create a health hazard potentially spreading COVID-19.  “We also have a lot of visitors that come to down, as well as townfolk, that will go down to the beach area, to the sea wall area, to North Lakeview as well as the City Park, all the way back. That’s shoulder to shoulder, back to back, and that’s not really safe under these conditions that we are in right now. So this offers that alternative.”

Clear Lake’s contribution is solely city funds and does not include money from the Chamber’s fireworks endowment fund. The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors will consider approving a $2500 contribution at their meeting later this morning, and the Mason City City Council will consider approval of a $5000 contribution at their meeting tonight.