
Oshkosh police plan to crack down on fireworks. Here's what's legal and what's not.
Oshkosh Police Department said in a news release June 2 officers will be inspecting local dealers and stores to ensure illegal fireworks are not being sold to people who do not possess permits to buy those fireworks.
OPD said officers also will be responding to fireworks complaints 'to determine if a violation has occurred.'
'Fireworks may be enjoyable, but they can also cause distress to many in our community, especially those with PTSD or noise sensitivities,' OPD said. 'Loud explosions can also have a negative effect on pets, causing them undue stress and potential harm.'
Read more: 19 summer events in Oshkosh that can't be missed, from Waterfest to AirVenture & XRoads41
The statement comes ahead of the city's Independence Day celebrations, with July 4 being the day the most fireworks are purchased and used, according to Google trends analysis.
Stacker.com estimates consumer fireworks are a $1.9 billion industry in the U.S. as more Americans commemorate holidays like Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day and Juneteenth by setting off firecrackers and bottle rockets.
But Chapter 13 Section 13-6 (C) of Oshkosh's municipal codes states 'no person may sell, possess or use fireworks, as that term is defined by Section 167.10(1) of the Wisconsin Statutes as may be amended from time to time, within the City; except that the use of fireworks may be allowed by appropriate permit issued by the fire chief.'
According to Wisconsin Emergency Management, fireworks-related injuries in the state resulted in 126 emergency room visits in 2024, with a quarter of those being children younger than 18.
In October, the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office said a 41-year-old man was hospitalized after fireworks exploded and severely damaged his left hand as he was using a power tool to disassemble it.
Read more: Oshkosh Pride's annual event June 29 brings headliners Kat and the Hurricane
The following fireworks are legal in Oshkosh:
Sparklers
Stationary cones
Toy snakes
Smoke bombs
Caps
Noise makers
Confetti poppers (with less than one-half grain of explosive)
Roman candles
Firecrackers
Bottle rockets
Mortars
Anything that explodes or leaves the ground (only individuals/groups with a government-issued permit are allowed to use these fireworks)
Fines for juveniles are as follow:
First offense: $105;
Second offense: $155; and
Third offense: $505.
Fines for adults are as follow:
First offense: $295;
Second offense: $421; and
Third offense: $1,397.50.
Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Fireworks in Oshkosh: What's legal and not legal? What's the fine?

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Residents still shaken a day after federal authorities march through Los Angeles' MacArthur Park
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hector Velasquez was playing cards with friends at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles early Monday when a young man with a megaphone walked through announcing federal agents were on their way. Another man drove past in a car, shouting out the window, 'Immigration is coming!' The people in Velasquez's group who did not have legal status scattered. Others with U.S. citizenship — like Velasquez — lingered to see what would happen. Two hours later, federal authorities and National Guard troops arrived, with guns and horses. By then, the park that is normally bustling with vendors was mostly empty. Activists had also spread word about the raid on social media. After sweeping through the park, the convoy that included armored vehicles left as suddenly as it had arrived, Velasquez said. He described the scene Tuesday as he once again sat in the park playing cards — this time only with those who were citizens. 'I thought this was like a war,' said Velasquez, who was reminded of his home country of El Salvador. 'Only in war do you see the tanks.' The Department of Homeland Security wouldn't say what the purpose of the operation was, why it ended abruptly, or whether anyone had been arrested. The agency said in an email that it would not comment on 'ongoing enforcement operations.' But local officials said it seemed designed to sow fear. Mayor Karen Bass planned a Tuesday afternoon news conference to outline how Los Angeles will challenge what she says are unlawful immigration raids. Park is a center of immigrant life Immigration across the Los Angeles area have been on edge for weeks since the Trump administration stepped up arrests at car washes, Home Depot parking lots, immigration courts and a range of businesses. Rumors of an upcoming raid at MacArthur Park had been swirling. The park is in an area home to many Mexican, Central American and other immigrant populations that has been dubbed by local officials as the 'Ellis Island of the West Coast.' Just two miles west of downtown, MacArthur Park has a lake ringed by palm trees, an amphitheater that hosts summer concerts and sports fields where immigrant families line up to play soccer in the evenings and on weekends. A thoroughfare on the east side is often crammed with food stands selling tacos and other delicacies, along with vendors speaking multiple languages and hawking T-shirts, toys, knickknacks and household items. Fernando Rodriguez closed down his variety store near the park on Monday after seeing flyers in the Westlake neighborhood warning of immigration enforcement happening that day. 'You look Latino, they take you. Even if you show papers, they say they're fake," he said. 'What they're doing is evil." He was open again Tuesday but said nearby businesses including Peruvian and Thai restaurants have been quiet in the weeks since the federal crackdown began. 'There's no people anymore,' he said, gesturing to the street he said would usually packed with pedestrians on a sunny morning. Group warned of enforcement action Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a spokesperson for the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles, said there had been rumors that there could be an enforcement action around MacArthur Park, and the LA Rapid Response Network had volunteers monitor the area starting at 6 a.m. Monday. The network sends out observers who communicate via the messaging app Signal. Cabrera said the group does not post content to the public at large or run its own website. He said Tuesday that the streets surrounding the park have been unusually empty in recent weeks as many vendors have not been out. He wasn't sure if they left the area because of concerns about stepped-up immigration raids. 'This was a reality show to intimidate Los Angeles,' Cabrera said. 'This was an attempt to show the administration's military might, cause as much chaos as possible, remind Angelenos that the president is in charge and that he can cause terror at any moment's notice.' More than 4,000 California National Guard and hundreds of U.S. Marines have been deployed in Los Angeles since June — against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Last week, the military announced about 200 of those troops would be returned to their units to fight wildfires. Trump has pledged to deport millions of immigrants in the United States illegally and shown a willingness to use the nation's military might in ways other U.S. presidents have typically avoided. Melisa Doag, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala who sells jewelry from a stand near the park, said she doesn't plan to stay in the U.S. for much longer given the political climate. She would rather leave on her own terms than be deported, she said. 'I've only been here two years, and they already want to send me back,' Doag said. "I don't want to be treated as a criminal.' ___ Associated Press journalists Damian Dovarganes in Los Angeles and Amy Taxin in Orange County, California, contributed to this report.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Border Patrol official sends ominous message to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
Back in May, congressional Republicans and the Department of Homeland Security got their feelings hurt when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz compared Trump's Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations to a 'modern-day Gestapo.' But the scenes and sounds emerging from Los Angeles on Monday showed why Walz's comparison seems apt, as Trump has deployed ICE and other federal agents in a militaristic immigration crackdown that he's said is intended to 'liberate' Los Angeles. Viral images and media reports offered harrowing scenes of armed federal agents, flanked by members of the California National Guard, sweeping through MacArthur Park, a public space popular with the city's various immigrant communities. At one point, the masked, heavily armed agents in tactical gear disrupted playing children in a show of force that resulted in no arrests, according to Fox 11 Los Angeles. The DHS said the production — which included 17 Humvees and four tactical vehicles, according to The Associated Press, as well as officers on horseback — was part of 'ongoing enforcement operations.' After L.A. Mayor Karen Bass showed up at the park and confronted officials, one immigration official sent an ominous response that certainly doesn't dispel the Gestapo comparisons. 'The federal government is not leaving L.A.,' Border Patrol El Centro Sector Chief Gregory Bovino said in an interview with Fox 11 Los Angeles. 'I don't work for Karen Bass. ... We're going to be here until that mission is accomplished.' 'Better get used to us now,' he added, 'because this is gonna be normal very soon.' Recent polling by PBS/NPR/Marist showed a majority of Americans think Immigration and Customs Enforcement has gone too far in its enforcement tactics, suggesting broad discomfort with Trump's crackdowns. And now the so-called One Big, Beautiful Bill Act will grant ICE billions of dollars to make it the largest law enforcement agency in the country and supercharge the president's anti-immigrant agenda. Disturbing scenes like those in MacArthur Park may soon start playing out in other parts of the country, as well. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sentencing date set
Sean 'Diddy' Combs will be sentenced on 3 October. The disgraced rap mogul's trial in New York ended last week when he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering, but convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, and it has now been confirmed he will find out his fate in less than three months time. Diddy's lawyers formally proposed the date in a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, noting both prosecutors and probation officers had agreed to the schedule, People magazine reports. The defense team's sentencing memorandum must be submitted on 19 September, with the government's to follow a week later, with the judge signing off on the timeline on Tuesday (08.07.25). Lawyers for both sides took place in a brief telephone conference on Tuesday afternoon, without the judge or Diddy present. The I'll Be Missing You hitmaker returned to Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn at the end of his trial, with the judge noting that prosecutors were right to point out that a Mann Act violation means detention is "mandatory". Judge Subramanian said that "for present purposes, the defendant is unable to meet his burden" to show "lack of danger to any person or the community" with clear and convincing evidence. He added: "Prior to the trial, the court denied bail, and sees no reason to reverse that now." And when he returned to jail, Combs' lawyer claimed he was greeted with a standing ovation from fellow inmates, who saw the verdict as a sign of hope. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, told People magazine: 'They all said, 'We never get to see anyone who beats the government.' " The attorney - who speaks to the 56-year-old rapper four or five times a day - thinks Diddy's arrest and subsequent time behind bars has changed him. He said: 'He's doing okay. "[He] realises he has flaws like everyone else that he never worked on. 'He burns hot in all matters. I think what he has come to see is that he has these flaws and there's no amount of fame and no amount of fortune that can erase them. You can't cover them up.' Combs was convicted of flying people around the country to engage in sexual encounters and could face a maximum of 20 years in prison. The original 1919 law prohibited interstate or foreign commerce transport of a woman or girl "or prostitution, debauchery or for any other immoral purpose". In 1986, the law was made gender-neutral, and the wording altered to change "debauchery" and "immoral purpose" to "any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense".