Des Moines is offering a $1,000 reward for information on who set off fireworks in the Riverview Park men's restroom, causing serious damage to the brand-new facility.
The incident prompted Des Moines Parks and Recreation to close the park's facilities. Meanwhile, Des Moines police will start its first-ever fireworks response team for the Fourth of July holiday.
"Typically when someone talks about vandalism at parks you're talking about graffiti, maybe windows broken or a piece of playground equipment's damaged," Des Moines Police spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek said. "I did not anticipate that I was going to see a full size porcelain toilet blown to minuscule pieces."
Parizek said this is the first serious act of vandalism using fireworks in the city this year.
"It's amazing the power that those fireworks have, particularly those commercial grade ones that people are buying, and their ability to create such amount of damage … I'm surprised that nobody got hurt," Parizek said. "The damage inside that restroom was some of the worst vandalism I've seen in a park."
The city's Park and Recreation Department's recently updated the bathrooms at Riverview Park, 710 Corning Ave. According to Parks and Recreation Director Ben Page, they were open for less than a month.
"It's really disheartening, it's frustrating," he said. "It upsets a lot of people, not just the city."
Page said the damage amounted to plumbing repairs, including replacing the toilet and repairing the urinal. There were no other damages to the restroom structure itself.
Page said the restroom will be repaired by Friday for the Rendezvous on Riverview, a free family-friendly event held every Friday in June and July. The Pork Tornadoes will perform at 5:30 p.m. There also will be fireworks that night.
"We were able to fix this quickly, but we hoped that everybody would treat these parks like they would treat their homes," Page said. "Be respectful."
Those who have information about the fireworks damage at Riverview park are urged to contact Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa at 515-223-1400 or submit a tip online on the Crime Stoppers website.
Fireworks response team to be implemented for July Fourth
Parizek said a response team will be devoted to fireworks-related calls on Thursday for the July Fourth holiday.
There will be six officers on the response team.
"The goal is to speed up our response, particularly to the park areas, because they've had so much damage over the past couple of years, and then be able to take action on the complaints," Parizek said.
Last year, the Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department dealt with thousands in dollars of fireworks damage to 27 of its city parks.
The Des Moines City Council in June approved lowering the misdemeanor fine for setting off fireworks from $625 to $200 to encourage police to issue citations and more closely align fees with other metro cities.
A 45-year-old Des Moines man was cited Tuesday, the city's first fireworks-related charge of the year, for setting off fireworks within city limits and leaving fireworks-related trash in the street that caught fire. Police also arrested and jailed him for alleged interference with official acts.
Where can I set off fireworks in the metro?
It is prohibited to set off fireworks in these central Iowa cities:
- Altoona
- Ames
- Clive (sparklers are allowed)
- Des Moines
- Johnston
- Pleasant Hill
- Urbandale
- West Des Moines
- Windsor Heights
These cities allow fireworks to be set off during specific times for the holiday:
- Ankeny — 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. July 4
- Bondurant — 2-10 p.m. July 3, 2-11 p.m. July 4
- Grimes — noon to 10 p.m. July 2 and 3, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4
- Indianola — 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. July 3-4
- Norwalk — 4-10 p.m. July 2-3; 4-11 p.m. July 4
- Van Meter — 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 1 to July 8; 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. July 4 and preceding and post Saturday-Sunday
- Waukee — 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. July 3-4
Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com
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