City and county officials share their safety plan for Fourth of July in Minneapolis

This year marks the return of the red white and boom fireworks display on the downtown Minneapolis riverfront, that means road closures and more patrols across the city.

" Closures will include West River Parkway from Fourth avenue North to Eleventh avenue, " says Parks police chief Jason Ohotto, " In addition the east side of the river will be closed along main street."

Superintendent of the Park and Recreation Board Al Bangoura also addressed the potential strike among parks employees set to take place during the holiday weekend.

"We are going to do our very best considering that there is a potential for a strike, to make sure we do the services we need to do," says Bangoura, "the priority of course is safety."

Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt warning anyone thinking about drinking and boating this holiday weekend.

"The Hennepin county sheriff's office will have not only just extra patrol deputies on the road but also extra water deputies on the water," says Witt, " as we know we've had some dangerous water events in our communities lately."

She says 2024 has already surpassed all of 2023 in drowning's and they want to try to make sure that everyone enjoys the water safely.

Overall, law-enforcement says they’re confident in their weekend strategy.