Newton now unlikely to re-host fireworks convention in 2025

A week-long fireworks convention which had proven to be a success in Newton back in 2022 will not be returning in 2025, even after representatives from the Pyrotechnics Guild International scouted the proposed site. Randy Ervin, chair of the PGI Newton Committee, is greatly disappointed it couldn’t work out.

While there is still a slight chance the town could host the convention, Ervin told Newton News that uncertainties with individuals who own the land needed to discharge the fireworks have stalled out any real progress. The event, he said, would have brought upwards of $3 million of economic impact to Jasper County.

At the Nov. 4 city council meeting, a number of residents spoke out against the event. The council went on to approve a resolution allowing the use of city parks and land north of the cemetery for camping grounds and event space. However, the city properties would not be used to light off fireworks.

It was expected there would be backlash, and Ervin was upfront that the event would indeed be loud. Although he understood that noise was a big concern, to him the economic benefits it brought to the city far outweighed the loud booms residents would hear from afar for one week. Most of council felt the same way.

While Ervin certainly wanted Newton to host another PGI event, apparently so did the PGI Board. When the board first approached the city about hosting it again, Ervin said he had spoken with the Iowa Speedway to host it once more, but it couldn’t fit in to the racetrack’s calendar. So, Ervin told PGI it couldn’t work.

But PGI Board members started calling Ervin and saying they really wanted to come back to Newton. It was a good time, they said, and the town was amazing. So the PGI Newton Committee scouted out locations and settled on some farmland north of the city’s softball complex.

It seemed like a good fit for PGI and it passed their measurements for fallout zones and noise zones. Initial discussions with the farmer who worked the land also boded well. Ervin was later met with some resistance from another party who manages the land, but made some headway after some discussion.

Ervin contacted the owner in Oklahoma who initially expressed they were not interested, but again he did make strides to possibly convince them of hosting the site. When Ervin revisited the land recently, he saw a home was being built near one of the major fallout areas. That proved to be an issue.

Coupled with the undecided land owners and the PGI Board up against their own deadlines, Ervin told them at this time he could not make a firm commitment that the city could host the convention. Ervin said he feels horrible about it and feels like he failed the city.

“I don’t make a penny off this thing,” he said. “I do it because I love the people of Newton. We chased away $3 million.”

When the 2022 PGI Convention was hosted at the Iowa Speedway, several restaurants and retailers reported massive sales. The week-long event was a major boon to the city. Ervin said when he spoke with the owners of Uncle Nancy’s Coffee House it was their best week they ever had.

“That’s what hurts me the most,” he said. “I was trying to do something really good for the city. And it just didn’t work out.”