Fireworks fines need to go up, not down

On June 6, the Register reported, “The fine for setting off fireworks in Des Moines has been significantly reduced … a move city officials hope will curb the illegal use of fireworks.”

You have got to be kidding me. Does it make any kind of logical sense that reducing a fine will deter a behavior? Why would anyone think that minimizing the consequence would reduce the likelihood that someone will buy and use fireworks? Council member Josh Mandelbaum gives us some insight into the workings of the City Council’s mind with his statement that the council wants to “have officers on the front line be more comfortable with issuing a ticket.” Really?

Given the immense difficulty of the jobs they perform every day and the individuals they are confronting, I imagine that officers are frequently very uncomfortable. Regardless of their level of comfort, their purpose is to maintain the peace of the community, and reducing the consequence for the behavior is not the way to reduce unlawful behavior. Issuing more than 11 citations for more than 1,000 complaints combined with a fine that gets the attention of the offender is the way to reduce the behavior.

The damage to city parks and the fires that result from fireworks are costly to the city, and those costs need to be offset by those who are breaking the law. The individuals who use fireworks are willing to invest in their purchase. Fireworks are expensive, and I’ll bet that those who purchase them would be willing to pay an additional $200 for their “license” to use them. Especially since there is a very low probability that they will be “caught.” They might think twice about risking $625. Aggressive enforcement of the law with a significant fine is a more logical path to behavior change.

Cynthia Erickson, Des Moines

Nixon was more honorable than Trump

After losing the support of his fellow Republicans, Richard Nixon resigned, still claiming he was no crook. Convicted felon Donald Trump, supported unequivocally by Republican leaders, claims innocence from everything and threatens to go after his adversaries when he is elected.

Good luck, America, if he wins in November and subjects us all to four years of personal retribution instead of governing.

Jackie Austin, Rock Rapids

Keep garbage out of our rivers

The Raccoon River is a beautiful and fun place where kids and adults alike can enjoy all sorts of activities, including swimming and playing sports. This is why it needs to be protected from the influx of trash and garbage being thrown around in the river.

When I go to the river, I mostly see bottles or cans these items can easily damage the fragile ecosystem of the river and can be digested by fish and other wildlife. These items can even float out to the ocean through the Mississippi River. These items can be easily recycled and cleaned up to make our city and community a better place for all.

Brayden Griesel, Urbandale

Residents rebel against real answers to homelessness

People complain about the homeless and the government’s response.

Seems like Des Moines and Pleasant Hill residents do not want to help them in their backyard.

Jo Burns, Des Moines

2024 election field represents a new low

Our political style of government, once designed for the “good” of all people is destroying the people who pay for it. Massive, bloated, out of touch, weaponized, inflationary, divisive, polarizing, out of control, elitist – the list of negatives is huge. Maybe not so large as the federal debt, but huge. But the political game plan works because every four years we the people are told we can fix it. Then the cycle repeats itself.

Our choice to “fix” the problem is us usually choosing between two candidates who couldn’t unite water, let alone run a fiscally responsible government. The sides are busy keeping us divided to ensure the political machine and your money roll on. This year has to mark a new low in our political system. The Joe Biden clown car drives along spewing money to buy votes while we know printing money raises the cost of living.

We the people are the epitome of a circular firing squad under this poor excuse of an administration, but maybe the Democrats can get their opponent jailed. Then half of the country can make excuses why they have to hold their nose to elect a convicted felon whose personality is uglier than the national debt.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing to actually have honest people running for office who get up in the morning to unite us? Our “news” media and the money in politics will never allow that to happen. Too much revenue made keeping us divided. At least if I could vote for an honest, boring individual bent on uniting us, I would only be pissed half of the time instead of being pissed all the time, which is right now.

Don Williams, Prairie City

Republicans denouncing guns, celebrating adultery?

The Republicans find themselves in a quandary these days. They must convince themselves and the rest of us that Hunter Biden is a demon and a criminal for buying a gun, yet Donald Trump is an angel and a martyr for cheating on his wife with a porn star.

Daniel Earp, Des Moines

Where’s the outcry over Des Moines Christian developing crop land?

Hypocrisy related to land use continues in Iowa. When the 2024 Iowa Legislature was in session, there was a proposal to stop the “taking” of prime Iowa farmland for the purpose of creating a solar array.

If one desires to keep the best cropland producing crops then one should, at least, be consistent. However, here is where the hypocrisy comes in. There is a proposal to “take” 103 acres of farmland near Grimes and convert it into a Des Moines Christian School campus. This land will never produce a crop again.

And what about the “server farms” that have been and are being built in Iowa or the warehouses and other urban sprawl uses that takes Iowa farmland out of production?

The biggest hypocrisy is that the “solar farms” are the only uses that benefit Iowans as a whole, and they are the ones decried as inappropriate land use.

Stephen Tews, Bloomfield

Volunteers, Red Cross ease tornado suffering

Thanks to the American Red Cross in Iowa and Nebraska, along with help from Red Cross volunteers from around the country for their response to the tornadoes in Greenfield and the Omaha area. As a mental health volunteer for the first time with the Disaster Mental Health Team, I was paired with pastors and nurses to meet with folks in shelters, folks whose homes had been damaged or destroyed in rural Iowa, and to support volunteers in their stays in our community. Organizing teams met out of the Red Cross office in Des Moines.

Our Red Cross feeds, shelters, and supports those who have been affected by the growing number of disasters around our country. Overlapping with the ongoing climate crisis our State alone has had some 80 tornadoes this calendar year alone. We are in for more and our Red Cross volunteers are ready to respond. As a physician who works to fight further climate change, I am proud to be a member of those volunteers who respond when needed.

David E. Drake, Des Moines

Joni Ernst shows her true colors

Congratulations to Joni Ernst. She has shown her true colors. She is now going to do her best to show that what happens to one man, Donald Trump, is more important than what she took an oath for. She does not care about the country. She cares about the Republican Party.

How any person in Congress can actually promise to upset the running of the country because she doesn’t agree with the president is unconscionable.

Marilyn Freerksen, Des Moines

The eagle watches

The American eagle. The symbol of America’s freedom, independence, bravery and heroism. The eagle symbolizes a way of life that many people throughout the world know nothing about.

We observe and celebrate many days throughout the year that remind us of our freedom, our democratic form of government, and what it means to be an American. We we observe Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Patriots Day, Veterans Day, and others. With Independence Day approaching, we know there will be many people celebrating with parades, barbecues and cookouts, fireworks, other ways to celebrate.

I wonder how many people really think about the meaning of Independence Day. It was not and has not been easy for us to become and remain independent. Is it possible that we could lose our independence and freedom? This is a question that we all need to be asking ourselves.

A lot is happening in the political arena at this time. The eagle watches. And I can’t help but think that the eagle wonders if our way of government could be lost. It could be. And one other thing. I hope the eagle will never be replaced by a turkey.

Galen Bral, Manilla

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Fines for illegal fireworks need to go up, not down