The City of Washington hopes to make more of a bang this Fourth of July as the city council approved a new provider at their recent meeting.

The council approved a fireworks bid from Platte River Displays of Wisconsin for $9,000. City Administrator Deanna McCusker shared that she spoke with the Linn County Fair board and a couple other cities that the company has worked with, who all gave positive recommendations. A letter from fireworks operator Bill Fratzke stated that he usually designs shows to last 16-24 minutes, which Mayor Jaron Rosien commented will be preferable to recent fireworks shows in the city that have lasted 9-12 minutes. Last July, the council approved terminating their three-year contract with J&M Displays after their vocal disappointment at last year’s display, given they had increased their fireworks budget from $6,000 to $9,000.