DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Cubs Fourth of July fireworks show has been lighting up Des Moines’ skies since the 90s. Organizers say it takes months of preparation to create the magic.
In a changing technical world, Lead Firework Shooter Jake Amsden says there's nothing quite like fireworks.
“There’s a lot of talk in today’s world about drones or lasers or other things like that which is amazing to incorporate it, but you can never replace that joy of hearing that bang in the sky and just those bright, brilliant colors coming down," he said.
The crowds that come to watch the fireworks back up that point.
“They fill up these whole edges of the river all the way around," Amsden said. "I know people that live a mile or a couple miles away that say they look forward to watching these fireworks as well."
A lot of thought goes into the process.
“I make a program on a 3D software and I can actually see what I’m actually putting together," Amsden said.
On the July 4 holiday, the crew gets up in the morning 12 hours before the show to prepare thousands of fireworks.
“We have to hook a wire up to every single firework and plug that into one of our modules," Amsden said.
Still, Amsden said all that work is worth it.
“I get my joy from just seeing the crowd go nuts afterwards," he said. ". . .I absolutely love that."
Catch the fireworks Thursday night after the game ends.