Fireworks Moved To Fred Penn Park

Neligh’s fireworks show will be moved to a new location this year.

At the Neligh City Council meeting last Tuesday, it was was decided to move the Neligh fireworks display to Fred Penn Park for July 4, 2019.

Adam Mortensen of the Neligh Young Men’s Club, a licensed fireworks operator for more than 10 years, presented the request to the council.
“We had an idea, an epiphany,” Mortensen said. “We’ve never thought about moving it to Penn Park, but after consulting with some other guys that I do it with, we’ve got plenty of room as long as we got deeded the rights of shutting some stuff down.”

He requested that the NYMC be allowed to “shut down” Wylie Drive on the Fourth of July from about 4 p.m. until the fireworks show is over. Mortensen said the state fire marshal will determine the exact location where they will ignite the fireworks inside the park due to distance regulations.

The fireworks display has been at the Antelope County Airport in recent years, but was previously held in Riverside Park.

“The liability down there was getting greater because of these distance points,” Mortensen said, referring to the camping area and looping roadway.

He and Boyd Petersen discussed moving the display back into town, closer to the lake.

“We thought it would be a really cool atmosphere,” Mortensen said.
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On a motion by Dale Wilkinson and second by Ted Hughes, the Neligh City Council voted 4-0 to approve the use of Fred Penn Park for the fireworks as well as the temporary closing of Wylie Drive that day.