The other legal option is to light your fireworks on the Fourth at one of eight sites scattered across Wisconsin. The closest one to Hudson is in the town of Tilden near Chippewa Falls. If it sounds complicated, it's because it is. Some say the state law controlling fireworks is confusing by design. Wisconsin Statute 167.10 regulating the sale, possession and use of fireworks has been liberalized to allow more kinds of fireworks to be sold.
Critics say the law also has been watered down to make it more difficult to enforce.
Privately, some state officials speculate that the money the fireworks industry has to spread around has influenced legislators' decision-making. Wisconsin law allows the sale and use of sparklers, fuseless poppers, snakes, smoke bombs, fountains, cones and other items not included in the legal definition of fireworks. The law supposedly restricts the sale, possession or use of fireworks, including anything that explodes or flies in the air. The city of Hudson strictly enforces the state regulations on the sale and use fireworks, and has its own ordinance that echoes the state law. The officers also conduct inspections of the stands to see that no illegal items are being sold and that safety regulations are being followed.