Fireworks Costs Skyrocket

Another sign of the times: The cost of shooting off Columbia's fireworks could go up 32 percent because county officials are pessimistic that anyone would want to volunteer their time to help put on the show.

Here's what the Sun said:

County officials have said they will look for sponsors to make sure that the tradition of Fourth of July fireworks at the Columbia lakefront continues after the Kiwanis Club announced that it will no longer finance the event.

"We haven't gone too far in how it's going to be financed," Kevin Enright, a spokesman for County Executive Ken Ulman, said last week. " ... We'll make sure the tradition continues."

The Kiwanis Club spent $38,000 on the event last year with an all-volunteer staff, Enright said. He estimated that the cost would be about $50,000 this year, because the cost goes up each year and the county would not have the same full volunteer staff.