Expensive items are hot sellers, stand workers say

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Laurie Minchew, of Red Oak, Texas, manages the Fireworks Superstore, a large white tent in a former auto dealer’s parking lot near Cabela’s and Walmart. (Laura Wehde/Republic Photo)

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• Safety records good at local fireworks stands

Technology meets tradition at fireworks stands around Mitchell this week.

While firecrackers, bottle rockets and other old favorites are still on sale, large display fireworks are the hottest-selling items, according to workers at the stands.

Laurie Minchew of Red Oak, Texas, manages the Fireworks Superstore, a large white tent in a former auto dealer’s parking lot near Cabela’s and Walmart.

Minchew said bigger and more expensive items are popular this year. A package they call The Godfather sells for $650 and they’ve sold a few, she said.

Last year, a man came in and spent $1,800 on fireworks, Minchew said. People like to put on their own display in their backyards and in rural areas, she said.

The Superstore also sells items that go for as little as 25 cents, she said. Their goal is to provide a fun, safe outlet for people looking for explosive fun on the Fourth.

“Fireworks are amazing,” she said. “Everyone loves fun and everyone loves fireworks.”

Minchew said she enjoys selling them. She’s a lawyer; her boyfriend, Jeff Koster, of Yankton, has wholesale and retail fireworks licenses and she manages the Mitchell location for him.

“This is my vacation,” Minchew said.

Some vacation. She works long hours — the business is open 7 a.m. to midnight — and supervises six locals they hire during the short selling season. Fireworks can be sold to South Dakotans from June 27 to July 5.

The business has a unique selling point. A big screen TV in the tent shows how the fireworks look when they’re fired off, and it “absolutely” boosts sales, she said. It was Koster’s idea.

“It’s awesome,” Minchew said. “He and his partner, they try to be innovative.”

The old-fashioned thrills of seeing the night sky light up and hearing the crackle and bang of fireworks are still a draw, however.

Jeremy Kohler, 32, of Parkston, brought his son, Jeremiah, 7, to the Fireworks Superstore to stock up on fireworks.

They bought kits, mortar shells, firecrackers and other explosives, Jeremy said. There was a simple reason for the purchases.

“So he can go around and blow up things in the yard,” Jeremy said as his son grinned in agreement.

He said Jeremiah has been shooting fireworks “since he could walk” and he himself still enjoys them, as well. “Of course,” Jeremy said.

The young fireworks enthusiast said he loved two things about the devices: “The explosions and the lights.”

Keith Eldridge, 62, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, came to the Superstore with his girlfriend, Beth Hendrickson, and Kaitlin Cartee, 12.

“We get them for the kids, the grandkids and the big kids, the retired kids,” Eldridge said.

Iowa bans the sale and use of all fireworks except for sparklers and snakes.

But Eldridge, a Vietnam veteran who admits the sound of explosions still makes him wince at times, said he felt shooting off fireworks is his right as an American.

It also helps him connect with his childhood, he said, and is a way to honor dead relatives who loved fireworks displays.

“It kind of fulfills your life,” Eldridge said. “You’ve got to have some living in your life.”

Keith Doyle operates two Ka-Boomers Half-Price Fireworks stands on the edge of Mitchell.

Like other people in the business, Doyle said the big display items are popular this year. He said he almost has to give away bottle rockets now.

“We’re selling a lot of the backyard show items,” he said. “Fewer but more expensive. That’s a valid trend. The little stuff doesn’t sell like it used to.”

Business was slow so far, according to employees at five stands visited by The Daily Republic.

The fireworks business usually picks up on July 3 and 4, however, and they said they expect to do brisk business this weekend.

Dusty Stultz, 29, manages the Pyro Outlet stand located next to the Kongo Klub.

Artillery shells and big box displays are the biggest sellers, Stultz said. He had four $125 boxes for sale; by 6 p.m. Wednesday, only one was left.

Having a fireworks stand adjacent to a strip club is unusual, Stultz admitted. He said business was slow and wondered if perhaps wives and mothers were not allowing their husbands, boyfriends and kids to shop there.

Kongo Klub customers and employees weren’t buying any either, he said.

“We really haven’t seen too much from there,” Stultz said. “Maybe this weekend.”

One of the dancers said she was surprised to see the fireworks stand next to the club when she came to work. She said she once used sparklers in her act at another club, but doubts she will do so again.

The dancer said a spark dropped to the stage floor and when she was performing a gyration, she burned herself.

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