Minneapolis heeds call: Don't call 911 for fireworks noise
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Do your neighbors turn into pyrotechnicians on the Fourth of July? Twin Cities public safety officials want you to think twice before calling 911.
Why it matters: Fireworks calls have historically made Independence Day one of the busiest holidays in the region's 911 dispatch centers.
- Some of these calls demand an emergency response — but noise complaints tie up dispatchers who need to direct police, fire or EMS to higher-priority calls.
What they're saying: "That delay can keep people from experiencing life-threatening or time-sensitive situations, such as heart attacks, house fires, or violent crimes, from getting the service they need," Minneapolis 911 director Joni Hodne told reporters.
The latest: Minneapolis officials' pleas appear to be getting through.
- In 2025, dispatchers handled roughly 800 fewer 911 calls over the Fourth than in previous years, when the city typically answered 2,200 calls.
📲 What to do: Minneapolis residents can instead use the city's 311 hotline and app to report a noise complaint.
- The fine print: 311 will not be monitored 24/7 over the holiday, though Hodne said city staffers can still respond to complaints the next day.
Zoom out: Many other departments offer similar advice, so have your police department's non-emergency line handy.
- In St. Paul, it's 651-291-1111.
- Yes, but: In Minneapolis, non-emergency calls are still answered by the city's 911 center — so the call wouldn't have priority, but would still tie up a dispatcher.
☎️ When to call: Contact 911 if a fire has started, someone is hurt, fireworks use is putting people or property at risk, or the situation is escalating toward violence, Hodne said.
In recent years, social media-fueled gatherings of young people shooting fireworks and taking over parks have disrupted Independence Day. (In Oakdale, a recent fireworks show was disrupted by a massive teen fight.)
- But last year in Minneapolis, overall levels of violence — including reports of shootings and gunfire — were down or flat on the holiday compared to previous years.
What we're watching: Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said Wednesday the department's Criminal Intelligence Division monitors social media for signs of "park takeovers" and uses this intel to direct staffing.
- Several city streets and parkways will again close along with the Stone Arch Bridge, and parking will be limited around Bde Maka Ska and along the Mississippi River — a tactic that Minneapolis Park Police have said was successful in tamping down these takeovers.