Lander City Council members share compliments and safety concerns after recent Independence Day celebration

(Lander, WY) – Members of the Lander City Council complimented local volunteers and first responders this week for organizing a safe and successful Independence Day celebration for residents and their out-of-town visitors.

“It’s just always remarkable how many folks come to town,” Councilmember Julia Stuble said during a regular meeting Tuesday, thanking first responders for “staying vigilant” and “keeping us safe” while “managing (the) influx of people.” 

“It’s all hands on deck for first responders and for volunteers for all the events that day,” she said. “And so I’m grateful to everybody who pulled it off.”

Councilmember Dan Hahn – who also serves as a local firefighter – pointed out that the rain that fell before the celebration began helped decrease the fire danger associated with Fourth of July fireworks.

“It was great,” he said. “We had one fire, so that was a good night.”

Local police officers weren’t as busy this year either, Lander Police Department Interim Chief Kelly Waugh said, calling last week’s Independence Day celebration “probably one of the best Fourth of July’s that we’ve had.”

“Statistically, from 2024 to 2025, our (July 4) calls for service were down 41 percent,” he said. “Self-initiated activity was higher, (but) there was a 58 percent decrease in calls for crime.”

There was also a 75 percent reduction in traffic crashes this year compared to last year, which Waugh called “mind-blowing” considering “the number of vehicles and people” visiting town on the holiday.

“Overall we had a great Fourth of July,” he said.

However, Waugh also echoed earlier comments from Councilmember Josh Hahn, who had expressed concern about spectator safety during the annual Pioneer Days Parade.

“We’ve got to collaborate our brains somehow and come up with a way to clear Main Street from everybody rushing the floats,” Josh Hahn said, recalling seeing groups of children “running up and actually slapping the floats” during this year’s parade. 

“All it takes is one little mishap, and our parade is done,” he said. “None of us want to go through that.”

Visitors complained about the crowding too, he added, because even people who arrived early to find a spot to watch the parade eventually had “50 people standing in front of (them).”

“Everybody just rushes the floats,” he said. “It’s concerning, (and) the longer we allow it to happen, the worse it’s going to get.”

Last year, Waugh said police officials led the parade and maintained a presence on both sides of the procession in order to monitor the safety situation – but that strategy was “cumbersome” and relatively ineffective.

Instead, he said the city could try to promote parade safety through advertisements advising people to stand closer to the curb and keep their children away from the floats – or officials could place safety cones and ropes in the area to keep people off of the street.

“I’m open to whatever we decide we can do,” he said. “(Because) I, too, strongly believe that one major event is going to ruin that parade forever.”

Some communities ask parade participants to have volunteers hand candy to spectators on the side of the road instead of throwing candy from their floats, Stuble said – an option that City Attorney Adam Phillips called “the most effective way of ensuring safety in parades.”

“(You can) make it illegal to throw candy from the floats … or send out some sort of notice to the parade organizers that this is now part of what we’re doing in the city,” he said, agreeing that “this has been an ongoing problem.”

“There’s a lot of safety and liability with parades, and we want to keep our citizens safe.”

Mayor Missy White said she would get in touch with the Pioneer Days Parade organizers and “have a conversation” with them about the safety concerns. 

“I’m confident (they) likewise wouldn’t want anything awful to happen,” she said. “So (we’ll go) full court press on making those changes.”

For more information, call the City of Lander at (307) 332-2870.