CHEYENNE — A prolonged dispute over fireworks businesses that sit just north of the Wyoming-Colorado border on Interstate 25 appears set to take off again.
Laramie County commissioners have again denied a permit for one of four fireworks businesses owned by Seasonal Fireworks, the same Colorado company they have previously described as “obnoxious.”
The three other permits are set to come before the commission sometime in April.
Meanwhile, the business owner’s father Pete Elliott, who manages the fireworks stores for his daughter, Breanna Elliott, told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday that he is being unfairly portrayed and discriminated against by both Laramie County commissioners and a rival business.
He said he is already reviewing legal options to fight back.
“I’m never going to stop (fighting),” Elliott said. “I can only sit back so long and just be publicly assassinated, character assassinated. (This) dude isn’t going to keep painting me in a bad light.”
The permit denial was something Elliott had expected.
Two of the businesses, Jurassic Fireworks and Artillery World, were shut down by the county over permitting last year before a court order lifted the ban.
Elliott said the business has already satisfied all the listed requirements for the new permit, which includes county inspections that look at planning, fire and environmental health.
“They steal our money every time,” Elliott said, referring to the fees that must be paid along with the permit application. “So, that’s why there was only one application this time.”
That application was for one of three Artillery World sites.
About That Bullhorn
Elliott doesn’t deny that he has on occasion been known to stand outside with a bullhorn, yelling and waving flags to attract customers to the Seasonal Fireworks businesses he manages for his daughter.
These tactics, which Laramie County Commission has labeled “obnoxious,” were a defense mechanism, he said, to fight back against false claims about Artillery World and Jurassic Fireworks made by competitors.
“Back when we were competing up on College Drive, we got rained out really bad one year,” he said. “And there’s like a little pond right in front of our fireworks down there. The other company kept telling everybody that our fireworks were all wet.”
Elliott used a bullhorn to advise customers that was not true.
“We said, ‘Hey, please don’t believe their lies,’” Elliott recalled. “Check out our fireworks. They are amazing. We’ve got great discounts. Please don’t believe the lies.”
Elliott has accused Phantom Fireworks, meanwhile, of making up complaints about his business in a feud that goes back years, and he has viewed his bullhorn tactics as necessary to tackle that misinformation.
At one point, Elliott said he even went so far as to acquire letters from his neighbors that state they have no problems with Artillery World or Jurassic Fireworks, to refute claims from Phantom Fireworks.
“All the letters came back in our favor,” Elliott said. “We’re not bad neighbors. They have no problem with us.”
Cowboy State Daily contacted Phantom Fireworks for comment, and was referred to a corporate representative who had not yet returned the call at the time of this story’s posting.
Injunction Expired
Last year, a court ordered Laramie County to issue seasonal fireworks permits to preserve the status quo during a lawsuit Breanna filed examining whether the county’s 2024 denial was arbitrary and capricious.
In an affidavit, Breanna testified that she has to buy fireworks the preceding year, by July 15, to operate each year. Not operating through the season would destroy her business, she added, making her lawsuit moot.
A key metric in granting an injunction typically includes an evaluation by the judge as to whether a case can succeed on the merits, as well as whether any irreparable harm will occur absent the injunction.
Judge Robin Cooley ruled that these burdens of proof had been met and forced the county to issue Seasonal Fireworks a seasonal permit.
County Commissioner Gunnar Malm acknowledged the injunction in the case, which expired, along with the fireworks permit, in 2024.
Though the court case over 2024 decisions involving the business has not yet been decided one way or the other, Malm told Cowboy State Daily he believes Laramie County’s most recent rejection of Artillery World’s permit is still justified, despite the injunction.
“We have had issues, in my mind, with threatening phone calls to Commissioner (Troy) Thompson’s business,” Malm said. “And we played those recordings and had transcripts available at the last meeting.”
Malm said the recordings show a “continued pattern of behavior that is not what we believe is good business in Laramie County.”
Elliott told Cowboy State Daily the phone call was meant to be a courtesy heads-up for any employees who worked at the protest location.
He also said a sheriff’s department investigation had been conducted over the phone call that found nothing actionable as far as an arrest goes, or for any other claims the county has made about threatening communications.
Commission Is Not A Rubber Stamp
The contention in Breanna’s outstanding court case, which has not yet been set for a hearing, is that the county is acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner by denying her permit when her business has complied with all the permit requirements and has no outstanding police citations specifying any violations, or customer complaints of harassment on record.
Malm, however, said the county’s contention is that commissioners aren’t there to just be a rubber stamp for a standard form. They’re there to weigh the balance of public good and make decisions based on their judgement of that.
“That’s what we’re waiting for the court to decide,” he said. “If, statutorily, the court believes that simply filling out an application grants you the permit, then why even have the commissioner’s approval?”
Malm said he believes that commission approval represents more than that, and that it’s an important point to sort out for all the counties in Wyoming.
“It’s there to adjudicate things like this,” Malm said, “where we believe that a business owner is not acting in the best interest of the public and not acting in the best interests of Laramie County.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
