The Vincennes Fourth of July committee has awarded the 2025 Spirit of '76 honor to Martin Qualkenbush, Director of Veteran Affairs, for his commitment to veterans and the community, and will ...

Spirit of '76 is a fireworks wholesaler founded in 1987 in Columbia by John Bechtold. The company imports and distributed products to over 5,000 customers, the company's website notes.

Spirit of '76 in an online update noted all staff made it out of the building and there were no injuries. The fire started around 2 p.m. Monday and fire districts were cleared to leave the scene ...