Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is suing Interior Department officials including Secretary Deb Haaland for declining to grant a permit for a Fourth of July event including fireworks at Mount Rushmore this year, according to a news release from the governor's office.
South Dakota governor sues Interior Dept. over denied permit for Mount Rushmore July 4th fireworks
Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is suing Interior Department officials including Secretary Deb Haaland for declining to grant a permit for a Fourth of July event including fireworks at Mount Rushmore this year, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
“After telling us they’d ‘circle back,’ the Biden administration has not responded to our request to uphold the Memorandum of Agreement between the State of South Dakota and the National Parks Service (NPS) to host a safe and responsible national celebration and fireworks show,” Noem said in the release.
South Dakota governor sues Interior Dept over denied permit for Mount Rushmore July 4th fireworks krdo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from krdo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Park service denies 2021 fireworks at Mount Rushmore
The Associated PressMarch 12, 2021News
courtesy photoFireworks at Mount Rushmore in 2020.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) The National Park Service has denied South Dakota officials’ request to launch fireworks at Mount Rushmore thsi year.
National Park Service Regional Director Herbert Frost denied the state’s request on Thursday, saying the parks service is concerned about risks to the park and employees after a fireworks show at the monument last July during a campaign appearance by then-President Donald Trump.
Frost also said the services’ tribal partners expressly oppose fireworks at Mount Rushmore and large crowds the event would draw would make social distancing difficult if not impossible.