Trump says fireworks to return to Rushmore

S.D. Gov. Kristi Noem was in Washington, D.C., recently to witness President Donald Trump signing the initial China trade bill. When Trump saw her in the audience he remarked that July 4 fireworks would be returning to Mount Rushmore National Memorial this year and that he planned to attend. (See District 30 Rep. Tim Goodwin’s column in this newspaper).

“I will try to get out there,” the president said in his announcement last week. The fireworks were discontinued at the height of the bark beetle infestation several years ago amid dry conditions around the memorial. A recent U.S. Geological Survey cited past fireworks displays as the probable cause of elevated concentrations of contaminants in the ground near the monument.

Trump brushed aside these concerns in making his announcement. “I called up our people and in 15 minutes got it approved and we will have the first fireworks display at Mount Rushmore and I will try to get out there if I can,” Trump said. “What can burn? It’s stone. Nobody knew why.”

First of all, the president is well aware of why the fireworks were cancelled in past years, but it took his personal interest in the situation to get them started once again. He also is aware that there is more than stone involved in shooting off fireworks from atop the monument.

Rep. Goodwin also pointed out the unique relationship that Trump has with our governor who was an early supporter of his in his run for the presidency. In May 2019 Noem announced that South Dakota and the Department of the Interior had reached a deal to have fireworks return to Mount Rushmore during the July 4th celebration in 2020. The president just gave a little background information as to how this all happened at his request.

Our governor got the Mount Rushmore fireworks ball rolling once again with her request to the Department of the Interior which oversees the national parks and monuments in America. Our president made sure the request was approved in an expeditious manner by cutting through the red tape.

The result will be that the nation’s eyes and attention  will be on South Dakota and the impressive fireworks display at Mount Rushmore National Memorial once again during the July 4th celebration. We trust that as it was done before, the Custer Volunteer Fire Department fireworks display and Mount Rushmore’s will not be on the same evening.

We wouldn’t want to be responsible for diminished crowds at the national memorial’s celebration!