PIERRE, S.D. – President Donald Trump’s return to the White House could mean fireworks will again be part of Independence Day celebrations at Mount Rushmore.
Both Gov. Larry Rhoden and Rep. Dusty Johnson are urging the president to consider granting a National Park Service permit to allow pyrotechnics at the Black Hills monument, while inviting their fellow Republican to attend patriotic festivities being planned as part of this year’s July 4 celebration.
“I had the honor of sharing the stage with you for the 2020 Mount Rushmore fireworks celebration,” the governor wrote in a letter sent to the White House on Monday. “It is a day I will never forget. That day reminded the nation of the importance of our history and the monumental leaders honored on the mountain.”
Rhoden’s letter was also sent to South Dakota’s congressional delegation and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, the former North Dakota governor whose department is charged with approving permits at national parks. It echoes remarks the governor made in an interview with South Dakota Broadcasters Association (SDBA) last week when he said he’d work to bring both Trump and fireworks back to the Keystone monument.
Pyrotechnics were last permitted at Mount Rushmore in 2020 during the final full year of Trump’s first stint in the White House. The president attended that year’s Mount Rushmore Independence Day celebration, which drew tens of thousands of attendees and featured speeches from both then-Gov. Kristi Noem and Trump. However, under the Biden administration, fireworks permits have been denied by the Department of the Interior, which cited environmental impacts, fire risks, and cultural objections from the area’s Native American tribes.
Trump’s return to the White House brought with it optimism that Mount Rushmore fireworks could follow, even before the swearing-in of the new president.
Before resigning from the governor’s office to become the Department of Homeland Security secretary, Noem told state lawmakers in an early January address that she’d be using her new position to help bring a full-scale Independence Day celebration back to Mount Rushmore, particularly in 2026 when the United States turns 250 years old.
“South Dakota is going to throw the biggest birthday party ever at Mount Rushmore,” she said.
Like Noem and Rhoden, South Dakota’s congressman is on board for a lit party each July, though he acknowledges the level of planning and public safety protections such a shindig requires.
“I would ask that you, through the National Park Service, consider hosting fireworks, or a similar celebratory display, at Mount Rushmore for Independence Day during your second term, Mr. President,” Johnson wrote in a letter to the president and Burgum last week. “I know that such an endeavor comes with considerable logistics and preparation to ensure visitor and environmental safety, but I believe your administration is more than capable of the task.”
