Feds once again nix Noem’s Mount Rushmore fireworks event

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The National Park Service has denied South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s request to mark the Fourth of July with fireworks at Mount Rushmore, citing opposition from Native American tribes and the possibility of igniting wildfires. The Republican governor said in a statement Tuesday that she would continue her court battle to hold the fireworks. She filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden administration after it refused to issue a permit for a similar celebration last year. A federal judge rejected her arguments in June, prompting an appeal. A letter dated Monday from the U.S. Department of Interior said a fireworks event would not be “safe and responsible.”