Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender said Wednesday the city is prepared to deal with the complications associated with a presidential visit to Mount Rushmore for July 3 fireworks and urged the community to understand it will be a difficult few days.
President Donald Trump is expected to attend the fireworks show at Mount Rushmore following the invitation of Gov. Kristi Noem and the return of the display at Mount Rushmore after an 11-year absence.
The mayor said the city has been in contact with Secret Service and other federal officials about the visit.
“There are thousands of people that will be there. We expect all types of look-out points to be populated by people all around Mount Rushmore,” Allender said at his weekly news conference. “Traffic could be congested or at a gridlock in some of those areas. Even if it is a presidential visit, not on Independence Day, not with fireworks, it’s still a huge burden on communities like ours.”
Allender said the situation is even more complex because of the divisive feelings and politics concerning the Trump Administration.
“So, we have Independence Day, we have fireworks at Mount Rushmore — something we haven’t had for years — and we have a controversial president showing up in South Dakota, so guess who is going to pay for this… We are,” Allender said. “We’re going to pay our share, the sheriff’s office is going to pay for their share, the state’s going to pay for their share, and the federal government will pay for their share of security.”