State’s expenses for Rushmore fireworks were greater than economic impact, Tourism Department says

The fireworks display last month at Mount Rushmore cost the state of South Dakota $450,000 more than the event generated in economic impact, according to the state Department of Tourism.

The state spent $2.8 million to plan and produce the July 3 celebration, which generated $2.35 million of economic impact, the department said in a Monday press release. The department attributed the economic analysis to the research firm Tourism Economics.

Broadcast and digital media coverage generated nearly $51 million in additional “publicity value” from 53.7 billion “audience impressions,” according to the department, although the publicity value was not included as part of the economic impact. The department said the publicity included 107,000 views of the event’s video livestream.

Trump uses Mount Rushmore speech to allege ‘mortal threat’ from communism

South Dakota Tourism Secretary James Hagen celebrated the numbers.

“It’s an investment that strengthened our tourism economy while reinforcing South Dakota’s place as one of America’s most iconic destinations,” Hagen said in the press release.

The costs included $700,000 for pyrotechnics and lighting effects, according to a public contract between the department and California-based Pyro Spectaculars. The department said other costs included media production, shuttle bus contracts and cost recovery payments to the National Park Service. The Park Service manages Mount Rushmore as a national memorial.

South Dakota Searchlight sent questions to the department about whether the costs reported in the press release included expenses incurred by other public entities such as the city of Keystone, Pennington County and the U.S. Forest Service. The department said it would it work on responses and supply them later.

The $2.35 million economic impact estimate includes visitor spending, hotel room rentals and sales tax revenue, the department said in the press release. There were 4,800 tickets for the event, and the department said attendees came from 40 states.

The event, officially known as South Dakota’s Freedom 250 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration, featured a keynote speech from President Donald Trump — which he used to allege a “mortal threat” to the nation from communism — and a fireworks display above the carved faces of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota’s Black Hills.

This year’s event and past fireworks displays at the national memorial have drawn criticism for the wildfire threat to the surrounding national forest posed by stray sparks from fireworks, and for litter and pollutants from fireworks packaging and chemicals. There was no organized protest against the fireworks this year, but a group of Native Americans advocating for the return of the Black Hills to Lakota tribes protested the prior event in 2020.