A federal judge in South Dakota has rejected Governor Kristi Noem’s lawsuit to force the National Park Service to have a fireworks show at Mount Rushmore July 4.

The Grand Forks Herald reports the judge said the fireworks display would be a “short-term” win for tourism and relief for Americans emerging from the pandemic but, in the long-term, potentially damage the forest, poison the water, and fray relations with tribal partners.

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I note the result because it was another waste of Arkansas taxpayer money by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who intervened in the lawsuit on behalf of Noem along with others in the Republican legal pack. Patriotic demagoguery is one of the last refuges of Rutledge in her likely losing run for governor. It was also a loser in court in South Dakota.