South Dakota leaders pledge to cover Rushmore lighting during shutdown

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden has pledged to pay $217 of his own money to keep Mount Rushmore lit for the next week.

Rhoden’s Saturday morning announcement came in tandem with pledges from West River lawmakers to personally pay the national memorial’s nightly lighting ceremony bills. Rhoden pledged to cover seven nights. Various lawmakers and one private citizen have made pledges to pay the daily bill after Rhoden if the shutdown continues.

The nightly light bill is $30.94, Rhoden spokeswoman Josie Harms told South Dakota Searchlight.

The memorial has remained open during the shutdown, but South Dakota’s Travel SD website notes that the lighting ceremony is “temporarily unavailable.” The visitor center is also closed and ranger talks are temporarily unavailable.

The promise to pay Rus