Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski
UPDATE: New York and Arizona have reached deals with the Interior Department to reopen Statue of Liberty National Monument and Grand Canyon National Park using state funds until the federal government reopens.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says New York state will pay $61,600 a day to fully fund National Park Service personnel and keep the Statue of Liberty open.
A spokesman for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer confirmed the Grand Canyon deal late Friday afternoon, meaning the park should reopen Saturday. The governor had wanted to only partially reopen the park, but the deal includes the entire park.
Brewer spokesman Andrew Wilder says Arizona will pay less than the $112,000 a day the Interior Department wanted.
Original story below.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The state of South Dakota and several corporate donors have worked out a deal with the National Park Service to reopen Mount Rushmore during the government shutdown.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Obama administration says it will allow states to use their own money to reopen some national parks that have been closed because of the government shutdown. Governors in at least four states have asked for authority to reopen national parks within their borders because of the economic impacts caused by the park closures. (Credit: AP)
Gov. Dennis Daugaard says it will cost $15,200 a day to pay the federal government to run the landmark tourist attraction in the Black Hills.
He says he wired four days' worth of the donations on Friday, so the memorial will reopen Monday.
Daugaard earlier offered to use state employees to keep Mount Rushmore open, but the federal government only offered to let the state pay for having federal employees go back to work at the mountain carving of four presidents.
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