Presidents on Mount Rushmore getting black eye?
South Dakota tourist officials have been getting calls from would-be visitors who say they will shun Mount Rushmore, the state’s No. 1 tourist attraction.
The visitors are not upset at tourist accommodations in the area but are objecting to the state’s nearly complete ban on abortions.
“In an uproar that has taken many South Dakotans by surprise, politicians and state agencies have been bombarded in the past few weeks with thousands and thousands of calls, letters and e-mails — pro and con — from across the country and around the world,” said CNN.com.
Some pro-choice groups have called for a ban on visits to the state.
In the past, Mount Rushmore with its oversize chiseled faces of four US presidents has helped tourism become the state’s second-largest industry, behind only agriculture. Mount Rushmore had almost three million visitors in 2005.
Other popular attractions in the state that could be impacted by any ban include The Badlands, the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis and the Corn Palace. The later arena in Mitchell has walls covered with ears of corn.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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