If he is chosen, Belardo plans to make his sculptures at Monumental Labs, the New York workshop run by Springut, who has said he will front up to $100,000 to help artists who are selected with start-up costs that can be paid back when they get their government checks.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Officials in South Dakota are pushing hard to build President Donald Trump ‘s proposed National Garden of American Heroes in the Black Hills near Mount Rushmore, but the effort has sparked a backlash from Indigenous groups who see the area as sacred.