Greenland

The Fourth of July has come and gone. But, events for America’s two hundred and fiftieth are still going on. Earlier this month on APR, our special correspondent James Niiler brought us the story of the annual Rebild Festival in Denmark. It’s an event that celebrates the democratic connection between the Danish and the United States. Political tensions between the two nations helped make this year’s celebration a little tricky. James’ original story was the lead up to this year’s Rebild Festival. He attended this year’s event to see how it would go.

The United States is just days away from celebrating its two hundred and fiftieth anniversary. America isn’t the only nation with a tradition of red, white, and blue bunting and picnics on the Fourth of July. Denmark began celebrating its so called Rebild Festival in 1912 to highlight its support of democracy and connection to the United States. This year appears to have been a little bumpy for a different reason..

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio went to Capitol Hill last week. One subject was Greenland. The Trump administration wants to acquire the island over national security concerns. Rubio told lawmakers that the uproar over within NATO is calming and that talks are underway about how to deal with Trump's demands. APR News focused on Denmark’s 1909 “Alabama Expedition” to explain how long the dispute over Greenland has been going on. The White House’s ambitions prompted a loud response in Denmark last month.

I've been invited to the family home of Astrid Mikkelsen, the great granddaughter of Ejnar Mikkelsen, the man who led the Alabama expedition. We visited her and her family home in a suburb of Copenhagen. The home is full of objects that tell her family's involvement in Greenland.

Donald Trump hasn’t given up on taking possession of Greenland. The White House says it wants the world’s third largest island which is located just east of Canada in the north Atlantic Ocean. APR reports from Denmark on the Alabama connection to the story…