On Sunday, the South Dakota government reported the first ever circular of accidents, arrests and citations from the Sturgis motorcycle rally in the western part of the state. The annual rally began on Friday, drawing thousands of unmasked riders into the streets and bars of Sturgis.
While organizers said they expected fewer visitors than in other years, the Argus Leader reports that the number of arrests and citations has been higher than last year.
The Ministry of Public Security reported that the police made 84 arrests for driving under the influence or drug-related offences during a 24-hour era from Saturday to Sunday morning. This is last year, when another 76 people were arrested within a period of time.
Police also issued more citations, with another 226 people receiving tickets. That’s 37 more than last year. But as it turns out, police are less lenient this year and are letting fewer people leave with warnings.
To date, the region’s police have reported 18 accidents, compared to 20. None fatal.
Ignoring the millions of cases of coronavirus now being reported in the United States, thousands of motorcyclists converged on Sturgis this weekend for what is counted as the world’s largest cycling event.
“I’ve been here since the beginning of July,” one store owner told CBS News. “People are tired of being at home, you know. That’s why this collection started, it’s freedom.
In June, city officials voted 8-1 to continue the rally, CBS associate KELO reported. In an email to CBS News, Christina Steele, head of public data for the city of Sturgis, said that “the resolution to hold the rally came here after hearing from thousands of attendees who were coming to the event, even though it had been cancelled through the city of Sturgis.
In recent years, the 10-day rally in the city of Sturgis has attracted a lot of thousands of bikers to socialize, drink and party in combination, generating fears that this year’s edition will be a mass market event.
For now, the north-central state is the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic — Meade County, where Sturgis is located, has recorded only one death from the virus, according to state fitness officials. But in the two weeks since, South Dakota has noticed an increase in the percentage of virus tests returning positive — and former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb told Face The Nation that a wave at the moment may be more difficult to control.
“This has become so widespread in the country that it may begin to infect more rural communities that have not been affected so far,” he said.
Some of the bikers who come to the distant states.
South Dakota, from the remarkable mass sculpture of 4 former presidents on Mount Rushmore – where President Donald Trump held a rally last month – is one of the few who has never ordered a lockdown or insisted on wearing a mask.
Participants in Sturgis are encouraged, but not required, to wear masks. There are not many other people to do so.
SoArray as the city’s main street is filled with motorcycles and bars are full of cyclists, there is little evidence of social alienation. Visitors to this 80th edition of the bike rally already exceed the population of 6000 in Sturgis, trapped in the hills of South Dakota.
The rally has long been a huge financial blessing for Sturgis, and the distributors took full credit for it on Sunday.
They sell T-shirts marked “I survived the crown” or “God, Weapons and Trump” or they sell a photomontage of the president dressed in a leather jacket and making an obscene gesture.
While some citizens about the two-wheeled invaders, the state governor warmly embraced them.
“We’re very happy to find what our wonderful state has to offer,” tweeted Kristi Noem, a staunch Republican supporter of Trump.
Caitlin O’Kane contributed to this report.