Arrests have dropped slightly, however, spending appears to be emerging at the Sturgis motorcycle rally this year, according to local officials.
At Monday’s rally press conference, Sturgis Police Chief Geody VanDewater said his branch had won 65 fewer calls than last year, more arrests for drug offenses and injured were injured.
“Overall, it’s a typical rally similar to last year,” he said.
According to branch data, there were 33 unrelated traffic arrests between Sunday and Monday. There have been 176 in total since the official start of the rally on Friday. Last year, 202 non-traffic-related arrests were made during the first 3 days of the rally.
VanDewater said Saturday night that an organization of others danced in the middle of the street with loud music. He estimated that a few hundred of them participated and dispersed at the request of the police.
Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin said he saw an increase in drug and DUI arrests in the county jail.
He also said that it turns out that there are fewer people walking in the center of Sturgis and more time outside the city limits, such as on the road, the mayor’s excursion and the Legends tour.
On Monday, the Buffalo Chip celebrated its thirteenth annual Legends ride, which featured actor Tom Berenger as the captain of the trip, while breaking his $1 million mark.
According to legends Ride’s website, Buffalo Chip donates to Children’s Home Society, Sky Ranch for Boys, Buffalo Chip Challenge Scholarship Fund, Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame and Special Olympics South Dakota – Rapid City Flame.
Cody Ertman, head of media and public relations at Buffalo Chip, said nearly two hundred motorcycles took part in Monday afternoon’s trip, all of which were involved through donations to charities.
The race festivities included traditional motorcycles, such as a scarlet red Indian Challenger from Lloyd Greer from Pine Bush, New York, and a double electric motorcycle with aluminum hub through Tim McNamer at Ballistic Bicycles.
“I was just looking to do something different,” McNamer said. “It’s not quiet.”
Cyclists of all shapes and sizes drove from Outlaw Square to Deadwood on Nemo Road and crossed Vanocker Canyon Road to return to Buffalo Chip.
Sturgis city director Daniel Ainslie said the city expected fewer demonstrations this year due to COVID-19.
“Months ago we stopped all the advertising and promotion of the event. We also canceled all our activities in the village and everything else in the hope of cutting the numbers,” he said. “The number of first-time visitors is huge and it’s appealing that other people say they’ve been locked up for months and they’re coming here.”
Ainslie also said customer spending is “incredibly high.”
“Spending is much higher than we’ve noticed in recent years, especially since the numbers are lower than we’ve noticed in the last two years,” he said.