sturgis

The 75th Sturgis Rally may draw a million bikers to South Dakota the first week of August. Thousands ride through Cody, Wyoming. Why? They like to tour Yellowstone on the way.

Cody city streets are lined with motorcycles. The bikers are spending money in bars, restaurants, hotels, the museum complex and night rodeo. But there are other impacts too.

Phil Farman is the Cody area supervisor of the Wyoming Highway Patrol. He said there’s more traffic, and that leads to accidents.

Northeast Wyoming is gearing up for an influx of people next week during the 75th anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle rally.

The event draws motorcycle enthusiasts from around the country. Hulett town clerk Melissa Bears says it means big business for towns in northeast Wyoming.

“For many of our businesses, what they make this week is what they will try and live on for the entire winter,” she says. “That’s what keeps them open so they can sustain their business for another year.”

For the first year ever, Wyoming and South Dakota Highway Patrols joined up to patrol on the Interstate-90 corridor into the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

This is the 73rd  year the well-known rally has been held in  South Dakota. The number of people attending the rally was probably lower than usual, says Sargent John Townsend of the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

But the number of arrests were lower, too.  He attributes the rally's quiet mood this year to the stronger enforcement presence on the roads.