The Associated Press reports that a California company making aftermarket parts for motorcycles is working on moving its operations to Sturgis, SD so that it can use that famous name for marketing purposes.

The company hasn't been identified because some of its California workers will be losing their jobs.

David Boone, the Sturgis City Manager, says about 50 people initially would be employed at the Sturgis plant, which could be built and operating within two years, making parts for Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki, and other brands.

Source: Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Labels: Aftermarket Motorcycle Parts, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Besieged with high property taxes and increasing city costs from its annual motorcycle rally, the town of Sturgis, SD hired its first city manager yesterday.

The move is seen as attempt to leverage the revenues earned from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally to pay for increasing costs created by the rally.

In recent years, the motorcycle rally has swelled with participants into the millions to become the largest rally in the world, not only generating more revenue for local businesses, but also creating more expense in the form of trash hauling, additional law enforcement, and liability insurance.

In addition, it also created more bureaucracy within the city. Five years ago, the city created a special agency called the "rally department". And as the rally grew larger, members of the city council and the mayor had voted themselves pay raises claiming the work they had to do had become so great that it was practically a full time job.

For a long time, residents of Sturgis, SD had been living with the promise that as the rally grew larger, it would generate more city revenues, thus eliminating property taxes.

However, the property taxes never got eliminated. They got bigger.

Bill Cissel, editor of the Meade County Times, said in a commentary that half of the property taxes goes to just paying for the salaries of city department heads...

As I pointed out in an earlier column, it costs Sturgis taxpayers more than $1 million a year just for the salaries and benefits of the department heads. That, of course, doesn't count the wages of the rest of the employees.

To put it in perspective, it takes just about half of our property taxes each year to pay for the city's department heads.

"Our assessed valuation, we're valued at probably 10 times what we would be worth in any nearby town, and that's because of the rally," Davis said. "The city needs to benefit from the rally; the people need to benefit."

Labels: Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Southern Baptists, searching for new ways to get people to listen to the Gospel, are tempting bikers with a vice, a shiny new Harley Davidson.

The Sioux City Journal published an interesting read about how evangelists taking advantage of large biker rallies, by raffling off brand new bikes. If someone agrees to listen to a few minutes of sermon, they receive a free raffle ticket.

You can read the full article here...
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/..../caeb88625734900130b3f.txt

As far as the Southern Baptists are concerned it's working...

This year at the Sturgis event, which attracts close to half a million people, about 4,500 people listened to the sermon and 870 of those made a profession of faith.

"There were many people who said to us they thought people weren't interested in hearing about God at a motorcycle rally," Hamilton said. "We would have considered 50 or so a success. We were blown away by that many people responding."

Labels: Religion, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Harley-Davidson, the iconic American motorcycle company has published a feature on its iconic American website dubbed, "Sturgis Rumblings"...

http://www.harley-davidson.com/....&locale=en_US&bmLocale=en_US

It's a collage of stories and photos from the people who attended the 2007 Sturgis Rally. If you went to the Sturgis Rally this year, then share it with Harley-Davidson, and they'll your story to the list.

Labels: Harley Davidson, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Websites

The Rapid City Journal reported today that Pearl Hoel, affectionately referred to many as the "First Lady of Sturgis" died Sunday at Sturgis Community Health Care Center at the age of 99.

Pearl Hoel cooked dinner for all 150 people who attended the first Sturgis motorcycle event in 1938. In 2004, she remained a high-profile supporter of the Sturgis motorcycle rally, an event that now draws as many as half a million bikers from all over the world.

"Everyone in town referred to her as the First Lady of Sturgis," Pepper Massey-Swan, head of the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame, said. "She loved the event, she loved the people. I don't what we'll do without her."

Labels: Obituaries, Pearl Hoel, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

In South Dakota, the Rapid City Council is proposing to create a motorcycle-only parking area in downtown during the Sturgis Rally. According to the Rapid City Journal:

The committee's recommendation is to limit Sixth Street to motorcycle parking only between the railroad tracks and the alley south of St. Joseph Street for the duration of the rally. Main and St. Joseph streets would remain open to through traffic, but those portions of Sixth Street would only be open to motorcycles, emergency vehicles and delivery vehicles.

Labels: Parking, South Dakota, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally