[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13648]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY 75TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. ROUNDS. Mr. President, today I wish to commemorate the 
75th anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, taking place this 
week in Sturgis, SD. No single week in the entire year boasts a greater 
influx in the State's overall population than the week of the annual 
event the first week of August. During that week, motorcyclists gather 
together in perhaps the largest bike gathering of all time. This year, 
more than 1 million visitors from across the world are estimated to 
attend the rally--more than the entire population of South Dakota.
  What began as a single motorcycle race in 1938, the weeklong rally 
takes place in the small town of Sturgis in the Black Hills of western 
South Dakota, a normally quiet town with a population of just over 
6,000. During the week of the rally, however, Main Street Sturgis 
evolves into a platform for chrome, leather, and denim, where 
motorcycle enthusiasts and other tourists come to enjoy like-minded 
company, various forms of entertainment, the South Dakota landscape, 
and local food and grub.
  The economic impact of the rally is impressive. A study conducted by 
the Rally Department of the city of Sturgis gauged the economic impact 
of the 2010 rally, which hosted 466,000 attendees, as generating 
roughly $817 million dollars in economic activity for the State. That 
is just in 1 year.
  And not just the city of Sturgis benefits. Though the rally only 
lasts a week, the magnificence of the State often compels visitors to 
stick around even longer. Many attendees travel to South Dakota weeks 
before the rally begins or extend their stay afterward to travel our 
State and take in its beauty and many tourist attractions. With the 
Black Hills National Forest, Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore 
National Monument, and the Crazy Horse Memorial all within driving 
distance, visitors can experience the buzzing commotion of bikers and 
chrome one day and the pristine beauty of South Dakota's Black Hills 
the next. The contrast is captivating, and it boosts economic activity 
throughout the region. By all accounts, this year has been no 
different. It appears the 75th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is 
already off to a great start, and it could very well be a record-
breaking year.
  Rally week is always an exciting time to be in South Dakota, and I 
wish everyone attending this year's rally a safe, happy, and fun-filled 
trip. Congratulations to everyone who has worked to make the rally a 
world-renowned event over the past 75 years. I wish our State and the 
city of Sturgis many more successful years of hosting the Sturgis 
Motorcycle Rally.

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