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STURGIS, SD (AP) – Law enforcement officials announce the first days of this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally were some of the busiest they’ve seen.
Some 700,000 people were expected to celebrate their enthusiasm for motorcycles at the 10-day event that kicked off Friday in the western city of South Dakota.
“There are more people here than in the 31 years I’ve been doing this,” Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin told the Rapid City Journal. On Saturday.
Sturgis and Meade County Law Enforcement are reporting that their calls for service in the early days have increased significantly from previous years.
Sturgis Police Chief Geody VanDewater said officers had issued 207 offenses for open alcohol containers since Friday.
The city allows open containers of beer and wine, but no alcohol, during the rally in certain downtown areas, but drinkers must purchase a special mug to do so.
“You can’t use cans or red cups. You must use the official souvenir cup purchased in the city and have a bracelet, ”VanDewater said.
The chief said only two arrests were made for open container violations because customers were uncooperative with the rest being verbal warnings.
Arrests were also made for drug and traffic offenses, police reported.
The sheriff’s office has responded to dozens of service calls since Friday. Merwin said the highest number of calls were traffic stops and accidents, which so far compared to last year are almost double.
Sturgis skipped the official rally last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but thousands of bikers still flocked to the city, resulting in hundreds of coronavirus infections.
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