Wyoming
Sturgis Rally Has Just Begun, But Bartenders Asking — Where Are The…
STURGIS, South Dakota — Dozens of motorcycles carrying American flags rolled down Main Street in Sturgis, South Dakota, on Friday signaling the start of the annual motorcycle rally.
The rolling procession was part of the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally’s opening ceremony and parade. It also included a welcoming message from the mayor of Sturgis for the 500,000 attendees expected to pack the small Black Hills town over the next nine days.
A member of the military sang the national anthem, and a “blessing of the bikes” was held. With the patriotic pomp and prayer over, it was go time for one of America’s most raucous events.
The odd thing was, the event was over just after 4 p.m.
Not 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. or even high noon, a time befitting of Sturgis’ Western heritage.
Why such a late start to the first day?
“They like to go riding in the morning when it’s cool,” speculated Cassey Weinhold, a bartender at One-Eyed Jack’s Saloon.
Maybe, but it’s also awfully convenient for those waking up late after imbibing a little too much on the eve of the rally, typically a big night for Sturgis bars.
The late-day start seems in-character for a city that published an entire webpage of drink recipes — like Jack’s Tennessee Honey Tea, Grape Sunrise and the Bacardi-infused Arctic Soda — on the official website for the city government.
The rally also remains one of the few major public events in the country that allows open containers, albeit in a zone that stretches about eight blocks on both sides of Main Street. Drinkers must use a special events cups, and only wine and malt beverages are permitted inside them.
Get Them An IV — Stat
This year, Sturgis has at least two vendors offering intravenous fluids to help rehydrate rallygoers.
One of those was Hydration Station IV Lounge, tucked away in the Thunderdome, a cavernous, 38,000-square-foot entertainment center located about 13 miles east of Sturgis that holds concerts and other events during the festival.
On Friday, stunt drivers were peeling out and making tight donuts in the Thunderdome parking lot as part of a rally contest; their junk cars pumping smoke, bits of rubber and screeching loud noise into the 93-degree heat.
But inside the arena, two men relaxed in foldable reclining lawn chairs as if they were in an oasis. Needles jutted out of their arms and saline solution bags dripped fluids over their heads back into them.
“When you’re dehydrated, you’re losing essential nutrients and minerals,” explained business owner Stacy Kenitzer.
It was the first year Kenitzer had opened a vendor booth at the rally. Her brick-and-mortar business is located in Rapid City, South Dakota, where she said she serves mostly people with medical conditions who have a hard time staying hydrated.
She also administers IVs for Rapid City Rush hockey players and rodeo participants, some of whom want to hydrate ahead of their events and others who desperately need to replenish fluids after.
Customers can choose a plain saline IV or one loaded with energy and vitality boosts that include vitamins C, B and magnesium, which helps prevent cramping, a symptom of dehydration.
Kenitzer, who is a registered nurse, said she believes her services would be in demand at Sturgis this year, primarily because so many riders are exposing themselves to 90-degree-plus rides this week.
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Stacy Kenitzer, 56, stands outside her booth for Hydration Station IV Lounge at the Sturgis Thunderdome. (Justin George, Cowboy State Daily) -
It may not look it by the crowds of bikes lining the main drag in Sturgis, South Dakota, but locals say the first day of the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was a little slow. (Justin George, Cowboy State Daily) -
It may not look it by the crowds of bikes lining the main drag in Sturgis, South Dakota, but locals say the first day of the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was a little slow. (Justin George, Cowboy State Daily)
Also Good For Hangovers
Kenitzer also recognizes that some of her clientele will likely be seeking help after rough nights.
Her goal was to serve 100 customers over the 10-day gathering. But by early afternoon Friday, she said she had only hooked IVs to four.
“One was really hungover,” she said. “The others were just dehydrated, overheated.”
A Slow Start
Some wondered why there seemed to be fewer people at the bars on the first day of the rally. Many of Main Street’s establishments that had opened during breakfast hours saw slower-than-normal business, bartenders told Cowboy State Daily.
Was it a case of an aging demographic? Boomers dominated the sidewalks Friday, but the rally has in recent years been getting younger.
The average age of attendees dropped from 53.1 years old in 2015 to 50.8 in 2022, according to a city survey.
At the Oasis Bar and Fireside Lounge, waitress Keri Jones bemoaned the lack of customers by lunchtime. It was her second year working the rally, and to the inexperienced eye, she seemed busy, juggling multiple tables.
But she said she only had four tables to mind. On a good day, she would be waiting on an entire section.
“Oh, looks like he needs a drink,” she said, before running over to a pair sitting at a high top. “I’m telling you, this is not busy. This is dead.”
Jones, like others wasn’t discouraged. It was just Day One. Nine more days to go.
Perhaps much like the rally’s opening ceremony, rallygoers are just getting a late start.
Justin George can be reached at justin@cowboystatedaily.com.
CASPER, Wyo. — High school athletics in Wyoming could see some drastic changes in the coming years following legislative changes to the state’s education budget, the Wyoming High School Activities Association recently announced in a statement.
According to the WHSAA, Wyoming school districts are facing a projected $3.9 million shortfall in activities funding, forcing officials to consider significant cuts to high school sports and extracurricular programs.
The WHSAA shared details regarding a new “silo” funding model implemented by the Legislature, stating that the recalibrated block grant model reduced funding for student activities and extra-duty responsibilities from $46.3 million to $42.4 million, an approximately 8.4% decrease statewide.
WHSAA Commissioner Trevor Wilson said the restructuring also restricts district access to an additional $76.2 million in previously flexible funding.
“A significant portion of the [April 28 WHSAA Board of Directors] meeting was dedicated to discussing the projected funding shortfall,” Wilson wrote.
The WHSAA is weighing several strategies to address rising costs with fewer resources. Proposed changes include eliminating regional tournaments and reducing the number of teams qualifying for state events from eight to four; limiting wrestling to two classes and restricting track and field state participants to the top 16 marks; making cuts to soccer, indoor track and field, Nordic and Alpine skiing, swimming and diving, spring golf and tennis; and reducing in-person speech and debate events by half and centrally locating All-State Music events to minimize travel. The board also recommended increasing gate admission or implementing student participation fees to offset costs.
While the WHSAA release states that no plans have been finalized and the various changes are currently just possibilities, Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees member Mary Schmidt criticized the WHSAA’s handling of the news at Monday’s board meeting.
“I take some issues with this, [including] the sheer fact that we as Board of Trustees members have not talked about that at all,” Schmidt said. “It is not our intent and it has not been brought to us to cut our athletics or activities budget for the upcoming school year. … I take issue with them picking sports and getting the community upset and ginning them up to be upset that this is all going to be cut when that hasn’t been discussed.”
Later in the meeting, Superintendent Angela Hensley clarified that Natrona County School District 1’s athletics and activities budget saw a reduction of roughly $550,000 in the coming year’s budget, but said the local school district does not plan to cut any sports.
“Thank you, Trustee Schmidt, for saying this, because I think people are wondering — we are not planning to cut athletics and activities for next year,” Hensley said. “We do have to take a look at our entire budget as we have talked about, as we learn more about these new rules that come in.”
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Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
Cheyenne City Council has introduced a temporary moratorium, or pause, on new data center construction.
“The end goal is to actually have regulations in place, to have really heavy public involvement with this with data centers,” said Councilman Mark Moody.
The proposed ordinance is not a permanent ban on data centers and would not affect data centers currently under construction.
Councilman Moody says this is a bipartisan issue.
“I just want to make this clear, I’m not against data centers. We do need them from a national security perspective,” he said.
He said there needs to be more public input and regulations regarding data centers in Cheyenne.
The ordinance would require city staff to study data center impacts such as electricity usage, electricity tariffs, closed-loop cooling systems, groundwater impacts, agricultural impacts, and land value.
Cheyenne LEADS, the economic development corporation for Cheyenne and Laramie County, reported in November 2025 that there are 12 operational data centers in Wyoming, five under construction and plans for 43 data centers announced across the state.
“There needs to be more public input with this, and also to see how many we can sustain here in this community, cause there are talks of 43, and then another day 70. How many can we sustain here?” said Councilman Moody.
The proposed moratorium will now go to the Public Services Committee on Monday, May 18 at noon in the Municipal Building.
Sheridan will play in the North Regional Tournament at Gillette, while the South Regional Tournament will be played at Rock Springs.
North Regional Tournament at Gillette:
Checking record vs. highest team in the quadrant not involved in the tie, Thunder Basin gets the #1 Northeast seed over Campbell County, because the Lady Bolts went 3-1 vs. Sheridan, whereas the Lady Camels went 2-2.
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 NE) Thunder Basin vs. (#4 NW) Jackson – 11am
(#2 NW) Natrona County vs. (#3 NE) Sheridan – 11am
(#2 NE) Campbell County vs. (#3 NW) Kelly Walsh – 1pm
(#1 NW) Cody vs. (#4 NE) Worland – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Thunder Basin/Jackson winner vs. Natrona County/Sheridan winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh winner vs. Cody/Worland winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Thunder Basin/Jackson loser vs. Natrona County/Sheridan loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh loser vs. Cody/Worland loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
South Regional Tournament at Rock Springs:
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 SW) Laramie vs. (#4 SE) Torrington – 11am
(#2 SE) Cheyenne East vs. (#3 SW) Green River – 11am
(#2 SW) Rock Springs vs. (#3 SE) Wheatland – 1pm
(#1 SE) Cheyenne Central vs. (#4 SW) Cheyenne South – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Laramie/Torrington winner vs. Cheyenne East/Green River winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Rock Springs/Wheatland winner vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Laramie/Torrington loser vs. Cheyenne East/Green River loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Rock Springs/Wheatland loser vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
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