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.
The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.
WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026
Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.
Class 1A
Paul McNiven – Burlington
Bitner Philpott – Burlington
Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)
Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville
Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)
Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie
Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)
Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)
Corbin Matthews – Lusk
Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)
Jace Westring – Saratoga
Hazen Williams – Saratoga
TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)
Nic Schiller – Upton
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Class 2A
Caleb Adsit – Big Horn
Chase Garber – Big Horn
Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)
Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain
Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni
Kade Mills – Sundance
Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)
Zak Hastie – Thermopolis
Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)
Joseph Kimbrell – Wright
Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)
Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian
Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)
Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian
The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.
Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026
Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns
Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw
A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.
One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.
Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.
“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”
The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”
The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.
It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.
The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.
Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”
Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”
The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.
SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.
Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”
Both bills go into effect July 1.
LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.
Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.
The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.
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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.
The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.
Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.
With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.
Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.
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