October is my favorite time of the year. I love the weather change. I love the fall rallies. I DON’T LOVE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY IN 2020!! I went to Sturgis and had a wonderful time. I did not catch Covid there, and knock on wood so far, I have not been exposed in Florida either. Many of my family and friends have had it and they have nothing to do with motorcycling or crowds. The news has been reporting particularly on Facebook the Covid was a super spreader at Sturgis. FAKE NEWS!!! See the press release explaining the real statistics. Countless cities have cancelled events or limited them due to this fake bull crap!

The San Diego State University IZA study regarding the COVID-19 cases resulting from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is blatantly faulty. The study concludes that nearly 20% of the COVID- 19 cases reported in America from August 2 to September 2 are due to the event. This outrageous conclusion is antithetical to actual case data as numerous State Officials across the United States have been actively seeking to tie any COVID-19 case to the event. Despite these active efforts, fewer than 300 cases have been identified nationwide. The careless ease with which mainstream media outlets have published a report that multiplies that factual data by 1,000 is shameful. The absolute preposterousness of the conclusion is further demonstrated by the results of the community-wide mass testing which occurred after the event, where there were 26 positives cases out of 650 patients tested.

The City of Sturgis holds those affected by COVID-19 in our thoughts and prayers as the virus continues to impact our nation and world. We recognize that individuals were exposed to the virus on their trip to, from, or while at the Rally, but the data reported by health officials across the nation show that the impact from the event was a mere fraction of what was projected and anticipated by many of the experts. The continued media focus on infection and the hope of increased transmission rates and death, following this event are reminiscent of the models that told us that locally our hospitals would be overwhelmed, we would have a massive lack of ventilators, and 3-5% of us would not survive. Fortunately, as we have seen, the underlying assumptions of these