Although the official visitor count isn’t out yet for the 81st Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which ended Sunday, the South Dakota Dept of Transportation says the number of vehicles coming into Sturgis was up by nearly 14%.

     The department had traffic counters at 9 locations coming into the city and their total was 525,768 vehicles, a 13.8% increase from last year’s 462,182. 

      While impressive, it’s well short of the 700,000 predicted by some and far below the record 747,000 vehicles recorded for the 75th Rally in 2015.

      The vehicle count this year was higher than last year each of the 10 days of the rally, but the total and percentage of increase fell each of the last 3 days.

       Friday the 13th had 46,431 vehicles enter Sturgis, an 8.8% increase while Saturday the 14th was up 6.9% from the same day last year at 34,683. Sunday’s final day count was the smallest at 21,381 to top last year by only 1.5%. 

       The first Saturday, August 7, had both the largest number of vehicles and the biggest percentage increase from a ago – a jump of 23.1% with 67,482 vehicles coming into Sturgis. 

       The South Dakota Highway Patrol’s official fatality count for the 81st Rally was 4, one fewer than last year, but its tally runs from only 6 AM the first Saturday to 6 AM the second Sunday and there were 2 fatalities on the opening Friday. 

9 Arrested In Sturgis Rally Sex Trafficking Sting

      Nine men, 8 of them from South Dakota, have been arrested as the result of a sex trafficking sting operation during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which ended on Sunday.

       The U-S Attorney’s Office for South Dakota says the operation began August 6, opening day of the Rally, and ended on Thursday the 12th.

       The 8 South Dakota men, ranging in age from 22 to 54, are charged with attempted enticement of a minor using the internet, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. 

       The other defendant is from New York state and is charged with attempted commercial sex trafficking of a minor. That charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

       A local-state-federal task force has conducted similar sex trafficking stings during the Sturgis Rally for several years.