Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) toured 12 counties over five days aboard his Dyna Super Glide on his “RideMI Tour.” He went up the east coast of Michigan then across and down the west coast. He discussed small business, ways to bolster manufacturing and improve Michigan’s infrastructure. Senator Peters, an avid motorcycle rider, stated, “There’s nothing better than seeing Michigan’s gorgeous scenery than by motorcycle.”… Hats off to Andrea Miller from Sauk Centre, Minnesota, who wanted to go to pastry school to learn to bake cakes but decided on being a Harley-Davidson technician instead. She graduated from MMI and was turned down repeatedly for jobs because she is female. Denny Anderson, who owns Andy’s Harley Davidson in Grand Forks, North Dakota, gave her a shot, invested in more training for her, and at 26 years old she is now a Master Technician at the dealership… Michael Brown (33) of Lake Orion, Michigan, was doing burnouts and being loud when the police pulled up to him on the street, so he decided it was time to blast out of there. He ran from the cops and got away. He goes home and boasts on Facebook how he outran the PoPo doing 140 mph in a 35 zone, with the hashtag “#nojailthisweekend.” Somebody shared the post with the police, they contacted him and he turned himself in three weeks later… The Midwest Motorcycle Club out of Bemidji, Minnesota, outdid themselves again this year. President Mike Fraser and the club members presented a check for $6,000 to Camp Courage North on Lake George. The club, which offers therapy for teens and adults with a wide range of disabilities, has been supporting Courage North for the past 34 years… Central Missouri Honor Flight is $11,400 dollars richer after the 5th annual Honor Flight Poker Run held at the Thirsty Hog Saloon in Fulton, Missouri. Over 100 motorcycles took a scenic 129-mile ride and returned to the Saloon for a live auction and a gun raffle… Welcome to the club, Mandy Kuipers of Pierre, South Dakota. Mandy won a 2016 Harley-Davidson Street 750 from Peterson Motors at the Boys and Girls Club of the Capital area at the summer picnic put on by members of the Central South Dakota H.O.G. Chapter… In Marquette, Michigan, on the Upper Peninsula, members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association 35-1 held their annual ride to benefit the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans. The ride left American Legion Post 349 in Little Lake, stopped at the Veterans Home for a small party and presented a check for $5,000 to help pay for any of the small necessities they need to help with daily life… In Champaign, Illinois, the University of Illinois, after just a few years of running the Motorcycle Rider Program that ABATE of Illinois had started and turned over to them, will end the program in November 2017 because of issues with the Illinois DOT. Program Supervisor and Professor Bill Stewart called it “an erosion of mutual respect.” IDOT spokesperson Gianna Urgo said they are looking at area community colleges for training, stating it will be a “stronger, more efficient motorcycle safety training program.” And more money for the state!
That’s it for this month. It’s all about you, the Midwest biker. Ride fast, but ride safe.
