Associated Press LUVERNE, Minn. - Motorcyclists will leave Luverne Saturday on a memorial ride for Randy Scott, a Hardwick, Minn., man killed in a traffic collision a year ago with former South Dakota Rep. Bill Janklow.

Several hundreds motorcyclists are expected for a tour that will make at least 10 stops, including the accident site near Trent, S.D.

Proceeds from the ride will go to a scholarship program, the Minnesota Veterans Home and motorcycle safety awareness.
American Jimmy Pedro's toughest test in the Olympic judo tournament could come as early as the round of 16. 

Pedro, a 1996 bronze medalist and four-time Olympian, was placed in the same quadrant of the bracket as world champion Lee Won-hee of South Korea, setting the stage for a dramatic early matchup between two of the top contenders for the 73-kilogram gold medal. 

Lee's only loss since February of 2003 was to Pedro last December. 

The judo draw, announced Thursday night, is determined in part by each athlete's finish at the previous year's world championships -- the top four finishers are separated in the Olympic bracket. But since Pedro did not attend the 2003 world championships, he was placed in the draw at random. 

TREE FROG MUSIC FESTIVAL 
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September 18-19, 2004 Faribault, MN http://www.TreeFrogMusic.org/ 507-333-1631 The Tree Frog Music Festival is a two-day, outdoor music gathering celebrating good food, great art and Minnesota music - from folk to rock, blues, jazz, traditional, rhythm and blues, bluegrass, you name it, they've got it. 

The Tree Frog Music Festival provides fun and activities for the whole family in the beautiful surroundings of Teepee Tonka Park in Faribault on the wooded banks of the Straight River. Over 20 Diverse music Acts will be on hand, including: 
Janis Joplin's original band - Big Brother and The Holding Company (the Saturday night headliner)

STURGIS -- It was arguably the busiest stretch of highway in South Dakota on Friday night, but that didn't stop a mountain lion from trying to cross S.D. Highway 34 near Sturgis City Park about 9:30 p.m.

Unfortunately, the young lion didn't make it across the road. It was struck by a motorcycle and was killed. The couple on the motorcycle, Victor Thomas Patine, 48, and Connie Jena Patine, 42, of Mesa, Ariz., suffered minor injuries, according to the South Dakota Highway Patrol.

Mike Kintigh, regional supervisor for South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department, said he, too, was skeptical when he was told a lion was hit by a motorcycle on the east edge of Sturgis.

But officers at the scene - including a state game warden moonlighting for the Meade County Sheriff's Office during rally week - said they had the body of the dead lion to prove it. So, he headed to Sturgis to pick up the body.

The lion was young and relatively small. Kintigh estimated that it probably weighed less than 50 pounds and was probably not more than a 1-1/2 years old. It was wearing a radio collar.

Bigger big dog Motorcycle firm to close 10th year with sales of $119M By Jerry Siebenmark Wichita Business Journal Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET Aug. 15, 2004 Big Dog Motorcycles LLC expects to end the year with a 47 percent increase in sales, marking its fourth consecutive year of growth. 

Big Dog, founded in 1994 by Sheldon Coleman, is forecasting 2004 sales to top $119 million, surpassing last year's record of $81 million. 

But the company that makes a line of six V-Twin engine motorcycle models priced between $24,000 and $29,000 is also riding a trend in which national motorcycle sales have more than tripled in the nearly 10 years Big Dog has been in business. 

Sustainable growth? 

According to officials from the Motorcycle Industry Council, new unit motorcycle sales have risen consistently since 1994: from 306,000 that year to 996,000 in 2003, says spokeswoman Jen Dreis. 

Coleman says a bigger customer base for Big Dog is men between the ages of 25 and 40. "For us, that (segment has) long-term growth," he says. 

The company is already running out of room despite moving three years ago to its present location to handle production rates that now average about 416 motorcycles a month. 

Coleman, who 10 years ago started with five employees in the garage of his Eastborough home, believes Big Dog's growth is sustainable. 

That growth will be aided by an expanding dealer network that currently numbers nearly 100 but has room to grow to 250, development of products that the market wants -- such as the Big Dog Chopper and Ridgeback -- and efforts to develop brand loyalty through events such as a summer customer rally and celebration that the company plans to make an annual event.

Associated Press STURGIS, S.D. - The 2004 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally "had the feel of the biggest one I've worked," said Police Chief Jim Bush, a veteran of more than 20 rallies.

This year's edition ended Sunday.

It's hard to gauge the size of the rally because the crowd isn't confined to just the downtown area, he said.

"It goes all the way out east to the Buffalo Chip (campground), west to Hulett (Wyo.) and south to Custer. There are more vendors on and people walking Lazelle Street, so they're not just on Main Street anymore," Bush said.

He said he thinks Sturgis could hold 60,000 to 80,000 bikers at any one time.

"As far as the city of Sturgis, we felt it was a very successful rally for us," said Lisa Weyer, rally director. She said she thinks more than 500,000 people attended the 2004 event.

08/16/2004
Janklow Accident Anniversary Remembered
It’s been one year since a fatal accident at a Trent, South Dakota intersection. It happened August 16th, 2003 when then Congressman Bill Janklow ran a stop sign. Motorcyclist Randy Scott was killed in the accident..

Microsoft has issued a list of nearly 50 software applications and games that may encounter problems with its Windows XP Service Pack 2 update. 

In a document published in the "Knowledge Base" section of the company's Web site, Microsoft details the various issues that people may face when they install the SP2 package, which was released to PC manufacturers earlier this month. A range of applications are listed in the Microsoft report, including several of the software maker's own products, along with antivirus tools,Web server software and a handful of games.