'Hawg' hunters try enticing bikers at new spot
BY PAUL HAMMEL
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
VALENTINE, Neb. - One of Nebraska's most ambitious efforts to corral motorcyclists heading to the massive Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota has moved.
Stoney's Hawg Stop, a tent city of activities for bikers, will set up shop beginning today at a campground along the Niobrara River, just east of Valentine off U.S. Highway 20.
Last year the Hawg Stop operated along U.S. Highway 83 near Brownlee, a remote Sand Hills community south of Valentine. But cold weather and construction on nearby highways resulted in poor attendance.
"If we're going to make this work, we need to be near more people," said Troy Stonacek, a Lincoln salesman who is a partner in the new location, along with Steve Paulsen, food service manager at the Kearney Events Center.
Valentine, Stonacek said, has hundreds of motel rooms, and many bikers are "Holiday Inn campers."
Several Nebraska communities stage special events to attract some of the estimated 500,000 bikers en route to the weeklong Sturgis Rally that officially begins this weekend.
The Hawg Stop in Valentine will operate through Aug. 12.
watch out for cows on highway 2, bros.
cat
