Many Minnesota news outlets have covered the fact that South Dakota’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is once again serving as a COVID-19 super-spreader event that is putting the needs of profit over people.  For instance, the Star Tribune put this excellent article on it’s front page on August 4, 2021:

“Crowds of bikers are rumbling their way towards South Dakota’s Black Hills this week, raising fears that COVID-19 infections will be unleashed among the 700,000 people expected to show up at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

But public health experts warned the massive gathering revved the virus far beyond those who chose to attend. One team of economists argued that the rally set off a chain reaction that resulted in 250,000 cases nationwide. However, that paper was not peer reviewed and was criticized by some top epidemiologists — as well as some bikers — for overestimating the rally’s impact.

While it’s not clear how many cases can be blamed on last year’s rally, it coincided with the start of a sharp increase across the Great Plains that ultimately crescendoed in a deadly winter.

The gathering could potentially power a fresh wave of infections like the one that is currently shattering hospitalization records in parts of the South, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, the director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

“I understand how people want to move on from this pandemic — God knows I want to — but the reality is you can’t ignore it,” he said. “You can’t just tell the virus you’re done with it.”

That’s responsible in-depth reporting.  South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and South Dakota business leaders should be held accountable for putting people in danger to ensure that their local businesses continue to rake in $800 million in sales.

After all, 700,000 coming to Sturgis is an awful lot of people.  But you want to know what is more people?  2,046,533.  That’s the number of people who attended the Minnesota State Fair in 2019, the last time it was held. 

Many State Fair attendees will be coming from rural counties where vaccination rates are pathetically low, such as Clearwater County, where only 33 percent are fully vaccinated. Remember that while you visit with that nice young man in the dairy barn.

Compared to Sturgis, we aren’t hearing the same level of concern raised by the local media about the what has long been billed as the “Great Minnesota Get Together.”  For example, buried in paragraph nine of the August 4 article lambasting Sturgis you will find a passing mention of “state fairs.” That’s it.

To be fair, the Star Tribune did cover this public health-oriented criticism of the Fair:

“A state agency that advocates for Minnesotans with disabilities has announced plans to boycott the Minnesota State Fair over the absence of mask mandates and other safety measures that would help contain the possible spread of the coronavirus.

In a strongly worded letter, the Minnesota Council on Disability criticized state leaders for not requiring masks, vaccines or crowd limits at this year’s fair, which begins in two weeks. As justification for boycotting the 12-day event, the organization cited a recent surge in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, largely driven by the highly contagious delta variant.”

But this is the exception to the rule from local news outlets. The rule is endless giddy promotion, both of the unpaid and paid variety, of the Great Minnesota Infect Together. What new foods will there be? What amazing bands should we all be traveling to see?  How thrilled are Minnesotans to be attending and “back to normal?” 

These State Fair promotions appear alongside national articles reporting that on the dawn of schools re-opening the level of hospitalizations of children for COVID is at a pandemic high. What’s wrong with this picture?

To be sure, Sturgis and the Minnesota State Fair aren’t equivalent.  But both draw people from a large area to attend a multi-day shoulder-to-shoulder event with substantial indoor components.  This is not exactly what the doctor (Fauci) ordered.

Is the under-reporting of the State Fair public health threat due to the heavy State Fair advertising in news outlets? A lack of courage to criticize Minnesota’s ultimate pop culture sacred cow? Something else?  

Whatever is driving it, it’s not the Minnesota news media’s finest hour.