Former Sioux Falls mayor survives motorcycle crash after colliding with bear in Idaho

Rick Knobe, mayor of Sioux Falls from 1974 to 1984, was airlifted from a clinic in Lowell, Idaho, to Lewiston, Idaho, after breaking seven ribs in a motorcycle crash on Sept. 25. (Submitted photo)

Former Sioux Falls Mayor Rick Knobe is fortunate to have escaped serious injury or death following a motorcycle crash with a black bear last month.

Knobe, 75, was three weeks into what would have otherwise been a month-long motorcycle trip when the 1993 Harley-Davidson Heritage Nostalgia he was riding along U.S. Highway 12 near Lowell, Idaho, collided with the bear.

Knobe told The Dakota Scout that he was unable to avoid the bear after it darted onto the mountain road. He hit the bear “dead center” while traveling at between 45 and 50 mph, according to the Idaho County Free Press.

“In South Dakota, you’re taught to look for deer and cattle. And that’s about it. I wasn’t looking for the bear anomaly,” he said. “I was doing exactly what I was supposed to do. Not driving fast and taking my time. … Literally a nanosecond later, we collided.”

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