The 112th Hobo Day was a success if you ask Grand Pooba Victoria Hansen.
And she’s got some numbers to back it up.
According to Hansen, attendance for the annual parade was up this year with between 35,000 and 40,000 people present.
“We saw an increase in a lot of our numbers, so that was really cool,” Hansen said.
At her update to the Students’ Association Monday, Hansen provided these numbers below:
- 3 participants in 6-month club — meaning no shaving for a month — and all were girls
- 1-month club had 27 participants
- 61 homes hosted over 750 students for Bum-a-Meal
- Rally at the Rails had 700 to 800 in attendance
- Bumover had about 20 teams participate
- About 40 businesses and 38 or 39 student organizations signed up for paint the town
- 22 Bum Bands
SDSU also had a successful day on the field as the Jackrabbit football team defeated Youngstown State 63-13 in a blowout win.
This Hobo Day was also one of the safest in years, according to Brookings Chief of Police, Michael Drake.
“Hobo Day 2024 was a great success,” Drake said. “The community of Brookings partnered with South Dakota State University to provide and participate in one of the most exciting and safest Hobo Days on record. This was all made possible because of the fantastic community we have and our involved partners that came together to have fun, safely.”
The Brookings Police Department saw 18 total arrests, three more from the year prior in 2023.
The most common being DUI’s, at six arrests, and the underage purchase/possession of alcoholic beverages at five arrests.
South Dakota State University’s Police Department says this year’s Hobo Day “fell in line with department expectations.”
Deputy Chief of Police, Michael Kilber, said “There was an increase in overall activity compared to the last few years, but we also saw less serious incidents and arrests than we have in the past.”
The department was fully staffed and was patrolling proactively throughout the entire weekend according to Kilber.
A majority of University Police arrests from Thursday evening into Sunday morning included underage consumption at 67, possession of a revoked or altered license (fake IDs) at eight, and three DUIs.
The University of South Dakota celebrated Dakota Days (D-Days) the same weekend as Hobo Day.
The Vermillion Chief of Police, Crystal Brady, said “Overall, it was a fairly tame D-Days weekend.
According to Brady and the Vermillion Police Department, they issued citations to 36 individuals, with some receiving more than one charge.
There were 17 charges of underage consumption, five individuals were charged with possession of a revoked or altered license, 10 individuals were charged with an open container, and five were charged with DWIs.
Brady also noted these arrest statistics only represented the Vermillion Police Department and not the University Police, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, or the SD Highway Patrol.
