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- Big Sky Crack-Up
Jason Boeshore, a grain-elevator manager on the eastern plains of Montana, fired off a rocket this month to the private Signal chat he shares with the 23 other members of the state Democratic Party executive board. He demanded that leaders make clear in newspapers across the state that the Democratic Party would support only Democratic candidates in the fall elections. The response was swift and not to his liking. Shannon O’Brien, the chair of the party, wrote that her staff, not the board, would set the messaging strategy. Then she addressed the unspoken concerns at the heart of Boeshore’s request. “Listen if ANY of you EVER find yourselves questioning my intentions, please call me,” O’Brien wrote. “I will continue to move forward to get Democrats elected. There’s no hidden agenda.”The problem for O’Brien is the belief among Boeshore and many other party stalwarts in Montana that exactly such a hidden agenda exists, pitting national, big-money Democrats—and maybe even some state party leaders—against the state Democratic apparatus. This internecine feud, full of rumors, speculation, and skepticism over the role of outsiders in state races, threatens to spoil one of the last best places for Democrats to pull a Senate majority from a difficult midterm map.At issue is Seth Bodnar, a former University of Montana president who is running as an independent for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Steve Daines. Bodnar, 47, is young, moderate, a veteran, a Rhodes Scholar, and all in all the sort of person Montanans might elect in a year when Republicans are facing the prospect of steep losses amid President Trump’s declining popularity. Democratic mega-donors such as one of LinkedIn co-founders, Reid Hoffman; the cryptocurrency investor Michael Novogratz; and the Microsoft heir Rory Gates are all supporting Bodnar’s campaign, hoping he can yank the seat away from the GOP. Because Bodnar is running as an independent, it means part of his campaign in Montana is based on criticizing Democrats whose voters he needs to support him.Even the candidates running for the Democratic nomination have been drawn into the drama. They, too, are criticizing their own party leaders just weeks before the June 2 primary and seeking to make sure that party bigwigs don’t try to clear a path for Bodnar to face the GOP nominee in November.“There is clearly manipulation trying to happen there,” Alani Bankhead, a former Air Force intelligence officer and Senate hopeful… [TheTopNews] Read More.1 week ago - 2026 Mecum Indy Auction Preview: Unusual and Unexpected
1989 Pulse Autocycle (Lot K46) The clock is ticking down to Dana Mecum’s 39 Annual Spring Classic, known as the Indy auction, which takes place May 8-16 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. As of today (April 21), there are 105 motorcycles listed on the Mecum website that are up for sale at the Indy auction. More are being added each week. In our previous posts, we highlighted classic Harley-Davidsons, Japanese classics, and British beauties. Today we’re taking a closer look at unusual and unexpected motorcycles. 1954 Cushman Eagle 1954 Cushman Eagle (Lot G2) (Lot G2): Before minibikes were the hot thing in the 1960s and ’70s, there were Cushman Eagles. The Cushman scooter company started in 1903 (the same year Harley-Davidson was founded) in Lincoln, Nebraska, by brothers Everett and Clinton Cushman. The company started manufacturing the 4-stroke Husky engine in 1922, and it started making Auto-Glide scooters in 1936. The Cushman Eagle, which resembles a small motorcycle with its exposed engine and top-mounted fuel tank, was made from 1949 to 1965. This example underwent an amateur restoration and was purchased from the Sietsma Collection in 2005. 1961 DKW Hummel 115 1961 DKW Hummel 115 (Lot N16) (Lot N16): DKW was a German car and motorcycle manufacturer that operated from 1916 until 1966. Known as the Hummel (German for “bumblebee”), this 1961 DKW 115 is a masterpiece of Art Deco design. Powered by an air-cooled 49cc 2-stroke single-cylinder engine with a 3-speed manual transmission, the 115 has swooping, Jetsons-esque body panels that exemplify the futurism of the post-WWII era. Mocked by the European press as the “tin banana,” this blue and white example – which is being sold with no reserve – brings a smile to our face. 1965 Harley-Davidson MR50 1965 Harley-Davidson MR50 (Lot G254) (Lot G254): After the “You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda” campaign during the early 1960s led to soaring sales of the easy-to-ride Super Cub, Harley-Davidson decided to get in on the act. In 1960, Harley bought a 50% stake in Italian manufacturer Aermacchi, which built 49cc scooters that were branded as Harley-Davidsons in 1965 and 1966. This example has 2,496 miles on the odometer. It was purchased from a private collector and then put on display at Rocky’s Great Outdoors of Burton, Michigan. It is now being sold as part of the… [TheTopNews] Read More.1 week ago - Truckload Rates Hit Two-Year Highs as Diesel Costs Surge
Rising Diesel Costs Drive Freight Rates Higher Across All Segments Truckload freight rates have reached their highest levels in more than two years, driven largely by surging diesel prices and steady demand. According to DAT Freight & Analytics, both spot and contract rates increased significantly in March. However, much of this growth is tied to fuel cost recovery rather than stronger underlying pricing. At the same time, freight volumes rose across all major equipment types. The DAT Truckload Volume Index (TVI) showed clear gains, reflecting seasonal demand from retail restocking, produce harvests, and construction activity. Key volume increases include: Van TVI: 253, up 12% from February Reefer TVI: 196, up 7% Flatbed TVI: 314, up 18% As a result, demand is improving, but pricing trends tell a more complex story. Spot Rates Rise as Fuel Surcharges Spike Spot rates increased across all equipment types in March. However, the main driver behind these gains was higher fuel surcharges rather than stronger freight demand. Average spot rates reached: Van: $2.52 per mile, up 11 cents Reefer: $2.97 per mile, up 9 cents Flatbed: $3.09 per mile, up 37 cents Year-over-year comparisons show even stronger growth. For example, van rates rose by 53 cents, reefer by 70 cents, and flatbed by 56 cents compared to March 2025. Meanwhile, fuel surcharges surged sharply: Van fuel surcharge jumped from 41 to 61 cents per mile Reefer increased to 67 cents per mile Flatbed climbed to 73 cents per mile Therefore, fuel costs are playing a major role in pushing overall rates higher. Linehaul Rates Show Mixed Performance Despite higher total rates, linehaul pricing—excluding fuel—revealed weaker trends in some segments. This indicates that demand has not fully caught up with rising costs. Van linehaul rates dropped by 9 cents Reefer linehaul rates declined by 13 cents Flatbed linehaul rates increased by 13 cents As a result, carriers are still facing pressure on core pricing, especially in the van and reefer markets. Contract Rates Also Move Higher Contract rates followed a similar upward trend, largely influenced by fuel costs. As bid season continues, pricing strategies are adjusting to market volatility. Average contract rates reached: Van: $2.72 per mile, up 20 cents Reefer: $3.10 per mile, up 22 cents Flatbed: $3.43 per mile, up 30 cents However, industry experts emphasize the importance of flexibility. Many carriers are… [TheTopNews] Read More.1 week ago - An Extra-Embarrassing White House Correspondents’ DinnerEven in the best of times, the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner is an awkward and ethically fraught affair. Journalists spend the evening partying with the president and administration officials whom they’re supposed to cover rigorously and skeptically. I’ve been to the dinner several times over the years. It’s typically crowded and a little chaotic, and the ratio of non-journalists to journalists is about 10 to 1. The evening is promoted as a celebration of journalism and the First Amendment, but it has always been a bit of an embarrassment.These aren’t the best of times for White House correspondents or, for that matter, the First Amendment. And this year’s gala figures to be even more awkward and embarrassing than usual.After declining all invitations to the event throughout his years in office, President Trump informed the White House Correspondents’ Association last month that he would be attending this year’s dinner. His surprising decision sets up a bizarre dynamic: On Saturday night, the president will break bread with the same people he’s spent a decade calling “fake” and “enemies of the people.”[Andrew Ferguson: A republic too fractured to be funny]Trump easily qualifies as the most anti-press president in the dinner’s 105-year history. In just the past 15 months, he has sued news organizations, threatened to jail journalists, and repeatedly suggested taking broadcast licenses away from TV networks that have reported stories he didn’t like. His administration has defunded NPR and PBS, hobbled Voice of America, and driven mainstream journalists out of the Pentagon. A few weeks after Trump assumed office last year, his administration took control of the White House press pool, enabling the president to dictate who covers him when he’s inside the Oval Office, on Air Force One, or at Mar-a-Lago. The WHCA, which had selected pool members for decades, objected to being pushed aside. The White House ignored its protests.This state of affairs raises two questions: What explains Trump’s change of heart about attending the dinner? And why was he invited in the first place?The second question is the easier one to answer. The WHCA has always invited the president to its annual dinner; Calvin Coolidge became the first chief executive to show up in 1924. Trump has accordingly been invited every year that he’s been president, including last year, after he commandeered the press pool. Trump’s motives for accepting the invitation, however, are harder to parse. During his… [TheTopNews] Read More.1 week ago
- Continental SportAttack 5 Motorcycle Tires Review
Confidence means everything on the track, and it’s critically important on the street too. (Photos by Kevin Wing) Recently I spent the day at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway in Desert Center, California, to test the new Continental SportAttack 5 tires. My mission? To see if Continental’s newest supersport tire could serve as a true trackday offering while still performing all the safety and longevity duties of a street tire after the weekend is over and the fantasy of being a professional racer fades into the background. Now, if you are at the dentist and need a snappy summary while the Lidocaine kicks in, I’ll tell it like this: Think of the new ContiSportAttack 5 as a high-performance track tire that also happens to be street legal. That means you can spoon a set on your bike, ride to the track, pound laps all day, and then ride home. There you go. Take care and good luck with that root canal. The fifth-gen ContiSportAttack takes an already proven supersport tire and elevates it to the next level. For the rest of you in the room, Continental markets these tires as 80% street use and only 20% track, but no matter how little track riding you plan to do, the thresholds on a racetrack are so much higher that the tires must be capable of hammering lap after glorious lap if they advertise that they can perform in that environment at all. Simply put, they must get to operating temperatures rapidly without tire warmers, manage stupid lean angles at very high speeds, and handle high sustained heat without getting greasy or losing composure. For a dedicated track tire, sure, but a street tire? That’s a bit trickier. When you find yourself away from the track while living your regular 9-5, these same tires must perform almost immediately after pulling out of the garage and remain sticky and capable no matter how much speeding up or slowing down they encounter on your trip to Applebee’s. They also need to withstand a gazillion heat cycles without losing their pliability. And maybe most importantly, they can’t waste away after a thousand miles. Basically, ContiSportAttack 5s must perform competently in two totally divergent environments. Not easy and not common in a tire offering. After covering some technical details on the new ContiSportAttack 5 at the rider’s meeting, we… [TheTopNews] Read More.1 week ago - Top 5 Motorcycle Roads in Minnesota
Bird’s eye view of the Great River Road. (© Ferrer Photography / Adobe Stock) While the “Star of the North” isn’t conducive to motorcycle riding during winter, Minnesota offers a treasure trove of great roads for motorcyclists to explore in the warmer months. Also known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” the state offers scenic riding alongside lakes and rivers, past impressive dolomite bluffs, and through woodlands and farm country. It’s also where the mighty Mississippi River, America’s second-longest and highest-volume river, starts as just a trickle. The culture is just as rich as the roads, with opportunities to learn about the iron industry, Native American cultures, notable Minnesotans, and more. Scan QR codes above or click links below to view routes on REVER: Route #1: Great River Road National Scenic Byway Route #2: North Shore Scenic Drive Route #3: Skyline Parkway Scenic Byway Route #4: Edge of the Wilderness National Scenic Byway Route #5: Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway Minnesota offers opportunities for outdoor recreation as well. It’s home to 64 state parks, 9 state recreation areas, and 22 scenic byways covering nearly 3,000 miles. While each byway offers its own view of the state, we’ve narrowed the list down to the top five roads for motorcycling, considering curves, elevation changes, points of interest, and variety. If you’re planning a ride in Minnesota, this is a great place to start. See all of Rider‘s Minnesota touring stories here #1 Great River Road National Scenic Byway The scenic byway follows the Mississippi River for 3,000 miles from its source in northern Minnesota to where it pours into the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. (Photo by Chuck Cochran) The Great River Road, which follows the Mississippi River as it passes through and along the edges of 10 states, starts in Minnesota. It meanders for 565 miles through the heart of the state and then south along the Mississippi’s western shore where it forms the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. At Itasca State Park, you can walk across the rocks that mark the start of the Mississippi River. From there, head toward Lake Bemidji to see the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statue. East of Bemidji is Grand Rapids. Following the road south brings riders to Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area and then the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Start… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 weeks ago
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