Photo by Griffin Peterson - Cohen Stone rides through the bike extravaganza cone obstacle course that the MPD put up in the YMCA parking lot. For many youth attendees, it was their favorite part of the event.

MARSHALL — On Wednesday, the city of Marshall and Marshall Police Department held a Bicycle Safety Extravaganza at the YMCA.

The event, which takes place every May before school gets out, had a cone obstacle course outside that children rode their bikes through. Also, an indoor area where attendees could enjoy free food and see some of the booths which were put up by the Marshall Police Department, the local Library, Avera and The Southwest Minnesota health and human services center.

The event gives officers an opportunity to teach community members about bike safety. With the recent road construction and electric scooters that are all across town, it’s something that feels extra important to the police this year.

“Can talk about hand signals you should be using, because bike accidents do happen, and kids sometimes don’t look, so other places that would typically be a quiet street might be a pretty busy street this summer,” event organizer Sgt. Ben Rieke said.

The extravaganza allowed youths to register their bike in case of theft.

“We collect anywhere from probably a couple hundred bikes a year that are always on claim. By registering your bike, it gives us an opportunity to return it to its rightful owner,” Director of Public Safety Jim Marshall said.

Police officers use the event to connect with the community. Marshall said the department wants to build trust with children so they feel safe talking to a police officer or calling 911.

“Number one, just the law enforcement personnel getting the opportunity to interact with kids, the entire department, as many guys as officers as we can have here participate, which builds, you know, that relationship with kids.” Marshall said.

Attendees appreciated the opportunity to learn about bike safety and spend time with the community.

“We go all the time, we go every year. “I think it’s a great program to have,” said Alicia Stone, who attended with her children.

“The obstacle course was the best part,” said her son, Cohen.