Dear Editor,
Thunder-Rode, Kingman’s coolest and most unique motorcycle accessories and leather emporium at the corner of 1st and Beale, stepped up once again to honor local heroes by providing free, front-row seating directly on Beale Street for the Andy Devine Days Parade.
Thunder-Rode is dedicated to honoring, respecting, and raising money for Arizona’s veterans and active-duty service members year-round. Providing them a premier view at major local events is a small token of gratitude for the sacrifices they make daily to protect our country.
The shop will provide the exact same front-row seating for the upcoming Veterans Day Parade. However, I am issuing a sharp warning to city officials regarding the upcoming 100-year celebration of Route 66.
Thunder-Rode is ready to host our veterans for the Route 66 Centennial, but it’s time for our City to finally wake up and hold this major, once-in-a-lifetime historic event where it actually belongs – in our beautiful, historic Downtown Kingman. Banishing a historic milestone of this magnitude to an insignificant dog park 2.3 miles away from downtown, within walking distance to absolutely nothing, is a disservice to our local businesses, our community, and the veterans who want to celebrate it here.
I urge city leadership to reconsider its event planning decisions and bring the Centennial celebration back to the heart of the city on Beale Street.
Jack Alexander
Jack is exactly correct on hosting the 100yr celebration downtown and not in a park where nothing is around. Who ever made this decision is not a true Kingmanite with a sense of history to this community and Route 66. As bad a decision as taking the rodeo away from the Andy parade a few yèars ago, or not having the Andy awards before the parade so the Winners can ride in it. Some really bad and thoughtless decisions.
His “letter to the editor” reads more like an advertisement for his business than anything else. I was turned off by that shop from the moment they opened because they made everything about their political loyalty. I’m a Trump supporter myself, but I don’t like when businesses use politics to exclude people or divide the community. It put me off completely, and I’ve never stepped foot in his shop because of it.
If he wants the celebration moved closer to his business, then he should help fund it. That’s how these things work.
Interesting. The Standard had no problem publishing a “letter to the editor” that was basically a free commercial for a motorcycle/leather shop — complete with self‑promotion, bragging, and a request to move a city event closer to their storefront.
But the moment someone points out the obvious — that it was a commercial disguised as a letter, and that if a business wants an event moved for their benefit they should actually fund it — suddenly the comment disappears.
So let’s be honest: it’s not “community discussion,” it’s censorship. You deleted an honest, factual critique because it didn’t flatter your advertiser‑adjacent buddies.
Apparently The Standard doesn’t allow actual opinions, only the ones that make certain businesses look good.
If you’re going to run ads, at least label them as ads. And if you’re going to delete comments, at least admit you’re curating the narrative instead of pretending you support free speech.