SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - The state Department of Transportation will no longer allow nonprofit groups to host events at interstate rest stops.

Some groups like the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau would have one or two "welcome" events each year, such as during the Sturgis motorcycle rally. Executive Director Teri Ellis Schmidt says they should continue because they help the state's tourism industry.

The DOT had rules in place for such events, but Greg Fuller in the Transportation Department says it was hard to monitor the events. And he said they sometimes added to traffic congestion at the rest stops and led to littering.