The cops say he came from Wasilla.

Clay County (Iowa) authorities say an Alaskan man was injured this weekend while trying to help out at the scene of a crash involving a 91-year-old woman.

According to a sheriff’s press release, Joseph Beck, of Wasilla, Alaska, was driving in the area when he noticed an accident at the corner of M-50 and B-24 just east of Spencer, Iowa.

As many of you know, Wasilla is famous for being the home of former Republican vice presidential nominee, hockey mom and new author Sarah Palin. (Or, as Vanity Fair likes to say about Palin: “It Came From Wasilla.”)

Police say the accident happened about 4:45 p.m. Saturday when Lois Michelson, 91, of Spencer was turning left from M-50 onto B-24 when her Buick Century hit the side of a Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Jesse Clark, 23, of Spencer.

The impact sent Clark’s vehicle into the ditch.

Police say Beck, who was not involved in the accident, stopped to help.

Things really got interesting, police say, when Clark found out somebody called the cops — and promptly took off.

Beck allegedly saw him leaving, tried to get him to stop and was dragged across the intersection for his efforts.

According to police, Beck suffered a laceration to the back of his head when he fell.

The press release doesn’t say why Clark, likely not the cause of the accident, allegedly decided to flee but the fact one of the charges he faces is driving while license revoked speaks volumes.

The other charge is reckless driving.

Could this be some sneaky sort of media campaign for Palin’s new book, Going Rogue? You know, send out native Wasillans to do good deeds the week your book launches….

Maybe not, but Beck is the first Alaskan I’ve ever seen in a Northwest Iowa accident report.

Then again, if you’re brave you can try asking Palin yourself when she signs copies of her book Dec. 6 at Barnes & Noble in the Southern Hills Mall. As of now, it’s her only stop in Iowa.

A Sioux City woman has been sentenced to prison for stabbing the same man for a second time.

According to court documents, Sandra Edwards, 40, will serve up to two years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated domestic assault for the Aug. 11 stabbing of Tracy Godfrey under the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Sioux City.

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The silence has broken.

Although there have been several filings over the summer in Timothy Sohler’s murder case, most were to postpone court dates or involved regular court procedures.

That’s a stark contrast to the Lawrence Douglas Harris murder case, during which I accumulated two huge stacks of court filings.

However, in the past few weeks attorneys for both sides in the Sohler case have shown a bit more about what we may see when he goes to trial on Oct. 20.

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SIOUX CITY — Thinking about making a late-night run to the corner store to buy some cool refreshing beer?

It’s not a bad idea, but you might want to drive instead of walk.
A Sioux City teen faces a felony robbery charge for allegedly attacking another man and stealing his beer.

According to court documents, Luis Flores, 17, pleaded not guilty Monday to one charge of second-degree robbery, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

This seems to happen a lot in Sioux City.

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NORTH SIOUX CITY — Every once in a while the best part of the story gets away from you.

You get distracted for a few minutes, lose your train of thought and then forget to ask the one question you REALLY want answered.

Sometimes you never get to ask the question, but on days like today you finally get to hear the rest of the story.

In April, North Sioux City authorities hoisted a girl from the base of one of the pilings on the railroad bridge spanning the Big Sioux River. Police said the girl fell while using a homemade tether (it broke) to retrieve a fallen cell phone.

Later, I kicked myself because I forgot to ask if the girl actually got her cell phone. I mean, isn’t that what you wanted to know?

On Friday, North Sioux City Police Sgt. Richard Headid was kind enough to talk about the aftermath while I was interviewing him about his city’s upcoming National Night Out activities.

The original incident left me shaking my head, but it isn’t as good as the rest of the story.

And, no, people did not learn their lesson.

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Two men were injured this weekend in separate robberies with the same ultimate prize — Budweiser beer.

Although there were several instances last year of people stealing beer, including at local Kum and Go gas stations, these are the first alcohol-related robberies to come across my radar this summer.

And, like last year, they were after Budweiser.
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A Sioux City man is scheduled to go to court next week for allegedly biting a police officer during an arrest.

According to court documents, Jonathan Robert Seff, 34, began screaming and yelling at police while they were investigating an early-morning accident Sunday at the corner of 28th Street and Floyd Boulevard in Sioux City.

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Three men allegedly involved in a fight on June 2 were in for a big surprise when they took a dive in the middle of battle.

According to the Sioux City police log, the incident was reported about 8:50 p.m. at 2008 Ingleside Ave.

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Less than two weeks since 3-year-old Evelyn Verdugo Paniagua was killed, there’s already a folder stuffed with court documents from State of Nebraska v. Melecio Camacho-De Jesus sitting on my desk.

The first page, however, isn’t about Camacho-De Jesus – the man arrested for allegedly raping and killing the South Sioux City toddler.

It’s a pamphlet from Evelyn’s public memorial held last week in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.

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It was the head butt heard ’round the entertainment world.

Entertainment web sites (and the wire services) are buzzing with reports of Kiefer Sutherland’s latest escapade: allegedly head butting a fashion designer at a party.

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