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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SIOUX CITY — Police say a 17-year-old boy was recently arrested for hitting an 80-year-old man with a garbage can outside a Sioux City bar.

What they don’t know is if the teen meant to hit him or if the man happened to be in front of the wrong bar at the wrong time.

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There’s been some interesting things in the Sioux City police log lately, dealing with a wide variety of situations – alcohol, pets, trampolines, flowers and, of course, petty crime of all kind.

None of them were big enough to warrant a story, at least not according to the information I received, but I thought you might find them interesting.

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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Police say two pet baby snakes escaped from a 20-year-old man’s pants pockets as he was driving, leading to a car crash in Hartford, Conn.

Police say Angel Rolon, of New Britain, lost control of his SUV on Monday when the snakes slithered near the gas and brake pedals and he and a passenger tried to catch them. Police say the SUV veered into some parked cars and overturned.

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A 24-year-old Rock Rapids woman left her vehicle running Saturday as she went into a Dollar General store in Rock Rapids. The car jumped the curb and crashed into the store’s front door, according to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.

Heather Rose Wilkerson parked the running vehicle in front of  the Dollar General store at 205 S. Story St. and the vehicle, a 1995 Dodge Intrepid, followed by jumping the curb and striking the front door of the store.

No one was hurt, but the door received about $4,000 in damage and the car had $500 in damage.

Wilkerson was cited for parking without stopping the engine, a simple misdemeanor.

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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