No Ticket for Fireworks in Beresford, Just a Tour of the Cop Car

On the 4th of July my family and I were hanging out at my parents house in Beresford. My mom made her potato salad and there was other food that wasn't worth remembering.

After dinner we went out to the driveway to set off the fireworks we had picked up in the morning. After setting off the lackluster sparky car, five pretty sweet parachutes, and a handful of other cool stuff, a Beresford Police pickup truck rolls up in front of the house.

"Are we in trouble?" my dad asked as the officer stepped out of the truck.

"No, just here to enjoy the show," Officer Austin Van Horn said.

There was no warning. No commands to cease and desist. He only requested that we not set any of the neighboring houses on fire.

I was about to get out the mortar shells to set off but when I saw the police vehicle I quickly stashed them back in our car. Being astute, Officer Van Horn did request, not command, that we set them off at the gun club just outside of town on the north end.

Then he offered to show my kids and the neighbor girl the inside of his truck, run the lights and siren, and let them try on the handcuffs and sit in the cage in the backseat. Of course everyone got a Beresford police badge sticker afterwards.

Setting off fireworks in city limits isn't illegal in Beresford, within the window of days allowed by state law. We picked up our garbage, especially when cardboard tubes or parachutes landed in the neighbors' yards. Over the years I've had fireworks debris in my yard that wasn't from us. I'm mostly okay with the ordinance against the fiery flying stuff in Sioux Falls, but it was also cool to have Officer Van Horn stop by and chat with us and give the kids a tour.