Ball could be counted on for colorful quotation

Retiring Police Chief Frank Ball was famous -- or infamous-- for what he said.

Whether it was a from-the-hip remark or a joke, he always had something to say. Even he admits sometimes he spoke before he thought things through.

Here are some of the more memorable quotes and anecdotes from Ball:

-- "The actions of the city of Nisswa and the Crow Wing County Board regarding the DARE Program are selfish, self-centered and idiotic," Ball said June 23, 1999, in response to Nisswa's and Crow Wing County's decision not to help funding for DARE. Ball later said he was "spanked" by area city officials for his critical comments.

-- "Mick Jagger said in 1968, there's no such thing as bad publicity," Ball said about the movie "Fargo" -- in part set in Brainerd -- in 1996.

-- He was also good at helping people relate. "Your father's 1972 Buick is a lot different that his 1999 Buick," Ball told parents to help them understand the difference in marijuana today compared to when they were kids. "This is some killer weed. This will put you in lethargic la-la. It zombifies your brain."

-- He was famous for loving to be interviewed. Years ago when Dispatch reporters would be interviewing Ball other law enforcement officers would walk by muttering, "Ball said," "Ball said."

-- Once at a drug bust news conference someone asked the street value of a certain amount of drugs. Ball turned to the local reporter and said, "Jim, what do you pay for that on the street?"