Well, it's not the Corn Palace, but you can literally see it from there if you go outside. The Hinkle family had three solid leads on apartments in Mitchell, and picked up a fourth downtown. The first place we looked at was $300, but not too impressive. The second was $275, and Jerry Hinkle fell in love with the place right way. The only rules at this place were, no smoking, no drinking, no running up and down the stairs, and quiet time at 10:30 pm (No Jimmy Kimmel?). Despite that last rule, Jerry wanted this place even though it was a second story walk up. The third place was another second story walk up. It had fewer stairs, and more room, but was $285. Jerry resisted as best as he could, but knew he was licked. The part of the fewer stairs looked good to Harold Hinkle, as he didn't want to schlep furniture all the way up the second unit. The manager of the building was a former Limousine rancher, so he and Harold bonded at once. Never underestimate the bond between ranchers of the Carcass breed. When the manager stuck his hand out, Jerry thought he wanted to shake on it. What he wanted was the deposit of one month's rent. That's where Mary Hinkle came in, like an angel straight from Heaven. The manager requires a nine month lease, from September to May. He also requires no trouble from tenants, so this could be interesting. Mary asked about Cable TV and Internet, and Allen Hansen will be interested to know that it is available for $60/month extra (OUCH). Looks like Jerry will be going to Radio Shack to look for rabbit ears soon. The McGovern Library also has Internet, and hopefully students get a good rate on that.

Kimball BP is said to have the best popcorn balls in the state. We don't know about that. We will admit they are pretty good. The tasty treat set us back a whole $1.26, which was still cheaper than video Black Jack. They wrap it in about 3 feet of cling film. South Dakota Honey makes this a little less sticky than Karo Syrup. It also makes it softer. The best part is, the popcorn ball had only one old maid. As stated earlier, we don't know if this is the best popcorn ball in the state, but it is the best we've ever had and that's close enough. One could certainly do worse with a dollar, a quarter and a penny.

Last year Amanda Nolz was named "Sexiest Carnivore" mainly because her only competition was Jerry Hinkle. She is also becoming one of the smartest, as evidenced by her website: Chewing the Cud. It seems Ms. Nolz has joined the few, the proud, the bloggers. We found her site this afternoon, and we have been on information overload. This young lady has done her homework. You can also check out her online radio show and see a picture of her standing too close either to a campfire or a swarm of fireflies. Takes guts to do that! On top of everything else, Ms. Nolz is also the National Beef Ambassador. If she is any indication of what a Mitchell education can do, all of us here at the Holabird Advocate are going to be very impressed with our new hometown.