A series of at least two explosions at the finish line of the Boston marathon. As it happens a few of our Publisher's friends are on the ground in Boston because they were watching DWU's own Thomas Madut run in that race. And it's been reported that Thomas was done running 2 hours before the blasts hit Beantown, finishing in 73rd place. All of us here at the Holabird Advocate are sure glad to hear that, because not everyone was so lucky, as the rapidly changing death toll reminds us.

The ears of all of us here at the Holabird Advocate are burning, not because people are talking about us, but because they are talking about State Representative Stace Nelson. People to the left and right of Rep. Nelson keep speculating if he is going to run for US Senator as a spoiler for Mike Rounds, or for Governor as a spoiler for Dennis Daugaard, or will he be content with running for re-election as South Dakota's District 19 Representative.We must admit that we are curious as well. We have no doubt that, if elected, he would serve South Dakota, and it's voters very well in any elected position. As to whether or not he can be elected, that remains to be seen. The thing is, he's gotta run in order to get elected. For now, time is on his side, as he's got a whole year before he has to put the rubber to the road. One thing we do know for sure is that any race, primary or otherwise, with Rep. Nelson in it will be exciting to watch, and to vote in!

Mr. Rogers: Still TV's Best Babysitter by Jerry Hinkle

This morning, I heard a most interesting statistic on the radio. Something like 12.7 million people on the average watch "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" every day. That floored me! That show has been in reruns ever since he retired 12 years ago. Some of the first run shows out there would love to pull down those kind of ratings!

It just goes to show the quality that went into every episode. Mr. Rogers had the ability to convince 12.7 million children that they were an important part of his life, on child at a time, and even though he's dead now, his television neighborhood still thrives. The secret to this success is simple. His TV neighbors, all 12.7 million of them loved him, because he loved them. He told everyone of them that they made every day special just by being themselves. Nobody ever did that before, and sadly nobody else has done it since. And Mr. Rogers was real. He wasn't acting when he told his TV neighbor that he cared about them. His scandal free life and career clearly show that!

I did some digging and found out that Mr. Rogers had a wife and 2 kids outside of his work. Something I'd have never known otherwise. I'm glad to see that he did have a life outside of his work. Not everyone can do that, but then why should we! God be with you and do the best you can!