November 22nd, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
cshagen@hpr1.com
The day White Cloud was born on July 10, 1996, ranchers thought she was a trash bag.
“They thought it was a grocery bag lying out there,” said Ken Shirek. Shirek is the owner of Shirek Buffalo Farm in Michigan, North Dakota, and also a director of the North Dakota Buffalo Association. “And they were going to go pick it up and then it took off. It looked way weird.”
White Cloud lived 20 years, passing away quietly in her sleep Monday, November 14,…
November 22nd, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
cshagen@hpr1.com
The woman who nearly had her arm blown off Sunday night at the Backwater Bridge standoff is in stable condition, according to the Standing Rock Medic Healer Council.
Sophia Wilansky, 21, from New York, was hauling drinking water to activists near the front line when a concussion grenade thrown by law enforcement hit her left arm and exploded, according to medic reports.
Law enforcement denies the accusation, claiming a Coleman propane explosion wounded…
November 21st, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
cshagen@hpr1.com
An all-night battle at Backwater Bridge between police and Standing Rock activists left hundreds injured, according to camp medics.
Morton County Sheriff’s Department has reported it planned to remove a blockade on Highway 1806, but has done nothing for three weeks, Tara Houska, national campaigns director for Honor the Earth, said. Instead, when activists attempted to move the blockade, they were met with potentially deadly force.
“They did say they were…
November 19th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
BISMARCK – North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson’s police radio crackled to life; Standing Rock activists were caravanning toward Bismarck.
Troopers patrolling alongside the convoy stayed in constant contact over the radio, watching to see if the activists split up.
“We’ve lost the front part of the convoy,” a voice on the police radio said.
A bulletproof vest and a black cudgel were stowed in the cruiser’s back seat. Iverson’s government-issued Glock…
November 17th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
cshagen@hpr1.com
Election results shocked the nation last week, but it was Measure 5, the legalization of medical marijuana that took the state by surprise.
Medical marijuana, now legal in North Dakota and not considered recreational, will take some time to implement, but patients are already hounding the phones for information. Fargo native Riley Ray Morgan initiated the measure, and it passed with 64 percent of the vote.
“It’s a good day to be alive,” Morgan said. “I…
November 16th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
FARGO – From San Francisco to Washington D.C., Maine and Massachusetts to Arizona, Mandan to Fargo, tens of thousands of activists marched against the Dakota Access Pipeline on Tuesday in a nationwide call to action initiated by the Standing Rock Sioux.
The No DAPL National Day of Action was issued before a long-awaited victory for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and supporters, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers temporarily denied Energy Transfer Partners the rights to…
November 14th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
BISMARCK – The Peace Garden State’s capital city was partially locked down Monday as Standing Rock and approximately 500 supporters hit the city’s streets in defiance of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Balkowitsch, a wet plate photographer, watched his son’s choir concert later Monday evening sing “This Land is Your Land,” and could only feel sadness during the performance.
“You see, just four hours before at this same school there was a mandatory ‘shelter…
November 11th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
CANNONBALL – Standing Rock activists marched on three locations early Friday morning Veterans Day, shutting down highways and rural roads, law enforcement report. A fourth march shut down Highway 6 north of St. Anthony Friday afternoon.
Approximately 30 activists were arrested, North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson said. Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported a total of 33 arrested. Work along the Dakota Access Pipeline was halted.
Law enforcement responded to…
November 10th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
CANNONBALL – Winds are changing, blowing from the south. Ants are returning early to their hives. The seasons are beginning to shift counter-clockwise, former Standing Rock historic preservation officer Tim Mentz Sr. said.
“Today with the elements, they’re changing,” Mentz said. He spoke during a Standing Rock testimonial hearing at Prairie Knights Casino on Wednesday. “Natural law is changing, and the change is coming now.
“If it goes south, devastation is going…