Embarking on our journey into a new era

By John Strand
Staff Writer

We have some extraordinarily good news to share with our readers, advertisers, and community. HPR has purchased a grand old building in downtown Fargo. The Brownstone on 8th, near NDSU Downtown and the Sons of Norway, just west of the Post Office, will soon be home to the High Plains Reader and our non-profit People’s Press Project, as well as to each owner in upstairs apartment units. The Reader will be moving August 5.

This moment in time is truly one of the more significant and substantial for HPR since its inception in Grand Forks back in 1994. That we will have our own home and a roof over our heads will have a significant long-term positive effect on our operations, our position in the community, and our stability going into the future.

The Brownstone on 8th Street North in Fargo is the only historic Brownstone remaining in Fargo. The Sheriff’s House was the other one, but we know what happened to it. Across the river, to our knowledge, the Dorothy Day House is the only old Brownstone left in Moorhead, and, coincidentally, that building is nearly identical in structure to the one we are purchasing.

This journey to purchase our own home began last November when we saw that Beyond Shelter, Inc., a subsidiary of Fargo Housing Authority, listed the building for sale, we jumped at the opportunity. Because the building is mixed use, residences and commercial, we participated in a program offered through the SBA [Small Business Association] that was a good fit for our situation. State Bank & Trust then partnered with the SBA and HPR to secure financing.

We have moved our office several times. The biggest was to Fargo in 1997, right after the ice storm hit in early April. Little did we know that HPR’s office in Grand Forks would shortly thereafter become a victim to the historic Flood of 1997. Our office in the Black Building became our new base of operations at that point. Five years later, we moved to the top floor of Swanson Health on Broadway, and then five years later, we moved to our current location above Spicy Pie, staying here roughly the same period of time. We’ve been blessed with great landlords and extend our appreciation to them even now, years later.

The Brownstone on 8th will be a fabulous home for HPR, the People’s Press Project, and both owners. It’s historic. It’s downtown. It’s in a quadrant of Fargo experiencing remarkable renovation. And it’s the only old home remaining in the entire block, giving testimony to its grandeur.

Certainly, we have work to do on the structure, especially down the road. Initially, folks will notice some scrub trees cut down in front, opening up the view of the building and out of the building. Soon, we will be putting a brand new roof on the Brownstone, giving new protection for 20 or more years into the future.

The Brownstone’s main floor is accessible with an outside wheelchair elevator lift. And there is parking right on the north side for our customers. Because it’s now owned by private individuals and is no longer held by a non-profit, the building will be back on the property tax rolls, so to speak, which is also good.

Raul Gomez and I have the most heartfelt appreciation for the many, many people who have helped make this building purchase possible, including but not limited to Lynn Fundingsland, Beyond Shelter, Inc., and its board of directors; Darin Bullinger with Lake Agassiz Development Group and the SBA, Doug Burchill at State Bank & Trust, Tom Strand at Goose River Bank in Hatton, Jana Tronier, the Strand family, Jay Nelson with Konrad Olson Commercial Real Estate, The Title Company, Gabe Ekstrom with Anchor Contracting, the folks at Mental Health Association, and, of course, HPR’s customers, advertisers, and readers.

We eagerly journey into a new era with solid foundations from the past underneath our feet, and we do so with the utmost appreciation to the individuals who helped make this happen, and to the army of people out there rooting best they can for The Little Newspaper That Could.

P.S. For HPR readers into ink, we will be hiring folks to do our move August 5 and will be paying them with tattoo credit good at Addictions, 46 & 2, and Below Radar. Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if interested in doing an afternoon of physical labor in exchange for ink on your body by the best tattoo artists in the region.

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