Our Opinion/ Look for the full page Best Bets ballot in this week’s Reader - Breaking News

Somewhat of a potpourri this week. With the world’s economic tailspin and the always-present political debate potentials in mind, we defer instead to local topics very close to home. Important things like our annual Best Bets contest and updates on what’s happening here at HPR.

So, first, the Best. If you are by chance an HPR stalwart dating back nearly 15 years, the Best Bets of the Valley contest is not new to you at all. For newbies in the dark, listen up. HPR’s Best Bets contest is the definitive list of the best of the best from music, food and entertainment to art, people, shopping and events. It’s amazing what comes out of our Best Bets balloting. Best of all, it is the voice of the people, our readers; it’s not what we here at HPR think.

And it’s important. Many categories reflect high-level achievement. Others reflect raw talent and skill. A few categories are light hearted while others are as serious as serious can be.

It depends what turns your crank. Some voters are passionate about who is named the best artist or best musician. Others care more who is named best bartender.
Many categories run absolutely neck and neck. Last year, for example, the best band won by the slimmest margin of one vote.

We’ll be giving certificates of award to all first place winners. Those awards will be announced in mid-to-late April. It is always an interesting mix of people.
Look for the full page Best Bets ballot in this week’s Reader. Fill it out and get it back so your voice is heard. The ballot will be published four weeks in a row. One ballot per person. We’ll also be putting the ballot online at hpr1.com.

Every year, we modify the categories somewhat. We try our best to keep up with the times, and in some instances, we want more focus. For example, we’ve modified the band categories so there is a “Best Original Band” and a “Best Cover Band” breakdown. It did not seem right to have them all lumped into the same category. We’ve also fine-tuned several other categories, particularly food and dining listings. And rather than simply the “Best Tattoo Parlor,” or “Best Hair Salon,” we’ve added “Best Tattoo Artist” and “Best Stylist” categories this year.

HPR’s Best Bets contest is a long-standing tradition that all of us take seriously and respect immensely. Send your ballot in immediately. Tell others to vote. Lobby and campaign. But no ballot stuffing, OK?

HPR Update

It’s been a few months now since we announced to the public that Zach Kobrinsky would be taking over HPR’s editorship. Most likely, our readers can already see the early fruition brought under Zach’s leadership.

Initially, our content is morphing. We have new topics and new humor. The “Rubber Chicken” contribution is a hoot, as it is intended to be. The “Que Pasa” bilingual page is more than just a figurative bridge to others in our community (bear in mind, HPR’s publisher and co-owner Raul Gomez is Hispanic). The science column is intriguing, to say the least. Bringing Lynn Gifford on board as a regular theatre reviewer is just plain great news.

One writer wrote a letter to the editor suggesting we change the letters section’s name from Dear John to anything that meant something. You’ll now see a “Mail Bag” letters section, appropriately renamed.

Our web content is also undergoing a very dramatic upgrade. We are soon launching new features and interactive capabilities that will further utilize the 24/7 nature of the web versus a weekly newspaper cycle in print.

Tell us what you think, and give us your best ideas. We truly do love hearing from our readers.

Breaking News

HPR’s strongest presence by far is downtown Fargo—our home, our backyard. We distribute about 1,650 papers in downtown Fargo each week. Come Thursdays and Fridays, you will see dozens upon dozens of folks carrying HPR in their hands.

Beginning Sunday, March 15, we will be launching a new radio program in partnership with Scott Hennen and The Flag (AM1100) that will air from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each week. The “Downtown Show” will feature downtown people, businesses and events. The two-hour program will be an interview format. That, in addition to a Thursday night “Flagpole” program on The Flag, gives readers a hint of the power of synergy or partnerships. While many folks might think of The Flag as right wing conservative and HPR as left wing liberal, truth is we have an awful lot in common as independent entreprenneural ventures planted smack dab in the center of downtown Fargo.

Even though HPR is in its 15th year, we take pride in our abilities to reinvent and to rebuild our business models. We suspect this school of hard knocks training will benefit us and our extended family and business community as we all partner up to weather the bad economic times that affect virtually everyone.

Stay tuned for more news to come.