September 15th, 2021
By Alicia Underlee Nelson
alicia@hpr1.com
Downtown Fargo has a new mural that commemorates a music legend and a Grammy-winning concert. Artist Jeff Knight completed a painting of Duke Ellington on the alley side of the Rhombus Guys building at 606 Main Ave. this summer. The mural features the composer, pianist and band leader at his piano against an aqua background dotted with other musical instruments.
The painting is just steps from the site of the Crystal Ballroom, which stood at the…
September 15th, 2021
By Alicia Underlee Nelson
alicia@hpr1.com
Colorful painted flowers are in bloom along a nondescript stretch of University Dr. in Fargo. Adrian’s Autocare Center, located at 102 N. University Dr., commissioned the street artist known as Shun Oner to create a mural on a wall on the north side of the property.
The mural, which features richly colored flowers on a black background, was completed this summer. It’s visible to motorists as they drive south on University.
“They gave me free…
July 13th, 2021
By Alicia Underlee Nelson
alicia@hpr1.com
Downtown scored a new mural from The Greetings Tour, a project that aims to create a mural in the style of a vintage postcard in every U.S. state. The Downtown Neighborhood Association contacted muralist Victor Ving and photographer Lisa Beggs and helped secure the location on the west side of Orange Records at Roberts Street and 1st Avenue North.
The colorful…
June 15th, 2021
by Kris Gruber
17 June 2021
Along with lemonade and hotdogs, words and images marking the pavement are synonymous with summer. The accessibility of sidewalk art is appealing, but there is something to be said for kicking it up a notch, and bringing it to the street. Chalk festivals showcase artists by using both a commonplace medium and platform to create often mind-blowingly uncommon -- and fleeting -- works of art.
High Plains Reader interviewed Mindi Schmitz, Executive…
April 22nd, 2021
Color Fest: The City of West Fargo wants YOU to help paint the town
By Sabrina Hornung
sabrina@hpr1.com
On Saturday May 8 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, at The Yards on Sheyenne street, the city of West Fargo is hosting Color Fest and inviting the public to roll on out and paint the town--and they’re even providing the paint!
After issuing a call for artists willing to lead a large scale mural project on the streets of downtown West Fargo, the city selected proposals from Leigh Nelson…
November 14th, 2020
By Jill Finkelson
We’ve been hearing the word Unrest a lot lately. Unrest in the streets. Unrest in the capital. Unrest in our own homes as we struggle to hunker down in the face of the unseen pandemic. People are restless. They are angry and scared. There are scenes from across the country, from Minneapolis to Philly to Portland, of people protesting the injustices they continue to come across every day. The images of police brutality that have come out are shocking and horrific. The…
November 12th, 2020
By Jill Finkelson
jsfinkelson99@gmail.com
If there’s a silver lining to being cooped up this year, it is the talented artists inspired and locked up with their supplies. One of those people, to our credit, is local lady Kim Jore of Riverzen Gallery in Moorhead. Her project “Hometown for the Holidays” is a celebration of our small towns. It features 54 small towns within 50 miles of the Fargo-Moorhead area, from Hillsboro to Kenyon. Each one is a unique collage using watercolor,…
October 7th, 2020
By Paul Noot
Artwork by Paul Noot
It was in the middle of March when Bismarck teachers were notified that school would not be going back and within a week schools would need a plan to do distance learning. I would have never imagined that I would be at home, teaching art through distance learning. I not only had to learn Google Classroom, but I also had an art exhibit to prepare for and to adjust to changes.
Teaching face-to-face is not even comparable to distance…
February 19th, 2020
This weekend, the 10th Annual Unglued Craft Fest will be held at the Plains Art Museum, featuring over 70 local and regional artists selling handmade items. Though most are Fargo-Moorhead residents, artists from Minneapolis, Sioux Falls, Bismarck, Des Moines, and Carrington are also taking part.
Products sold will include practical items like pottery, scarves, dish towels, soaps, and bath bombs. For shoppers simply looking for decorative trinkets, there will be stickers, sculptures,…
February 19th, 2020
by Jill Finkelson
jsfinkelson99@gmail.com
We are now in the deep, dark quiet of winter. The wind rages and the snow muffles even the busiest of city streets. People slow down, life seems muted as we try to pass by the cold nights inside with a book and a blanket.The mammals hibernate and the leaves fall and the birds fly south to warmer climes. Except for the crow. The raucous bird caws and screams its way through winter with us and we wouldn’t have it any other way. They may be…
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By Bryce Vincent HaugenAdditional reporting by Alicia Underlee Nelson For the second time this month, federal immigration agents shot an American citizen dead in the streets of south Minneapolis. And for the second time, the…
By Kooper Shagena Just off of I-94 and Highway 83 on State Street in Bismarck, an abandoned Kmart sits behind an empty parking lot, watching the cars roll on and off the interstate exchange. It has been standing there quietly since…
Saturday, January 31, mingling at 6:15 p.m. and program at 7 p.m.Fine Arts Club, 601 4th St. S., FargoThe FM Symphony is getting intimate by launching a “Small Stages” chamber music series and it's bringing folks together via…
By John Strand If you are reading this editorial and you too are worried sick about the state of our country, keep reading. Maybe we can inspire each other. It was near closing time. We were discussing our values crisis. So this…
By Ed RaymondA mind that snapped, cracked, and popped at one hundredI wasn’t going to read a long column called “Centenarian: A Diary of a Hundredth Year” by Calvin Tomkins celebrating his birthday on December 17 of 2025…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick GionSince the much-dreaded Covid years, there has been much ebb and flow in the Fargo-Moorhead restaurant scene. In 2025, that trend continued with some major additions and closings. Let’s start the New Year on a positive…
Saturday, January 17, doors at 7:30 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe Slow Death is a punk supergroup led by Jesse Thorson, with members and collaborators that include members of The Ergs!, Dillinger…
By Greg Carlson The versatile Nia DaCosta follows her underseen and underappreciated “Hedda” (one of my 2025 favorites) with the first female-helmed entry in the 28 Days/Weeks/Years Later series, a fascinating and grisly…
By Jacinta ZensThe Guerrilla Girls, an internationally renowned anonymous feminist art collective, have been bringing attention to the gender and racial imbalances in contemporary art institutions for the last 40 years. They have…
Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com At the beginning of the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas," the Grinch is introduced as having a smaller than average heart, but as the movie progresses, his heart increases three…
January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…
By Vern Thompson Benjamin Franklin offered one of the most sobering warnings in American history. When asked what kind of government the framers had created in 1787, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Few words…
