June 14th, 2023
By Annie Prafcke
annieprafcke@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 – that Midwestern mashup of mystery meat, creamy Campbell’s soup, frozen veggies and of course, tater tots.
While I identify wholeheartedly as Chinese, I am also adopted and deeply tied to my North Dakotan roots. I now live in Texas and have found that while…
January 15th, 2023
By Jan Syverson
Jan.r.Syverson@gmail.com
For the past 30 years live, stand-up comedy has had a place in the Fargo Moorhead area, Starting with Courtney’s Comedy Club in the former Days Inn Moorhead which closed back in 2016.
The Cellar comedy club, in the basement of the Front Street Tap Room has become the area’s premier spot for weekend shows.
Due to the pandemic of 2020, there was a moment in…
December 15th, 2022
By Spencer Thomas
spencerthomascomedy@gmail.com
My wife and I celebrated our 6th anniversary in Two Harbors, Minn., about 20 miles north of Duluth. If you have not been, it’s a lot of big lake-ness, seagulls, trees and people being polite.
Every meal on the trip, including lunch at Le’s Banh Mi in Fargo on our way out of town, was just excellent. They were all “Holy crap, you try a bite of this” meals. It was either really well done versions of familiar things or exotic food that…
February 24th, 2022
By Sabrina Hornung
sabrina@hpr1.com
Charlie Berens is a man of many hats. The creator of the “Manitowoc Minute” is a newsman, comedian, writer and musician. We had the opportunity to speak with the Wisconsin native about his new book “The Midwest Survival Guide: How We Talk, Love, Work, Drink, and Eat . . . Everything with Ranch,” about why the Midwest is best and even a bit of dating advice.
High Plains Reader: So, you know, I was really excited to hear that you're coming to…
February 26th, 2020
by Kris Gruber
perriex1@gmail.com
Adam Quesnell's last show at The Cellar beneath the Front Street Taproom in Fargo was in early September of 2018. He was embarking on a seminal move from Minneapolis to LA. As always, his comedy was razor sharp, perfectly timed, both nuanced and broad. Local comedy fans can check him out, along with Trevor Anderson and Drew Hehir, on February 28 and 29th.
High Plains Reader spoke to Adam about moving to LA, and his return North.
HIGH PLAINS READER: You are…
February 27th, 2019
Stand-up comedy is traditionally a one-way exchange. Outside of the odd question addressed to a random audience member, the limit of the spectators’ contribution to the conversation is their laughter at the comedy stylings being broadcast in their direction. A talented comedian, however, can seem conversational even within the traditional confines of the stand-up genre.
Take Tom Papa, for example. With an impish grin on his face and a mischievous lilt in his voice, Papa regales…
February 20th, 2019
The first exposure I had to Maria Bamford’s work was on Adult Swim’s comedy sketch show “Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show Great Job”. She was informing the audience about how to properly remove cat hair from their clothes with a lint roller before collapsing into an emotional breakdown about her feelings of inadequacy.
“It turns out I’m very skilled at fake emotional breakdowns,” Bamford said. She has a timid voice, is high-strung, yet bubbling with kindness.
In a career…
October 17th, 2018
Those who have been reading my articles for a while may remember when I interviewed Zachary Tooker about the Level Two Comedy Club at the Radisson in Fargo. While the club may have unfortunately closed, Tooker has not ceased booking comedic talent for the city of Fargo. His latest contribution is bringing a personal favorite comedian of his to the Cellar at Front Street Taproom, Eddie Pepitone.
Pepitone is not only one of Tooker’s personal favorites, but a “cult favorite” as…
September 5th, 2018
In the approximately three years I’ve been writing for the High Plains Reader it seems I’ve always circled back to comedian Adam Quesnell. First, I wrote about his farewell show before he set out from Fargo and the comedy scene that he had a hand in creating to Minneapolis. Later on, I wrote about his live recording of his second album, “Despair II: Social Justice Warlord”. And now, I find myself writing about him again as he prepares for an upcoming show at the Cellar in the…
August 29th, 2018
Not only does the Fargo-Moorhead area have a vibrant music scene, but a burgeoning comedy scene as well. I have had the pleasure of providing coverage for some exciting moments in the Fargo comedy world in the last few years and made some new friends along the way. One of the longer running developments in the Fargo comedy scene is the so-called “Forty Below Comedy Show,” recently I had the privilege of interviewing three of the people involved: Nathan Fulsebakke, Joe…
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By Bryce HaugenAdditional reporting by Alicia Underlee Nelson Five and a half years later and one mile away from George Floyd’s murder, Minneapolis is once again at the epicenter of a law enforcement-related death that has…
By Michael MillerAs the holiday season approaches, I extend Yuletide Best Wishes and a special “Weihnachten” greeting to you and your family. I would like to share with you Christmas memories from our Germans from Russia…
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 Darrell Dorganddorgan695@aol.com I’ve been digging around for information on a company called High Plains Acres. High Plains, which has a presence in Jamestown, Bismarck and five North Dakota counties, owned thousands of acres…
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 Writer-director Naomi Jaye adapts fellow Canadian Martha Baillie’s 2009 novel “The Incident Report” as a potent and introspective character study. Retitled “Darkest Miriam,” Jaye’s movie stars Britt…
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…
Press release“Shakespeare with a sharpened edge.” To launch its 2025 – 2026 season, Theatre NDSU is thrilled to team up with Moorhead-based organization Theatre B to perform a co-production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and…
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…
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Chandler Esslinger Across North Dakota right now, a familiar conversation is resurfacing. We hear the argument that harm reduction “enables” people, that syringe access encourages drug use, that naloxone keeps people…
