Culture

​‘An understanding of the Russia Germans’

February 23rd, 2026

By Michael M. Miller

Rev. Salomon Joachim, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Beulah, North Dakota., delivered an address to the Western Conference of the Dakota District of the American Lutheran Church in 1939. His presentation was called: “Toward an Understanding of the Russia Germans.”

Rev. Joachim pointed to the results of the United States Census of 1930. At that time, 103,532 Russian Germans lived in the country.

“The Russia German element is with us to stay,” he said.…

Read more...


​Living history weekend 2026: ND National Guard in WWII

February 16th, 2026

February 28, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

March 1, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

1883 Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site

504 3rd Ave. S.E., Jamestown, ND

The 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse and the 164th Infantry Remembrance Association are joining forces to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the regiment’s participation in WWII. Re-enactors and historians will provide interactive experiences, adding to the ambience of the historic courthouse. Programming will center on military life, the sacrifices made…

Read more...


​Minnesota in winter

February 13th, 2026

By Winona LaDuke

Napoleon LaDuke was my great uncle. I’ve always had a liking for that name. My great uncle was a brown man from the Northwoods who was in World War I and came back “shell shocked.” He wasn’t even a citizen of the U.S. at the time but nevertheless — like many Native people — went across the big water to combat fascism and more. Today, he is buried in a pauper’s grave at the former Fergus Falls mental hospital.

History teaches us if we pay attention. Napoleon…

Read more...


​Angels of the prairie: the role of women in North Dakota folklore

January 15th, 2026

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 it closed down in 2020, after providing the Bismarck area with 50 years of Christmas shopping and grocery runs. Then one day in 2023, it began to snow inside the old department store.

Canticle Productions, founded by Daniel Bielinski, the Chair of Dramatic…

Read more...


​Glückstal Colonies Research Association celebrates 40 years

January 15th, 2026

By Michael M. Miller


This month we join our colleagues in celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Glückstal Colonies Research Association (GCRA). It was founded in January 1986 by Margaret Freeman and Carolyn Wheeler, aided in consultation with Arthur Flegel and Gwen Pritzkau.

The purpose of the GCRA is two-fold. The first goal is to coordinate the efforts of individuals researching descendants of the Glückstal district colonies. The second goal is to locate, gather, organize and…

Read more...


Christmas memories from the Germans from Russia

December 18th, 2025

By Michael Miller

As 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 community. Please email me your Christmas memories at michael.miller@ndsu.edu

Fargo resident Sister Collette Werlinger, born in 1931 on a farm near Napoleon, North Dakota, writes, “I fondly remember Santa coming, but never before dark, the cows were milked, and…

Read more...


​German Russian scholars of note

October 20th, 2025

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

I would like to recognize some of the scholarly Germans from Russia from Canada and USA shared on the GRHC website. There are additional names not included here. If you have suggestions of other names, please contact me.

Monsignor George Aberle (1891-1981), Hague, North Dakota, was born in the Catholic Kutschurgan District villages (today near Odesa, Ukraine). He authored “Pioneers and Their Sons: One Hundred Sixty-Five Family Stories and…

Read more...


‘Phantom of the Opera’ hits the big screen and orchestra pit

October 15th, 2025

By Kooper Shagena

koopershagena@gmail.com

One night, Jane Linde Capistran, associate conductor of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, sat and drank wine with her friends: “Jennifer Tackling, the associate concertmaster, and Elise Buffett Nelson, who’s the principal cellist,” she recalls. “We thought, ‘It would be fun if the symphony could do a Halloween program to engage with the community.’”

They had done a Halloween show in the previous year with just the quartet,…

Read more...


​The enduring power of chamomile

September 16th, 2025

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

The Northwest Blade, from Eureka, South Dakota, published a wonderful story in August 2020. It’s called “Granddaughter keeps Grandmother’s precious chamomile seeds,” by Cindy Schumacher. Cindy wrote about the experiences of Judy Hooff. Judy grew up in Eureka, founded in 1887, once called the “Breadbasket of the World” for its many wheat elevators and the trains that transported the grain to the rest of the country.

When she was a…

Read more...


​FM Pride Week August 3-10

July 29th, 2025

By Alicia Underlee Nelson

alicia@hpr1.com

FM Pride Week returns to the Fargo-Moorhead metro August 3-10. A snapshot of events are listed below. Discover event descriptions and locations as well as volunteer opportunities online at fmpride.com/event/fargo-moorhead-pride.

Sunday, August 3

Theater B, Stage Reading: "I Never Asked for a Gofundme"

Volunteer Kick-off Party

Family Movie Night

Monday, August 4

Family Skate Night

Tuesday, August 5

Celebrating Togetherness

Rainbow Kitten Surprise…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry WurstWest Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry staveq1 Tracker Pixel for Entry Empire Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL2 Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck

Recently in:

By Bryce Vincent HaugenOn Palm Sunday two thousand years ago, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey to directly take on the authoritarian Roman rulers of the region, according to Christian scripture. It was an overtly political…

By Michael M. Miller Rev. Salomon Joachim, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Beulah, North Dakota., delivered an address to the Western Conference of the Dakota District of the American Lutheran Church in 1939. His presentation was…

Thursday, April 16, 6:30-8:30pmFargo Air Museum, 19th Ave. N., FargoNancy Earhart Burt of Hastings, Minn. will be presenting a special multimedia program on the life of Amelia Earhart. Burt also happens to be the famous aviator’s…

By John StrandDisclaimer: This editorial is the work of someone who’s spent most of his adult life working in the media — most of those years co-owning this very entity, the High Plains Reader, since 1996. The notion that folks…

By Ed RaymondDo Christians represent diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) people?Perhaps the “rapture” is on its way. A critic of Project 2025 which Donald Trump “knew nothing about” prior to the 2024 election is moving…

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 Sabrina Hornung There’s a Bosnian saying that states simply, “It’s a sin to throw away bread,” which really resonates with me — especially growing up with grandparents who lived through the Second World War and the Great…

The Slow Death at The AquariumSaturday, March 21, 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…

By Alicia Underlee Nelson Prairie Public and Indie Lens Pop-Up will host free screenings of “The Librarians” — a documentary from Oscar-nominated Director and Producer Kim A. Snyder and Executive Producer Sarah Jessica Parker —…

By Jacinta TensI have been a fan of graffiti since I first saw it as a child. As a kid who was always into some sort of creative endeavor, the movement, colors and intricate details of pieces I would see on trains always fascinated…

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 Liverani In November 2025, the FDA initiated the removal of the “black box” warning from Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The “black box” warning is a FAD safety warning for healthcare providers and patients…

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 HPR StaffI'm a Gen Xer who landed in Fargo in the late '90s, a small town kid who didn't know a soul. By sheer dumb luck I ended up at Ralph's, and that place gave me my people. Lifelong friends, the kind you don't find twice.…