Culture

Songs of Resistance & Civil Rights: African-American spirit in song

February 7th, 2018

The Songs of Resistance & Civil Rights exhibit commemorates the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, with a new exhibit featuring songs from African-American culture.

The exhibit opened last week in the Art Annex of the Roland Dille Center for the Arts on the MSUM campus. MSUM introduces the exhibit as celebrating “the power of African-American music sung during the 20th century crusades for justice and civil rights. Sung by African-American congregations,…

More about monitors

February 7th, 2018

I had a few questions and statements last week about monitors, so I thought I would add to my previous column about them.

One thing that has happened recently is CES 2018. This is the Consumer Electronics Show, held every year in Las Vegas. It is the largest trade show in the world. CES is the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technology. Featuring the largest, global hands-on showcase of emerging innovation, CES represents all aspects of the…

Headphones (or earbuds) don’t always make sense

January 31st, 2018

It turns out that there are problems with any type of listening device. Generally, listening devices fall under three categories: over-the-ear, the earphone encloses the ear completely, on-the ear, the earphone sits on the ear, and earbuds which go into the ear canal.

Over the ear headphones are supposed to seal the ear but when head shape, eyeglasses or hair compromise the seal, bass suffers. The less perfect the seal, the greater the bass losses. Even so, well-designed closed…

An open letter to North Dakota parents and school boards

January 31st, 2018

A Wisconsin school district just had to pay $800,000 to settle a lawsuit with a transgender student. This male student was being forbidden from using the boys bathroom and was put into female groups during activities that split students by gender.

He said in the court document, “The idea of using the girl’s restroom was humiliating and there was no way I could do it. If I were to use the gender-neutral restrooms, I would also stand out from everyone else with a big label on me that…

Real Talk: The Health and Human Services Department is making a mockery of religion

January 26th, 2018

The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced on Thursday the formation of a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division in the HHS Office for Civil Rights.

The purpose of this division is to champion the religious freedoms and personal beliefs of health providers over the public's right to receive necessary care. Make no mistake, this is not about protecting religion, this is about about invoking religion as a means of denying care or discriminating against women and LGBTQ+…

Frostival: heating up the F-M area

January 26th, 2018

Let’s think about what we can do in this severe winter. Check your car battery if it’s still alive. Making sure you’re geared up to go outside.

There are a lot of things could happen, whether good or bad, because we don’t know what’s going to happen in foggy, snowy and windy conditions.

At this point, HPR would love to introduce something that can give you only happiness and extreme fun. Frostival invited all of us to “start with a weekend of games and activities during the…

Monitors and preserving your sight

January 17th, 2018

When I was a young boy of five I was lucky enough to have a black and white TV in our house. I had a lot of friends in those day because I let the whole neighborhood come over on Saturday morning to watch cartoons.

I distinctly remember those days because my mother was constantly yelling at me to not sit so close to the TV because “you’ll ruin your eyesight.” Well, she was right (as usual), but it wasn’t the TV that did it, even though the resolution was horrible on those old…

Inaugural Trans Support Gala

January 17th, 2018

Tristate Transgender, a local trans support group, is putting on a Gala! What’s more, the proceeds of the gala will go towards directly supporting the trans community.

The event will be taking place on Friday, February 9th from 7pm to 1am. It will be at the Courtyard by Marriott Moorhead, which is just off the I-94, along 11th St S in Moorhead. It will be a 21+ event, so be sure to bring your IDs! The event itself is being sponsored by Tristate Transgender, with help from F-M Pride.

I…

End-of-year computer chores

December 27th, 2017

You are a responsible person. I can tell by looking at your eyes as you read this. On April 15, you make sure to file your taxes. You go in for dental check-ups when the dentist sends you a note. You cross the street with the green light.

So if you’re so responsible in all these other aspects of your life, why aren’t you setting aside time to give your computer an annual once-over, too? The way everything runs through our computers, smartphones, and tablets these days, unchecked…

The first Fargo-Moorhead LGBTQ+ health clinic

December 27th, 2017

I am currently working with a medical doctor and the non-profit Community Uplift Program, to create an LGBTQ+ focused healthcare clinic that is designed to keep costs low for patients. This will be the only clinic of its kind within a 250 mile radius of Fargo and I can’t easily put into words how important this will be for the community.