Culture

Fargo Moorhead queer radio

May 24th, 2017

I had the privilege of talking to Nemo Siqueiros about their radio program “Finding me”. This program is the first queer radio program in our area and has been running since its debut at the FM Pride last year, with co-host Darcy Corbitt. The program is undergoing a brief hiatus, while it seeks a new co-host, but old episodes can be viewed at http://kpppfm.com/finding-me/.

High Plains Reader: What is “Finding Me”?

Nemo Siqueiros: “Finding Me” helps to continue the mission of…

Early-bird submissions: Human Rights Film and Arts Festival

May 24th, 2017

Human rights issues have been controversial since our communities started developing and becoming aware of ourselves and it has been more difficult, deeper and more profound, to find the right thoughts for human beings.

This time, the North Dakota Human Rights Films and Arts Festival (NDHRFF) will be held at the Fargo Theater in Fargo, North Dakota on November 16 – 17, 2017 and the festival is currently accepting early bird submissions for juried exhibition.

It is a great chance to…

The Republican Party on transgender issues

May 17th, 2017

When Donald Trump won the presidential election last year, with Mike Pence as his running mate, there was a cry of despair from the LGBTQ+ community. It was hard to use Facebook for weeks after, because of the outpour of anger, pain, confusion, and terror LGBTQ+ community members shared.

In response to this outpouring, people claimed that Donald Trump was either an ally to LGBTQ+ people or that he didn’t care about the demographic enough to target it. But ultimately, it was all…

Mama : The First Word

May 11th, 2017

Ad Litteram is a new podcast series on words brought to you by HPR. What better way to begin a series on words than with the first human word?

The episode begins with the story of Joe Medicine Crow, a member of the Crow tribe of Montana. Joe was the first Crow to attend college, earning a master’s degree in anthropology in 1939. And while working on his doctorate a few years later, World War Two broke out.

Joe joined the army and fought with the 103rd Infantry Division. While in…

Isn’t my computer supposed to run faster?

May 10th, 2017

I hear that complaint from friends, relatives, business associates, and the occasional coffee shop customer about their computers running slower now than it did two years old when it was new.

Unfortunately, there are several reasons for this but I just want to cover the easiest ones here. Many computer users don’t realize that Windows needs plenty of room to stretch its legs.

In your daily computing, Windows will routinely swap out blocks of information to the hard drive from its…

How to have effective online conversations

May 10th, 2017

Telling people how to act online is a tricky subject, because it’s hard to come off as anything other than patronizing.

As such, I’m not here to insist that there is any right way to act online, but I am here to share some tools I use to have effective conversations with people who disagree with me and my positions. These tools are not politically associated and I recommend their consideration by every person who uses social media.

Before I go on, I want to share that I didn’t…

North Dakota: a hell for LGBTQ+

May 5th, 2017

Last week I shared why I was leaving North Dakota. The long and short of it is that by moving a few miles across a river I will gain access to healthcare I don’t have here and I will feel safer knowing that I live in a state that protects my rights in housing, public accommodation, and employment.

However, I’m one person and this story is so much more than me. To get a wider perspective I asked LGBTQ+ community members who have moved to share a bit of their story. I asked them why…

The Best of the Best: HPR seeks local heroes

May 4th, 2017

Each week we do our best to set the scene and let you know the whos and whats of Fargo-Moorhead. Once a year we reach out to you, our readers, to put in your two cents for the HPR’s Best of the Best, the area’s longest-running media poll, with over 20 years on the scene.

The voting will all be done online at http://botb2017.hpr1.com/ or via our Facebook page. We set up an online poll in which you nominate your favorite local heroes in the community and tell us where the action is, so…

Madam Melvina Massey and the Crystal Palace

May 3rd, 2017

The surface of the former city hall parking lot had been filled in, was much lower long ago.

It flooded nearly every spring, was called The Hollow, and was Fargo’s red light district, full of illegal swinging-door saloons -- and what are called “female boarding houses” in the old insurance maps.

The most famous house of prostitution in the history of the Red River Valley was Melvina Massey’s Crystal Palace, at what was once 201 Third Street North.

Until recently, there was a…

Printing importance

April 27th, 2017

I have purchased many computer printers in my time, some good, some bad, some terrible! It has always been a necessary evil to have a printer on your desk.

Early dot matrix printers were a nightmare to keep running, keep the paper from jamming, keep the ink cartridges fresh and making sure you made the monthly payment after you charged the printer on your VISA card.

All of that is changed (except for paying for it). You still hear about the headaches caused by printers in the review…