Culture

​Resurrecting Ralph’s Corner

November 16th, 2022

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

Exhibit recreates and examines the iconic bar’s legacy

There’s something to be said about a good bar. The really good ones serve as a sort of community living room, bringing folks from all walks of life under one roof. If you’re really lucky, these sacred spaces can even serve as a cultural hub.

Ralph’s Corner Bar in Moorhead just so happened to be one of those spaces before it was demolished in 2005. Not only was it the oldest bar in the area:…

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​Otter Tail County Historical Society Resurrects Local History

October 20th, 2022

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

Photo provided by Otter Tail County Historical Museum

Who doesn’t love a good ghost story, or better yet, who doesn’t love a good dose of local history or an urban legend from our own backyard?

The Otter Tail County Historical Museum is dishing up a couple of different options chock full of local lore for the Halloween season.

First, the Historical Society will be leading Walking Tours of the Fergus Falls State Hospital and Poor Farm Cemeteries on…

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​Romania to Poland to Germany to Wisconsin: One Family’s Odyssey

September 14th, 2022

By Michael M. Miller 

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

Photo credit: Sabrina Hornung

In May 2022, the Rauter family of Wisconsin visited the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection. Paul Rauter of Osseo, Wis., donated the family history, “Our Life and Struggles of Our Past: The Life Story of David and Ottilie Henke Rauter,” published in 2002. These memories of Ottilie were translated from German to English by Lydia Rauer…

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​A Traditional Cure-all for Just About Anything That Ails You

August 17th, 2022

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

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

When she was a first grader, Judy Hooff lived…

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​Keith Hapip Jr. and His War Against Sinners

July 20th, 2022

By Melissa Van Der Stad 

m.forfargo@gmail.com

photo credit: Keith Hapip, Jr.

One North Dakota family is in the midst of an ongoing dispute with the Protect North Dakota Kids group and its primary member, Keith Hapip, Jr.

The controversial Facebook page has shared a photo featuring three kids, against the express wishes of the childrens’ guardians. When asked to take it down, the page refused.

Raquel…

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​The Very First Turtle Mountain Pride Drag Show

July 20th, 2022

By Eric Hamley

Erichamley@gmail.com

Back in the mid-2000’s, a guy punched me at the bar for dancing with another man. 15 years later I was in drag onstage celebrating the first Pride on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in front of one of my tormentors.

It is very much an indication of how far we have come as a people to accept our Two Spirits who were once revered in the community before the colonized idea that being LGBTQ was sinful. It was an honor to be part of this historic moment…

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​Acting Out

July 20th, 2022

By Sabrina Hornung 

sabrina@hpr1.com

Last month, Chris Stoner, also known as Miss Janessa Jaye Champagne, a 20-year veteran of the North Dakota drag community, was targeted in a variety of posts from the anti-LGBTQ Facebook group Protect North Dakota Kids, prior to an all-ages drag show and brunch that was set for Capital Pride in Bismarck in the middle of June.

Stoner, known for their no-nonsense…

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​F-M Drag United: Other Drag Shows

June 19th, 2022

Selected Summer Events

June

June 21 – Primitive Man 10 Year Anniversary Tour – The Aquarium, Fargo, ND

June 22-27 – Don’t Hug Me Musical – Stage West - POW/MIA Plaza, West Fargo, ND

June 22 – Ryan Necci and The Buffalo Gospel – Dempsey’s Public House, Fargo, ND

June 22- 23 – Annie Jr. – Musical – TAK Music Venue – Dilworth, MN

June 23 - Chase Rice with Alexandra Kay – Outdoors at Fargo Brewing, Fargo, ND

June 23 – The Unlikely Candidates – The Aquarium, Fargo,…

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​‘Be About Love’

June 18th, 2022

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

Photo by Brooklyn Ewing, Dirt Candy Productions

Anti-LGBTQ group targets all-ages drag performers

On June 13, Chris Stoner received a strange notification on their business profile, Miss Janessa Jaye Champagne. “ I was confused at first, because I didn't recognize the group name, but once I looked at the post it was pretty clear what sort of trash they were peddling.” Stoner said.

Stoner, who also goes by their stage name, Janessa Jaye Champagne, is a…

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A Light in the Dust: Pride in Fargo

June 17th, 2022

By Michael Strike

michaelstrike.solo@gmail.com

Photo by Sabrina Hornung

When you passed through the intersection of Broadway and 2nd Ave North Friday evenings recently, you may have noticed a growing presence of colors, community engagement, and PRIDE.

Yes; THAT Pride.

While Fargo, North Dakota 'officially' celebrates pride for one week in August; a growing movement has pushed to bring the celebrations and representations to Downtown Fargo during the historically accurate month-long…

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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.…