News

​Celebrating community and a marriage equality milestone

April 18th, 2024

Alicia Underlee Nelson

alicia@hpr1.com

A midnight wedding ceremony at the Clay County Courthouse in Moorhead on August 1, 2013 was more than a romantic gesture. Eighteen couples made history on that day by exchanging vows in the very first moments after same-sex marriage became legal in Minnesota. The Red River Rainbow Seniors (RRRS) will gather to celebrate this historic milestone, share stories, and inspire the next generation during a Celebration of Community at the Hjemkomst Center

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Fargo Fashion Week puts local businesses, sustainability to the forefront

April 18th, 2024

By Maddie Robinson

maddierobi.mr@gmail.com

Natalie Sparrow’s love for fashion can be traced back to when she was 14 years old.

Throughout her teen years, Sparrow’s dad would record New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week on VHS for her to watch. Afterwards, she studied fashion design at North Dakota State University (NDSU) and has since produced multiple fashion shows with various organizations in the community.

But Sparrow noticed something was missing. Despite its vibrant arts…

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​Sister honored as a part of the National AIDS Memorial Quilt : A retired VCSU professor reflects

April 18th, 2024

By Tammy Jo A. Taft

tammyjo.taft@vcsu.edu

There are some threads, like those between siblings, parents and children, that can withstand the pressures of time, grief and the unknown. Retired VCSU Professor and Lamoure resident Dr. Gary Ketterling knows this well.

Ketterling joined others in the Center for the Arts Gallery at Valley City State University reflecting on literal and figurative threads that connect life, death and all things between. Two pieces of the National AIDS Memorial…

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​Is Summit trying to beat the clock before safety guidelines are established?

February 15th, 2024

By Laura Simmons

laurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu

Gerald Briggs, the Warren County Mississippi Fire/EMS chief, was at a festival in February 2020 when a local law enforcement officer asked him if he had heard about the explosion in Satartia, Mississippi, which is in Yazoo County. Briggs immediately called Jack Willingham, the Yazoo County director of emergency management, who told Briggs there was an unknown explosion and they needed help. Briggs assembled a crew and left for…

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​Your Holiday Give Back Guide

December 18th, 2023

A stress-free way to support local nonprofit organizations

By HPR Staff 

submit@hpr1.com

It’s that time of the year when we all think about giving back to our community. It feels good to help create a little peace and goodwill at a time when the world is especially cold and dark. But there are so many worthy causes (and so much to do during this busy holiday season) that it’s hard…

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North Dakota Has a Rural Child Care Problem. Here’s How to Fix It.

November 14th, 2023

By Maddie Robinson 

maddierobi.mr@gmail.com

In order to get affordable child care for her son, Paulina Erbele has to drive from her work in Gackle, North Dakota to his child care facility an hour away in Wishek and then back home, a total of 80 miles every day.

Erbele, a history teacher who lives 25 miles outside of Gackle, is no stranger to the struggle of finding child care in rural areas.

With all of the…

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Alicia Loves Fargo. Read Her Guidebook and You Will Too.

October 16th, 2023

By Maddie Robinson 

maddierobi.mr@gmail.com

Photos by Alicia Underlee Nelson

Fargo-Moorhead is growing. Rapidly. Its reputation hasn’t quite kept up.

A report by The Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments (Metro COG) stated that the Fargo-Moorhead metro is projected to grow from a population of over 250,000 to about 357,000 people by 2050. This follows the continued growth the area has been experiencing for…

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Engaging in Dialogue: Naomi Oreskes and the Red State Pledge

October 14th, 2023

By Brie Storsved

brie.storsved@gmail.com

Naomi Oreskes is a highly esteemed professor of the history of sciences at Harvard University. Her research focuses on the reality of anthropogenic climate change. With an impressive resume that includes authoring nine books and publishing over 150 scholarly articles, Oreskes is a recognized authority in her field.

Some of her notable books include Why Trust Science? (2019) and Science on a Mission: How Military Funding Shaped What We Do and…

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​Dr. Naomi Oreskes Hits the Road for the Sake of Science

October 2nd, 2023

By Sabrina Hornung 

sabrina@hpr1.com

Photo credit: Kayana Szymczak

Leading Voice on Climate Change to Embark on Three-Stop ND Tour

Internationally celebrated speaker, author, Harvard Professor of History of Science and leading voice on climate change, Dr. Naomi Oreskes will be coming to North Dakota October 3, 4, and 5 as part of her “Red State Pledge.”

In 2019 she said, "It makes you a better scholar and…

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Why Was North Dakota the ‘COVID Death Capital of the World?’

September 20th, 2023

By Laura Simmons

laurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu

Dr. Stephen McDonough researched why North Dakota had the highest COVID death rate and cases in the fall of 2020. His investigation accumulated into a 1,000-plus page book titled “The Power of a Question: Why North Dakota Developed the Greatest COVID Outbreak in the World and How Community Heroes Turned It Around.”

COVID cases are on the rise, and, although McDonough is hopeful that vaccines and natural immunity will prevent a…

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