News

​Abortions on decline even as Roe v. Wade is threatened

November 12th, 2019

Kathryn Kolbert before speaking at a Planned Parenthood event in Fargo - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO — In some places across the state the words Planned Parenthood are spoken as curse words, but the facts say differently: abortions are down, young women are finding information and assistance, and the poor can afford to plan their families.

“It’s always like a curse word until they need the help,” Kathryn “Kitty” Kolbert said before speaking at the 15th annual Progress on the Prairie Planned Parenthood event Tuesday night. “And that’s been my experience over the…

Read more...


I’m going to say goodbye now, Mom: An essay on Alzheimer’s

November 7th, 2019

Cover by Raul Gomez

By Lonna Whiting
lonnawhiting@gmail.com

I’m eating lunch at my desk transcribing an interview from a doctor about the benefits of colonoscopies before age 50.

It’s going to be used in a blog piece I’m ghostwriting for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association as part of Colon Cancer Awareness Month.The doctor’s voice comes through my earbuds, watery, nervous and scripted. They all sound the same like they’re reciting passages from Gray’s Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical…

Read more...


​‘Planned Parenthood Direct’ App expands reproductive healthcare access

November 6th, 2019

In early October, Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS) announced that Planned Parenthood Direct, a free smartphone app, was available for patients in North Dakota. The app, which can be downloaded on Google Play and in the App Store, allows patients across the state to connect with Planned Parenthood’s sexual and reproductive health care providers in order to receive confidential care and home delivery of contraceptives.

The Planned Parenthood Direct app is available for…

Read more...


Walz to Moorhead: Community is ‘critical’

November 6th, 2019

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (left) and Moorhead Mayor Jonathan Judd - photograph by Bryce Haugen

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz comes to Moorhead quite frequently. He campaigned hard last year in this city of 45,000 on the western edge of the state. In January, he brought his multi-city inaugural party - One Minnesota - to Junkyard Brewing. In the months since he’s flown in several times to talk policy with local leaders and attend ceremonies.

Walz returned to town on October 29 as a part of his two-month bonding tour. The goal of the tour is to help the governor and his staff…

Read more...


​‘When you’ve been targeted for death it changes your life’

November 2nd, 2019

A young girl looks on a protest posters containing pictures of the Turkish president - photograph by C.S. Hagen

MOORHEAD — Varseen Khalil stumbled out of bed when the phone rang early one morning last week. Three a.m. calls rarely carry good news. A local friend was on the phone. He had received word from Syria that her uncle, a volunteer fighter in Kurdistan Syria, was shot by Turkish soldiers.

With limited access to information she knows he survived; he was patched up by medics because area hospitals are too dangerous. Even after being severely injured, her uncle refused to return home to Iraq…

Read more...


​The truck that almost changed civil asset forfeiture laws

October 30th, 2019

Design by Raul Gomez

MANDAN — A lone activist delivering a yurt to Dakota Access Pipeline’s protest camps came close to challenging civil asset forfeiture laws, but the state, at the last minute, declined to defend the law in court.

Aaron Dorn, a former National Guard soldier from upstate New York, never intended to stand on the front lines or get arrested in 2016 while Standing Rock and thousands of others protested Energy Transfer Partners oil interests. He simply wanted to deliver a yurt and supplies,…

Read more...


Us, round-eyed millet eaters

October 23rd, 2019

Chinese deity Wei Tuo practicing a middle finger mudra - photograph by C.S. Hagen

TIANJIN, CHINA (PRC) – Blood thirsty, sex crazed demons lurked to the frozen north and beyond the western mountains in what was known to the ancient Chinese as the Great Wilderness.

Toward the setting sun, fiery-haired ogres known as Longlegs prowled. Their eyes were round as teacups and shot green, envious rays when their appetites were aroused. Normally, these Slavic barbarians ate millet.

The northern nomads had surnames such as Hairy Folk, Reap Rage and Drought-ghoul. Their children…

Read more...


‘The world is watching me die, but nobody will come for me’

October 16th, 2019

Design by Raul Gomez, photographs provided by family

MOORHEAD - As a young boy growing up in Kurdish-controlled Iraq, Jahwar Salih played soccer and tennis, dreamed of a college education. Those dreams were smashed after he turned 16; he picked up an AK-47 and joined the Peshmerga to fight Saddam Hussein’s attempted genocide of the Kurds.

Even as a child the threat of extinction was never far away. Chemical gas attacks and superior war machines kept his people on the run. Hundreds of thousands died. Today, after beating the terrorist…

Read more...


More scared of cops than pimps

October 16th, 2019

LeeAnn Lemke, a self-professed sex worker, talks about how she's more afraid of police than pimps - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO – LeeAnn Lemke’s decision to become a sex worker came down to $2,100, she said. Survival drove her into the “world’s oldest trade.” She doesn’t walk Fargo’s streets looking for “Johns. Her clients – at one time up to a dozen local men a day – find her online, through relationships, and through pimps, because a “working girl” on her own won’t last long in what was once known in Asia as the “broken moon society.”

Although nobody forced her to turn to sex…

Read more...


​Huawei, US relations and the future of AI

October 10th, 2019

Huawei Connects 2019 - photograph by Raul Gomez

Huawei: Should you care?
There’s a trade war going on: new tariffs, bans on products, and the American consumer is picking up the tab.

Think about this. Who’s paying for the trade war? When we lose options and competition in the market, who pays for that? When there’s less competition, there’s less innovation. We end up with a room full of fanboys applauding talking emojis and one less button.

The reason we should all care about this trade war is that we are where the buck stops.…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry Kolpack Tracker Pixel for Entry artfest3 Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck Tracker Pixel for Entry GFArtFest Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry Hjemkomst

Recently in:

By Bryce Vincent Haugenbrycevincenthaugen@gmail.comThe High Plains Reader has compiled a guide to inform West Fargo voters about candidates and issues. On June 9, West Fargoans will elect a new mayor —who is running unopposed — as…

By Michael M. Miller Francie M. Berg, native of Hettinger, N.D., edited an impressive book, “Ethnic Heritage in North Dakota,” published in 1983. She grew up on a ranch near Miles City, Montana. Her son, Richard Berg, is…

Thursday, April 23, 7 p.m.Fargodome, 1800 University Dr. N, FargoHeralded as "The Nicest Man in Stand-Up" by The Atlantic, Nate Bargatze is also one of the top-grossing comedians, breaking both streaming and attendance records. Now…

By Sabrina Hornung As the school year comes to a close, a new crop of young people are starting a new chapter in their lives. As a former young person, I’d like to offer my unsolicited advice. As cliche as it may sound, be the…

By Ed RaymondWere women created to do the work of God?One of the first requests made by new Pope Leo XIV was to invite an expert on the alt-right conservative Catholic organization known as Opus Dei to brief him about its…

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 Rick Gion A brand new food event called the "ONE BITE Challenge" will launch in downtown Fargo on May 23. Rocky Schneider, executive director of the Downtown Community Partnership told us more. HPR: Hi Rocky. Thank you for…

By John ShowalterIt’s that time of year again. The long-running battle of the bands at The Aquarium, Battle of the Hamm’s, is entering its twentieth year, and local bands will be facing off against last year’s champs,…

By Greg Carlson The perpetually busy documentarian Morgan Neville profiles the perpetually busy producer Lorne Michaels in another of the moviemaker’s sturdy celebrity profiles. Following closely on the heels of nostalgia…

By Sabrina Hornung The Plains Art Museum has been a trailblazing force in the North Dakota art scene since its inception and it’s not slowing down any time soon. In fact, this summer they are preparing to break ground on a major…

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 Jim Fuglie Okay, here I go again, warning (whining? complaining?) about another threat to the North Dakota badlands. Sorry. Please put up with me for a few hundred more words. Now, some folks I don’t think want to put a…