News

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…

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​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.…

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​Greta Thunberg at Standing Rock

October 9th, 2019

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg - wet plate photograph by Shane Balkowitsch, design by Raul Gomez

"It’s good to have the youth see this because it’s part of our customs and traditions. Prayer goes a long ways. The messages that they carry are very very strong. For you are the future of our tribe, future leaders of Standing Rock. A lot of tribes look up to Standing Rock for what happened, but I’ll tell you what happened. We stuck up for our rights. We stood up for our rights for clean water cultural resources, you know the oil industry could be here and gone but they’re going…

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​Road rage - crossing the line

October 9th, 2019

Joseph Schumacher's mugshot - Moorhead City Police

MOORHEAD - Police arrested Joseph Schumacher on terroristic threat charges after he brandished a handgun during a politically-charged road rage incident. After Schumacher’s initial court appearance Wednesday morning the charges were reduced to misdemeanors and bond was set at $3,000.

All police reports stemming from the October 7 incident are not being released, but police did report that Schumacher — who had a President Donald Trump bumper sticker on his car — rolled down his window…

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​A truly ‘fake news media’

October 9th, 2019

The main Epoch Times Facebook page banner

Four political earthquakes have shaken international trust at the highest levels, but an additional threat in league with a foreign influential cult has snuck in, and looms over them all.

The first accusations of international collusion were sparked with Russia and the Mueller probe – an attempt to find out how deep Russia influenced the 2016 elections in America. Nearly three years later, U.S. President Donald Trump’s candid pressure of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to…

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Man Arrested on Terroristic Threat Charges

October 7th, 2019

Joseph Schumacher - Moorhead City Police

A difference of political opinions led to the arrest of a West Fargo man Monday afternoon on terroristic charges, according to Moorhead City Police. 

At approximately 12:08 p.m., police were dispatched to the area of 24 Avenue and 8 Street South for a disturbance call, a police report stated. 

The female caller stated she was driving southbound in the 1000 block of 8 Street South when the suspect pulled up next to her and rolled his window down, according to police. The male began yelling…

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​Women’s work: expanding the scope of an exhibit

October 2nd, 2019

Elise Dukart standing in front of her exhibit - photograph provided by SHSND

By Elise Dukart

While most of my internship at the State Historical Society was spent working with collections in the deep recesses of the museum, one of my projects was to create an exhibit commemorating the upcoming 100th anniversary of woman suffrage (right to vote). This meant my work was actually going to be seen by the public, as I was writing, designing, and compiling objects specifically for public viewing. It was an exciting change! While planning for this exhibit, I decided to…

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The First Lady’s magic wand

October 2nd, 2019

North Dakota's First Lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum talking about her experiences with addiction at the Women Connect conference - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO – Amidst a room filled with women, cupcakes, and shared experiences, the state’s First Lady took the stage last week in the Crystal Ball conference room at the Delta Marriott to talk about her passion to rid the stigmas behind addictions.

Kathryn Helgaas-Burgum was once a party girl, she said, blacking out for the first time at Jamestown High School. Later in her professional life she didn’t become a “wine mom,” but more of a “wine girl,” as drinking was the only way…

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​Ruth Anna Buffalo: Woman of the Year

October 2nd, 2019

Ruth Buffalo - wet plate photograph by Shane Balkowitsch

By Lonna Whiting
lonna@lonna.co

“It’s always like this. Always busy,” Ruth Anna Buffalo said during a speaker phone interview while driving a rented cargo van from Bismarck back home to Fargo.

Buffalo, the first Native American Democrat elected to the North Dakota Legislature and a longtime public health advocate, had recently been in Washington, DC, for the Native American Legislators Caucus where she spent time attending roundtable discussions and panels with members of Health and…

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​Citizen undercover

September 24th, 2019

Keith Coates, a certified massage therapist, took it upon himself to investigate human trafficking in area massage parlors - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO – Local men are keeping the trafficking of Chinese sex workers alive in the metro area. From distant Chinese villages, middle-aged women are being circulated across the world through San Gabriel, California and on to Fargo/Moorhead massage parlors.

With promises of happy endings, many of the local Asian massage parlors are offering such special services. The women rarely stay more than half a year before they’re moved to Cyprus, Paris, or back home. Mostly in their 30s, they…

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