News

… And justice for some

July 10th, 2019

Design by Raul Gomez

WEST FARGO – March 2018 was an unusually cold and violent month for Fargo. Two standoffs – one of which ended in the death of Justin Dietrich – came days before police responded to Lance Belgarde’s former Horace home, a house he built with his own hands during his approximate 20-year marriage to Kimberly Belgarde.

February had fared little better across the valley. Across the frozen Red River a Minnesota State Patrol trooper shot Melody Gray after she attacked. A Clay County…

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​Blue Cross Blue Shield fined by state Insurance Department

July 9th, 2019

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota building - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO – A yearlong conduct investigation by the North Dakota Insurance Department into Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota resulted with a fine of $125,000 for the insurance company.

The North Dakota Insurance Department looked into Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota’s company operations, insurance fraud reporting, violations on policy form filing laws, failing to process coordination of benefits claims correctly, corporate governance, complaints, mental and behavioral health…

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‘No More Deaths’

July 2nd, 2019

 Protesting concentration camps along southern border - photograph by Melissa Gonzalez

By Melissa Gonzalez
gonzalezme.mmj@gmail.com 

FARGO - Tired of headlines broadcasting inhumane conditions in the “concentration camps” along the southern border, angry that state leaders have done little to voice opposition, nearly a dozen people gathered in front of Senator John Hoeven’s office to make their voices heard.

Two days before Independence Day, nine people - including Representative Ruth Buffalo - displayed protest signs and handed out flyers with photographs of children…

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​Native adoption scammer released to the Centre, Inc.

July 1st, 2019

The Centre Inc. - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO – Six months after receiving a more than four-year sentence, Betty Jo Krenz was released to a minimum-security rehabilitation center.

Krenz, 48, of Woodworth, pleaded guilty in January under the Alford plea, which means she acknowledged there was enough evidence to be convicted, but refused to admit to felony theft of property involving faking adoptions of Native children.

Krenz was released to the Centre in Fargo, or Centre, Inc., according to the North Dakota Department of…

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‘Be Fierce’

June 26th, 2019

Wet plate photograph by Shane Balkowitsch, design by Raul Gomez

BISMARCK– In 2016, Debra Haaland cooked green chili and tortillas at the Standing Rock Sioux camps pitched against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Bringing food was her traditional way of contributing to the fight against the $3.8 billion pipeline.

She stayed in the camps for four days that September, but the environmental cause she came to support has resounded not only within her, but around the world.

“I first saw it on Facebook, but more and more people were coming out here from New…

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​Fargo Officials, Community Members Mull Over Safety of Downtown

June 26th, 2019

Fargo Police cordon area near downtown after shooting in 2018 - photograph by C.S. Hagen

By Melissa Gonzalez
melissam.gonzalez@outlook.com

In the early morning hours of Friday, June 7, Kareem Lee Byrd, 19, and Charles Edward Harris III, 30, allegedly fatally shot Jason “Hollywood” Halvorson at 601 4th St. N, close to his Texas BBQ food truck.

The homicide shocked the downtown district of Fargo. Conversations across social media and news outlets demonstrated peoples’ fear of rising crime in the city that’s coinciding with the growth its experiencing.

According to the…

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​Fight or Flight: King House will remain open

June 21st, 2019

King House Buffet and Kilbourne Group's Block 9 construction in background - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO – The first time Cindy Chen saw snowflakes she fell in love, not only with Fargo – the city – but soon afterwards with her husband, Bojin Chen.

Never in her wildest dreams did she think she’d one day be part owner of King House Buffet, a downtown icon that has changed little in more than 20 years. She’s kept the ambiance and the recipes alive and the same as when she ate there as a customer years ago while studying for her accounting degrees at North Dakota State…

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​‘North Dakota has created a climate to allow hate crimes to exist’

June 19th, 2019

Stephanie Johnson, Michelle Rydz, Kirsten Dauphinais, David Chapman, and Crystal Dueker - members present during the US Commission on Civil Rights meeting - photograph by C.S. Hagen

By C.S. Hagen and Melissa Gonzalez
FARGO – A public meeting to begin laying the groundwork toward establishing better hate crime legislation across the state soured Wednesday afternoon receiving criticism and spurring two people to leave early.

The North Dakota Advisory Committee – a federally appointed group assigned by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 2017 to study and then advise lawmakers on how to address hate speech and hate crimes – is comprised of a total of 11 people…

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Women in Bad Lands

June 12th, 2019

Design by Raul Gomez

THE BADLANDS – “I just want to flip the proverbial bird to North Dakota as I leave,” Sarah Gulenchyn said. She took a last drag off her American Spirit – burned quick to the filter – before stamping it out. The door to her 1989 Toyota 4Runner creaked loudly. Rust claimed much of the siding, but nicknamed the “Zombie Toyota,” the 30-year-old pickup refuses to die.

Sliding behind the steering wheel Gulenchyn – an engineer and oil field project surveyor – is leaving the…

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​My Favorite Martins

June 5th, 2019

Design by Raul Gomez

On Friday comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short will be bringing their unique variety show to the stage at Bluestem. HPR had the opportunity to chat with the two about their friendship, their careers and their big show.

High Plains Reader: Have you ever been to Fargo/Moorhead?

Steve Martin: About a million times, since the late 60s, I’d tour as a comedian. As an opening act for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, I feel like Moorhead was a part of the vocabulary of our travels.

HPR:…

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