News

Abuse of power?

November 1st, 2018

graphic by Raul Gomez

BISMARCK – After medical marijuana’s Measure 5 was passed by more than 64 percent of North Dakotans in 2016, but before the legislature gutted the measure and enacted laws, André Thom, J.D. worked at a Minnesotan marijuana manufacturing company.

When invited to speak before the legislature Thom asked for a no vote on Senate Bill 2344, because he saw the state stripping the original intent of Measure 5 away. And then he lost his $60,000 a year job because the North Dakota Attorney…

Read more...


Voter suppression begins

October 31st, 2018

Margaret Landin and Dan Francis - Necessary P.O. Box Not Allowed - wet plate collodion photograph by Shane Balkowitsch recently named Shadow Catcher in Hidatsa

BISMARCK – The state’s agenda to suppress the Native vote is already working during early election. A handful of votes have already been denied because their addresses didn’t match the Secretary of State’s confusing database.

The suppression is backfiring, however. Indigenous voters are applying for new IDs in record numbers. Absentee ballots in some reservations have quadrupled. Native voters are fighting back and yet the state remains mostly quiet and callous to Native…

Read more...


Justice for Savanna?

October 31st, 2018

graphics by Raul Gomez

FARGO – Hours after Savanna Lafontaine Greywind’s body was stuffed into a cramped bathroom closet, police came to search Brooke Lynn Crews’s and William Hoehn’s apartment. They found nothing suspicious, not then, not during a second search, nor a third.

The first time police arrived Hoehn was resting on the apartment’s only bed, drinking a beer, playing a video game, with baby Haisley Jo, ripped viciously from her mother’s womb, quiet, wrapped in blankets beside him. 

After…

Read more...


Local Fargo Organizations Plan First Summit for LGBTQ+ Folks

October 31st, 2018


by: Melissa Gonzalez
melissam.gonzalez@outlook.com

North Dakota Human Rights Coalition held an LGBTQ+ Summit over the weekend of Oct. 5-7 at the Baymont Inn in Mandan.

The summit was a historical moment as it was the first statewide gathering for members of the LGBTQ+ community. The goals of the summit were to provide opportunities for networking, support and strategizing for educational opportunities as well as assisting attendees in recognizing their political power.

The North Dakota…

Read more...


​AG behind delayed medical marijuana law, opponent says

October 30th, 2018

Attorney David Thompson and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem

BISMARCK – The differences between two attorneys – one fighting to retain his Attorney General’s seat and the other striving to take it – couldn’t be starker.

Wayne Stenehjem, a Republican, is the longest-serving Attorney General in North Dakota’s history. Tall, peppery-brown haired, he’s a difficult official to reach.

His rival, David Thompson, is gaining political ground online and through a grassroots campaign. Balding and stocky, a juggernaut for personal injury cases…

Read more...


Final sentence issued in Savanna Greywind’s case

October 29th, 2018

William Hoehn arrives at Cass County District Court in prison orange and handcuffs - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO – Although a jury found him innocent of conspiracy to murder Savanna Greywind, William Hoehn received a sentence of life imprisonment plus one year with the possibility of parole Monday morning.

“The injustice has to some extent been minimized,” Greywind family attorney Gloria Allred said.

The sentence came as a surprise to Savanna’s mother, Norberta Greywind, who is now ready to move forward on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women issues, and is first targeting the Fargo…

Read more...


​In Texas, ACA is on the chopping block, at home, a scheduled hearing is postponed

October 25th, 2018

North Dakota Supreme Court petition

BISMARCK – The sudden postponement of a hearing questioning the state joining a federal lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act appears to be a partisan move to benefit Republicans and has prompted an appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court for assistance.

Burleigh County District Court Judge James S. Hill postponed a hearing based on the legality behind North Dakota’s Attorney General joining the state to the Northern District of Texas federal lawsuit against the United States of…

Read more...


The Rest of the World and Us - Rick Steves and Measure 3

October 24th, 2018


by Jacques Harvieux
jacquesthejock@gmail.com

Last Friday national travel host celebrity, activist, and philanthropist Rick Steves paid a visit to North Dakota in order to show his support and to help educate more people on Measure 3 and the coming election in November.

“Guidebook author and travel TV host Rick Steves is America's most respected authority on European travel. Rick took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. As an…

Read more...


​‘Sunshine disinfects’

October 19th, 2018

President of North Dakotans for Public Liberty looks on as Ellen Chaffee speaks about her findings related to lobbyist expenditures - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO – Ellen Chaffee wanted to know how much lobbyists were spending to influence North Dakota legislators. Online searches ended in dead ends. As the founders of North Dakotans for Public Integrity, Chaffee and Dina Butcher knew politicians are treated to dinners on a daily basis in the state’s capital, especially true during legislative sessions, but real data was nowhere to be found.

Not until Chaffee paid $118 to the Secretary of State’s election office under a Freedom of…

Read more...


ALEC-backed legislators behind suppressing vote

October 17th, 2018


Cover by Raul Gomez

BISMARCK– The U.S. Supreme Court decision to support North Dakota’s voter ID laws eliminating the use of postal addresses on identification cards was only a nail in the voting coffin. The effort to suppress Native and rural votes began years ago, and carries corporate bill mill ALEC’s fingerprints all over the fine print. 

The 2009 ALEC-created Voter ID Act, which North Dakota has embraced, states that every voter must show proper identification – and like Wyoming in 2011 the…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry Concordia2 Tracker Pixel for Entry Gruff Tracker Pixel for Entry MidwestRoadTripAdventures Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck Tracker Pixel for Entry 7Clans

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comDairy Queen restaurants across the country will raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals during Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, July 31. At least one dollar from every Blizzard…

By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu The Northwest Blade, from Eureka, South Dakota, published a wonderful story in August 2020. It’s called “Granddaughter keeps Grandmother’s precious chamomile seeds,” by Cindy…

October 3-5, 2025Memorial Union at NDSU, 1401 Administrative Ave., Fargo With the theme of “Existence is Resistance: Healing Through Unity,” this year’s summit will kick off with a professional development day followed by a…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.com Yes, we know, everywhere you look, the world situation is mental. It’s almost inescapable just how tenuous life’s circumstances are. And how they are mostly — pretty much entirely — out of our…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWhat are the four freedoms of Donald John Trump? Nearly a century ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said every citizen in the United States of America should have four freedoms: Freedom from…

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 and Nichole Hensenrickgion@gmail.com The wait is finally over. Those who have visited Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Cafe lately know about the recent major additions and renovations that have taken place over the past…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com As a follow-up to “The Whale,” a raucous adaptation of the first novel in Charlie Huston’s Henry Thompson series was a good choice for eclectic auteur Darren Aronofksy, whose bold visions…

By HPR staffsubmit@hpr1.com Mark the first weekend of October on your calendar. It’s the weekend of the Studio Crawl, which takes us all on a wonderful, metro-wide tour of our talented (and often wacky) arts community. On October…

Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comPenn & Teller are returning to their roots. The legendary magic and comedy duo will appear on the Crown Stage at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, where they first…

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 Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com Loneliness is on the rise in North Dakota, where there is one of the highest rates of people living alone. The challenging winter can be a major contributor, yet North Dakota is not alone.…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…