News

​Americans first, not ‘America First’

April 18th, 2018

Tiffany Abentroth - photograph and design by Raul Gomez

FARGO – The day Tiffany Abentroth stood up before a thousand and more Trump-loving Republicans, she knew the GOP blessing was not within reach. She wasn’t even nervous about it. Still a Marine Corps staff sergeant, she squared her shoulders, and delivered the message with a confidence few others shared that day.

Halfway through her speech, ridicule came in loud whispers from within the delegate rows. Many others, however, came up to her afterward, and thanked her for breaking the…

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​A forgotten veteran

April 18th, 2018

Kevin “NeSe” Shores and his box of paperwork, none of which he can read normally due to what he says is Gulf War Syndrome - photograph by C.S. Hagen

MOORHEAD – With fingers twisted by acute arthritis, Kevin “NeSe” Shores pushed the lever to propel his wheelchair into the Clay County Courthouse. His free hand clutched a large white banker box filled with documents. Folded in worn leather rested an iPhone, his digital eyes.

A driver and assistant followed, told him when to steer right, when to stop. At times, he had to push him through a doorway.

“I’m literally going into court blind,” Shores, an Anishinaabe, enrolled in…

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Best of the best 2018

April 11th, 2018

Design by Raul GomezGentle Reader readers we’re looking to start our engines and gear up for the 2018 edition of the HPR’s Best Bets -- the area’s longest-running media poll, with over 20 years on the track.

As you know, each week we do our best to set the scene and let you know the whos and whats of Fargo-Moorhead. Once a year we reach out to you, our readers, to put in your two cents to find the creme de la creme of FM. The voting will all be done online and on our Facebook page. We set up a poll in…

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School board candidate sues ‘Satanic’ police for $75 million

April 11th, 2018

Dr. Radomysl Twardowski - Facebook public pictureFARGO– A retired doctor now running for the Fargo Board of Education once pled guilty to resisting arrest after police said he terrorized his family in 2007.

Dr. Radomysl Twardowski was originally charged with class C felony counts of abuse or neglect of a child, terrorizing and preventing arrest after his son told police that Twardowski had hit him and threatened to kill him and his mother. In 2007, Twardowski cooperated with police and social services, a plea agreement was reached,…

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​Warrant issued in fake Native child adoption case

April 9th, 2018

Betty Jo Krenz in Kevin Cramer's campaign ad - YouTubeJAMESTOWN– Nearly eight months after an Oregon woman first alerted the public to a fake Native adoption scheme, The Stutsman County State’s Attorney’s Office issued a warrant for the arrest of a woman they say is responsible.

Betty Jo Krenz, approximately 47, of Woodward, North Dakota, was charged with two felonies of theft of property and unauthorized use of personal identifying information, and misdemeanor theft of property, according to state records.

Court records did not…

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​‘The wind at our back’

April 7th, 2018

Tiffany Abentroth at the ND GOP Convention - photograph by C.S. HagenGRAND FORKS - To glimpse the colossal struggle for power between left and right in North Dakota, one only needs to attend the party’s conventions. Both sides are desperate, one to restore, one to preserve control, but only one contrarian viewpoint was revealed during the North Dakota Republican Convention this weekend. Tiffany Abentroth. The rest were already firmly buckled into President Donald Trump’s bandwagon. 

Abentroth, a former Marine, did not receive the Republican Party’s…

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​North Dakota voters under attack

April 6th, 2018

March through downtown Fargo - photograph by C.S. HagenFARGO– A subtle attack against North Dakota voters is three-pronged, critics say, and include: gerrymandering, restrictive laws, and attempts at closing voting booths early. Russian interference merged with Cambridge Analytica and Facebook data mining would constitute a fourth prong, a verifiable pitchfork into Democracy’s heart.

Voting hours
A leaked email from the Cass County Auditor’s office describes why they wanted the voting booths closed at 7 p.m., like all other counties in…

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Take one, or else

April 4th, 2018

Design by Raul GomezFARGO – So far, an extra sample boneless Buffalo Wing at Cashwise Foods has cost Zebadiah Gartner $400 in fines and court fees, a $54 ticket to Montana, and two nights at the Cass County Jail, courtesy of the taxpayers.

Gartner, 21, an Anishinaabe, doesn’t remember any signs limiting how many sample pieces he could eat at Cashwise Foods, located at 1401 33rd Street South, in January 2017. He does, however, remember an undercover shopper following him around the store.

“Yeah he was…

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‘You were charged, you appeared, and you pled guilty’

April 2nd, 2018

Zebadiah Gartner after paying $400 fine for piece of chicken - photograph by C.S. HagenFARGO – Zebadiah Gartner worked with family over the weekend to raise money for a fine and court fees to pay for an extra piece of sample chicken he took from Cashwise Foods in January 2017. Family and community pitched in; proceeds from an Indian Taco event helped Gartner raise the needed $500.

On Monday morning, however, expecting Mayor Tim Mahoney’s weekend plea for leniency in his case to have some effect, Gartner was hoping for a lower fine. Fargo’s Municipal Court Judge…

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​Mayor calls for leniency

March 30th, 2018

Zebadiah Gartner participating in murdered and missing Indigenous women march - photograph by C.S. HagenFARGO – So far, an extra sample boneless Buffalo Wing at Cashwise Foods has cost Zebadiah Gartner $500 in fines and court fees, a $54 ticket to Montana, and two nights at the Cass County Jail.

Gartner, 21, an Anishinaabe, doesn’t remember any signs limiting how many sample pieces he could eat at Cashwise Foods in January 2017. He does, however, remember an undercover shopper following him around the store.

“Yeah he was following,” Gartner said. He believes he was profiled. “I…

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