News

​Fourth police shooting in 2018 sends local man to hospital

March 22nd, 2018

Orlando Estrada - Fargo Police DepartmentFARGO - Fargo police responded to a domestic dispute on Wednesday approximately 11:30 p.m. at 3101 32 Street South. After issuing commands for the male involved, Orlando Estrada, 28, to exit the apartment, Estrada reportedly brandished a large knife.

“An officer, who feared for his life, fired his service weapon striking Estrada,” a police press release stated. “Estrada retreated into the apartment and secured the door.”

After being shot in the side, and before being arrested,…

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​Puddles keeps on keepin’ on

March 21st, 2018

Puddles - photograph by Emily Butler PhotographyThe High Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview Puddles of Puddles Pity Party. The clown is known for his golden singing voice but chooses to remain silent in his everyday life -- but granted us an exclusive interview via email on his performance on America’s Got Talent, his experience with Postmodern Jukebox and what fuels his sadness.

High Plains Reader: Where or rather how did you find your golden voice?

Puddles: My MeeMaw says I came into this world singing a respectable…

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​One bad little sister: Patricia McCoy in her own words

March 21st, 2018

Patricia McCoy cover, photograph by Meg Luther Lindholm, design by Raul GomezBy Meg Luther Lindholm
meglutherlindholm@gmail.com

Patricia McCoy would say that her life journey has taken her to hell and back. She has survived experiences that would kill many, including drugs, five prison terms, and attempts by others to rob her of her life. She grew up in Chicago and Milwaukee, where life was a battleground and toughness and survival went hand in hand. Initially she had hopes for escaping the hardscrabble life she inherited. She worked hard to win a college…

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‘My spirit was broken’

March 21st, 2018

Laycie Jean Williams - photograph provided by Melanie StonemanST. PAUL – When Laycie Jean Williams accepted a train ticket to the Twin Cities in May 2017, she thought she was going to protest another pipeline. She’d already spent time on the frontlines at Standing Rock. As a new mother and a strong Dakota woman from the Crow Creek Tribe, eager to defend Native and environmental rights, she was tricked, she said, held captive for two weeks, threatened with knives, a long gun, beaten, raped, forced to kneel on a broomstick, and strangled into…

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LionsWay2

March 20th, 2018

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​Heitkamp defends bank regulatory rollback bill

March 19th, 2018

Senator Heidi Heitkamp during interview - photograph by Raul GomezGRAND FORKS - Five years of efforts working on passing Senate Bill 2155, or to roll back a part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory overhaul, has not won Senator Heidi Heitkamp favors among some in her own party. Senator Elizabeth Warren calls the bill the “Bank Lobbyist Act,” and she’s given multiple speeches on the Senate floor calling for Democrats to halt the bill’s passage.

Dan Rather, a journalist and former “CBS Evening News” anchor now working with “The…

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​‘Drain the prairie’

March 17th, 2018

Former Vice President Joe Biden speaking at the ND Dem-NPL Convention - photograph by C.S. HagenGRAND FORKS – Behind the bright roving lights and trendy pop tunes, the button-pushing student pages and fiery political speeches, a group of volunteers work feverishly in a nondescript room. They’re the gatekeepers, the convention’s nerve center. Without them, the voting system at the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Convention would collapse.

Years ago, delegates used punch cards, Charlie Barber, who has been working with the credentials center for nearly 50 years, said. Today,…

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‘Out of this darkness, the resistance was born’

March 16th, 2018

North Dakota Democratic-NPL kicksoff - photograph by C.S. HagenGRAND FORKS - Enthused for change, hundreds of delegates, 650 to be precise, kicked off the 2018 North Dakota Democratic-NPL Convention Friday morning at the Alerus Center.

A year and a half after President Donald Trump took office, a “political tsunami is sweeping across this state,” Casey Buchmann from Washburn said. He became the first candidate to receive a North Dakota Democratic-NPL endorsement, and he’s planning on running for the Public Service Commission.

“We need to…

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Film lovers’ paradise: Fargo Film Festival 2018

March 14th, 2018

Design by Raul GomezA sign of the coming spring and a time for old friends and new to make connections while celebrating films, the Fargo Film Festival returns to Downtown Fargo.

Emily Beck, executive director of the Fargo Theatre since 2011, is also director and programmer for the Fargo Film Festival. Emily emphasizes the continued importance of the event to the community, saying, “The Fargo Film Festival enriches the cultural fabric of our community by offering a program of innovative independent film,…

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​Fargo joins student-led walkouts for school safety

March 14th, 2018

At 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, students across the country, including at Fargo's Ben Franklin Middle School, walked out of class in support of school safety - photograph by C.S. HagenFARGO – Schools in Fargo/Moorhead joined the ranks of millions of children across the nation Wednesday morning, lending their voices to the fight to keep schools safe. While some students, boisterous and playful, intermingled with others quietly sitting in solidarity at Ben Franklin Middle School, their message was clear: they know what’s going on, and they all want to feel safe and free.

The walkouts were student-led, and occurred in many middle and secondary schools at 10am,…

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