February 26th, 2018
FARGO – Christopher L. Thumb is a quiet boy, enjoys throwing a football with his siblings, listens to powwow music. New to Fargo after moving from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Reservation at 15, he entered his freshman year at North High School last August.
First week, the bullying began. He was called names, his computer was frequently unplugged, people made fun of him, but no physical violence occurred until February 12. Names of others involved have been withheld due to…
February 23rd, 2018
FARGO – Water sizzles against scorched stones piled in a shallow pit center of Fargo’s only Indigenous sweat lodge. Faces gleam briefly before the glow fades, and the Native songs begin. Packed side by side, Anishinaabe, Spirit Lake, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara, and a few wasi’chu – or white people – sing to the four directions, and for guidance in troubled times.
One year after Fargo police pulled Native Americans out of the sweat lodge for what they thought was an…
February 21st, 2018
FARGO – To hundreds of Fargo’s inmates, a C-Note-sized bail might as well be a million dollars. Unaffordable.
On any given day the city’s law enforcement brings those who break the law to jail. It’s their job. Some offenders are violent. Some are entitled to a phone call and an orange wardrobe. Some are drug abusers, addicted. Others are repeat offenders, and then there are those who don’t see jail as any kind of deterrent.
A February 8 snapshot of the Cass County Jail’s…
February 15th, 2018
FARGO – Nearly half of the Walmart employees claiming discrimination from management at the world’s largest retail chain came before Fargo’s Human Relations Commission Thursday, to appeal for help, and the commission answered.
“My sense is that you all feel you are being discriminated against, for your origins or your clothes,” Barry Nelson of the Human Relations Commission said, after four of the women gave their testimonies. “We do not have an enforcement capacity, but I…
February 14th, 2018
FARGO – Native drums reverberated through Downtown Fargo Wednesday when more than 200 people marched to bring awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women, an epidemic that plagues the state and the nation.
Native Americans, tribal dignitaries, Fargo city commissioners, even the mayor showed up to support the cause. Valentines Day is now also proclaimed Missing Indigenous Women’s day by Fargo’s Native American Commission. Passing cars honked in support as the marchers passed.…
February 7th, 2018
FARGO – Twenty Walmart employees blame concentrated racist and prejudicial managerial practices for their sudden firings or dwindling losses in hours and pay.
Those who say they’re affected, most originally from Somalia or Kenya, say there are more former refugees and immigrants afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs in the Fargo area, who are being discriminated against because of the color of their skin, or because they wear hijabs. A hijab is the traditional head…
February 6th, 2018
CAVALIER – From the day Michael Foster plotted his course to turn off the Keystone Pipeline, he knew prison was a possibility. On Tuesday morning the activist was taken into custody after a North Dakota judge sentenced him to three years imprisonment with two years suspended.
The state’s prosecution wanted to make an example out of Foster to deter future instances, and recommended a sentence of five years imprisonment and three years suspended for Foster. The prosecution, which…
February 2nd, 2018
FARGO – Minutes before the judge sentenced Brooke Lynn Crews to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, the killer spoke, apologizing for her actions.
“I wish I could take their pain, there is no excuse,” Crews said. “I deserve every year I get, and I know it doesn’t help.”
Crews was describing the pain of Savanna LaFontaine Greywind’s family, and for one of Fargo’s daughters she killed, and for the infant she stole from Savanna’s womb while she was eight…
January 31st, 2018
FARGO – Beneath Heidi Heitkamp’s political savvy is a creative activist, one who never takes no for an answer. She once lined the state capitol with tiny shoes to raise awareness of child abuse, and cut her political teeth on the Equal Rights Amendment.
It’s not the state’s first elected female U.S. senator’s job to follow her party line, but to represent the predominantly red state in Washington D.C.
She is, at her core, an arbitrator, a political referee in a divided nation,…
January 31st, 2018
WASHINGTON D.C. – While North Dakota’s chosen elected announced who they were taking to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech, media across the state kept one piece of information about Congressman Kevin Cramer’s guest quiet.
Cramer, R-ND, the state’s only Congressman, announced he would bring Tommy Fisher, president and CEO of Fisher Industries. Fisher Industries, or Fisher Sand & Gravel Company, in southwestern North Dakota, is one of six companies given a…
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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…
