News

​Homicide in North Fargo

March 2nd, 2018

Cass County Coroner in front of the apartment complex police say a person was killed Friday morning - photograph by C.S. HagenFARGO – Police arrested a man early Friday morning after he turned himself in for an apartment homicide in a north side apartment building.

Daniel Benjamin Habiger, 29, was arrested at Holiday Gas Station at 10th Street and 19th Avenue North after making a call to the Red River Regional Dispatch, Fargo Police Chief David Todd said. Officers were also dispatched to the apartment complex at 701 10th Street North, where a dead person was found in Habiger’s apartment. 

On Saturday, police…

Read more...


​Can the Kirkbride be saved?

February 28th, 2018

Kirkbride exterior - photograph by Raul Gomez“While it is too early to know how events surrounding the Kirkbride in Fergus Falls will ultimately unfold, properties in the National Register occasionally do get demolished. In such instances, our office has a regulatory responsibility to review any documentation that is required for the project to proceed and offer comment. We are strong advocates for preserving our built history, and we always wish to find alternatives to demolition,” Denis Gardner, National Register Historian…

Read more...


​This time, a change

February 28th, 2018

M-16 at the shooting range - HPR contributorFARGO – Every time a mass shooting occurs, tempers flare, conversations crackle across social media platforms and Congressional podiums, and then fizzle. This time, after the 353rd mass shooting in America since 1966, something has changed.

Students are speaking up. They’re challenging senators, the President, principals, even the burly National Rifle Association. From Florida to Moorhead, Minnesota, students are marching, calling for stricter laws against assault weapons. Companies,…

Read more...


​‘A child can only take so much’

February 26th, 2018

Jackie Charbonneau and her son, Christopher L. Thumb, who is also pictured with two black eyes, and a split lip on cell phone - photograph by C.S. HagenFARGO – 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…

Read more...


​No sweat improvements

February 23rd, 2018

Zebadiah Gartner and others preparing the stones for Fargo's Indigenous swear lodge - photograph by C.S. HagenFARGO – 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…

Read more...


The high costs of low bail

February 21st, 2018

Design by Raul GomezFARGO – 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…

Read more...


​‘We are the target’

February 15th, 2018

Habsa Yusuf speaking before Fargo's Human Relations Commission - photograph by C.S. HagenFARGO – 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…

Read more...


​Drums in Fargo for missing Indigenous women

February 14th, 2018

Desert Era Veterans leading march - photograph by C.S. HagenFARGO – 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.…

Read more...


In the shadow of Walmart

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…

Read more...


Valve turner sentenced, behind bars

February 6th, 2018

Michael Foster - photo by C.S. HagenCAVALIER – 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…

Read more...


Recently in:

By Bryce Vincent Haugen By all accounts, Democratic-Farmer-Labor U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar — first elected in 2006 — is the most popular active politician in Minnesota, whether she’s judged by polling or by her four electoral…

Saturday, June 13, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.Paradox Comics-N-Cards, 814 Main Ave., FargoCalling all nerds: it’s time to get down and nerdy with vendors aplenty, who are selling comics, toys, video games, board games, various collectibles…

June 6-7StatewideYou grab a line and I’ll grab a pole — and if you’re a North Dakota resident, you can head on down to your favorite fishing hole, no license needed (for this weekend, anyway). All other rules still apply…

By John Strand It took us over 30 years for us to reach out and ask for your help. The High Plains Reader has always been subscription free and paywall free. Our content has — and always will be — free to access for all of our…

By Ed RaymondWere women created to do the work of God?One of the first requests made by new Pope Leo XIV was to invite an expert on the alt-right conservative Catholic organization known as Opus Dei to brief him about its…

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 GionThe scarfing of canned fish and seafood products by online food influencer types is hard to miss on social media these days. Some of the consumed morsels range from exquisite to downright nasty. However, there are many…

By Bryce Vincent Haugen The curtain has come down on Jade Presents. Fargo-Moorhead’s largest event promoter has brought thousands of shows — more than 150 per year — and hundreds of artists to the area over the past 36 years. On…

By Greg Carlson Steven Spielberg, who will turn 80 this December, returns to the subject of aliens among us in “Disclosure Day,” his first feature since “The Fabelmans” in 2022. Now closer to the end than the beginning of…

By Jacinta Zens I recently sat down for a chat with ceramicist Louie Albertson, Clay and Studio Program Manager at the Plains Art Museum. Before the interview, I had the pleasure of getting to know him a bit as a colleague when I…

Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…

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 Eli Liverani Cholesterol is probably one of the first molecules I have ever heard of in my childhood. Most of the relatives on my mother's side had high cholesterol in their blood, and apparently, levels above a certain range…

January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…

Chris M. Stoner I was recently dismissed from my role as drag show director and emcee for Dakota OutRight, a role I had been fulfilling for more than two decades. The reason given? My political commentary during shows, while…