News

New nonprofit F5 Project helps rebuild felons’ lives

February 22nd, 2017

Four years ago, Adam Martin lost everything. He was homeless, had no car, no license, no job, no phone, and lost custody of his children. With five felonies on his criminal record and an eviction, prospects for getting a job and apartment were grim. The only positive was that he had two weeks of sobriety under his belt, a landmark for someone who struggled with addiction for fifteen years.

Martin was planning on getting drunk, but had an epiphany instead. “I decided that I should put…

The Siege of Standing Rock

February 15th, 2017

View from hilltop of Backwater Bridge, activists marching away - photo by C.S. Hagen

CANNON BALL - Standing Rock’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline has all the ingredients of legend, with only the ending remaining be be told. Centuries past, bards would be tuning their lutes, preparing lyrics, in fact, modern singers such as Neil Young, Dave Matthews, the Black Eyed Peas, Trevor Hall, and many Native American talents have already immortalized Standing Rock’s resistance.

“If you are a rock, stand up like a mountain,” Hall sang about Standing Rock.

Two…

North Dakota’s 100-Year War

February 9th, 2017

Alt-White: The Siege of North Dakota. Part Three in the series on racism in North Dakota. Inescapable comparisons between the political, racial, and economic sectors of the 1920s and 2010s. Local resident hunts Fargo’s Nazis, posts alert advertisements around Fargo.

FARGO - The day North Dakota women marched on Bismarck, a lone vehicle flying a Confederate flag cruised down Broadway, according to Fargo emergency dispatch. The pickup truck was stopped at Fourth Avenue when a middle-aged…

DAPL Easement Issued, Pipeline Work Will Soon Begin

February 8th, 2017

Former Oceti Sakowin - photo by Kirsta Anderson

CANNON BALL - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the final easement needed to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline Wednesday afternoon, sparking fierce criticism from tribal leaders and opened the doors to intensifying condemnation from Peace Garden State political leaders against the Standing Rock Sioux.

“On February 8, 2017, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted an easement to Dakota Access, LLC allowing the installation of a thirty-inch diameter light crude oil pipeline…

The Wiindigo comes in the winter

February 8th, 2017

Signs in the snow outside of the Standing Rock camps - photo by C.S. Hagen

CANNON BALL - Rumors, like the Wiindigo, are never full. They prey on the weak, devouring their kill, always hungry, gluttonous yet emaciated.

The legendary, cannibalistic being strikes mainly during lonely winters. According to Algonquian lore, it stalks the northern forests around the Great Lakes. Like rumors, the Wiindigo is difficult to kill, as its powers rise with every victim it devours.

The rumors surrounding Standing Rock’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline are not…

Critics: Legislators Attempt To Rewrite Measure 5 is “Abomination”

February 7th, 2017

FARGO - Days after North Dakota Legislation declared an emergency measure postponing Measure 5, or the North Dakota Medical Marijuana Initiative, a new bill was proposed.

Measure 5 is gutted, the bill’s initiator Rilie Ray Morgan said. More than 80 percent of the bill has been changed. Testimonies will go before the Senate Human Services Committee on Wednesday.

“It’s an abomination,” Morgan said. “Like I said it’s a punch in the gut to the patients of North Dakota, and a…

“An Act of War”

February 7th, 2017

Standing Rock promise battle is not over - from Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Facebook page

CANNON BALL - A digital wail resounded across the Internet Tuesday afternoon after the Department of the Army announced it would be authorizing the final easement needed for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross the Missouri River at Lake Oahe.

Claiming rights under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, the Army issued an intent to grant an easement on 7.37 acres of land to Dakota Access LLC for 30 years, the letter stated.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is not mentioned once in the letter from…

“Project Wake Up Call:” Fargo’s Fight Against Racism Begins

February 2nd, 2017

Fargos rally against house bill 1427 - photo by C.S. Hagen-2

FARGO - Fargoans, in the hundreds, from every race, religion, and creed, met Thursday afternoon to resist a North Dakota bill that plans to stop refugee resettlement in the state.

Those claiming Viking ancestry, Somalis, Muslims, Catholics and Protestants met at the Civic Center before marching down Broadway in defiance of House Bill 1427. At least 300 people attended the rally, first listening to speakers challenging Fargoans to “wake up.”

Fowzia Adde speaking at the rally - photo by C.S. Hagen

Fowzia Adde, executive director of the…

“Kicking the Cannabis Can”

February 2nd, 2017

Types of leaf marijuana at Choice Organics, Fort Collins, Colorado - photo provided by Jason Spiess

FARGO - State politicians are playing an exclusive game of 'kick the can' with Measure 5, or the North Dakota Medical Marijuana Initiative, which was approved overwhelmingly in every voting district in the state last November.

The people of North Dakota apparently are not invited to play, critics say.

Nearly 80 days after the measure's passing, the Peace Garden State suspended parts and postponed the entire bill, according toSenate Bill 2154. The bill sat on Governor Doug Burgum's desk…

Dozens Arrested at Last Child’s Camp

February 2nd, 2017

Police prepare to march on Last Childs Camp online sources

CANNON BALL - Dozens of police and National Guard swarmed Last Child’s Camp Wednesday afternoon, arresting approximately 76 activists including attorney Chase Iron Eyes.

Officials called those who moved to Last Child’s Camp a “rogue camp,” and that they refused to move from the hilltop south of Backwater Bridge after repeated warnings.

“The group was told they were committing criminal trespassing on private property and needed to leave,” Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier…