News

It takes many hands

November 24th, 2015

For this week's cover story, we asked High Plains Reader staff members and volunteers as well as cover story subjects from 2015 and friends of the paper what they are grateful for this year. Below are the responses. Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at HPR!

"I am thankful for all the amazing people I have in my life. The right people help you grow in love and knowledge and - from my family to my close friends to simple acquaintances within the community – I’m truly blessed with an…

Love or Fear?

November 24th, 2015

#loveoverfear What are you so afraid of?

By Whitney Retzer

The Economist reports that 750,000 refugees have resettled in America since 9/11, and not one of these refugees have been arrested on domestic terrorism charges.

The world has always been a fragile ecosystem living and breathing between the balance of nature and the desire of man. Last Friday’s attack was a grim reminder of what man is capable of, if you can call these attackers human. It is often preferable to think of these…

Informant’s mother pushes for changes

November 18th, 2015

Sadek’s death results in call for new laws

The mother of a North Dakota State College of Science student who was an informant for a drug task force and was killed by a gunshot, yet whose death is still unsolved, says she is working with legislators on a bill for the next North Dakota Legislative session, which would ban college students as drug informants.

Tammy Sadek, who has started the Facebook page Justice for Andrew Sadek, says she is resigned to not finding answers on her own…

Black is Back

November 11th, 2015

After the runaway success of Dylan Fest last February, Merrill Piepkorn knew he was onto something. Not long after the tribute concert sold out the Fargo Theatre, the president of the Prairie Airwaves production company found himself inundated with avid suggestions for his next endeavor.

Country artists dominated a majority of the pitches, as the Highwaymen and Merle Haggard were lightly considered for homage, though none seemed quite right.

“Then I thought to myself,” Piepkorn…

The Avett Brothers return to Fargo

November 4th, 2015

North Carolina folk group The Avett Brothers will be returning to Fargo on Friday, Nov. 13, with a few tricks up their sleeves. Jill Andrews will join The Avett Brothers to perform at the Fargo Civic Center. HPR had the exclusive opportunity to chat with bassist Bob Crawford.

HPR: What was your experience like recording your new album?

Bob Crawford:It was a good experience. We recorded it with a full live band. We had seven people on stage now, and it was a really good experience and we…

What we are, who we are: the state of the arts

October 28th, 2015

Change is in the air for both the Plains Art Museum and The Rourke Art Gallery Museum, which leads to a question. What is the state of the arts in Fargo-Moorhead?

Former executive director Colleen Sheehy left the Plains in early October of this year. Under Sheehy, the museum completed a major capital campaign, installed a James Rosenquist (pop art icon and Grand Forks native) and opened the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity in 2012, a 25,500 square foot addition to the…

Q and A with Congressman Kevin Cramer

October 28th, 2015

ND’s lone Congressman on choosing new Speaker

As House Republicans prepare to elect a new Speaker of the House to replace the retiring John Boehner, HPR sat down with a man in the middle of it all, Congresssman Kevin Cramer (R- ND). Cramer has supported Boehner despite criticism from conservatives both nationally and statewide that he didn’t go far enough in opposing Obama. The Speaker will be chosen at press time and is widely expected to be Congressman Paul Ryan (R- WI) after the…

Bras on Broadway celebrates 10 years of community support

October 21st, 2015

The Hotel Donaldson has been helping to fight the good fight for the past 10 years. According to their website, “Bras on Broadway has donated more than $135,000 to the those fighting breast cancer in our region in 2014. More than $720,000 has been donated in its first nine years.” Teams and individual donors have helped raise money for the cause. In fact each bra on the iconic bra garlands that adorn the outside of The Hodo indicates a $5 plus donation. The garlands will be hung on…

Ink, iron and brawn

October 14th, 2015

cover by Raul Gomez, pics by J Earl Miller

HPR talks with 2015 Roughrider Expo’s featured tattooist Eric Pele

The Roughrider Ink and Iron Expo, Fargo-Moorhead’s premier celebration of tattoo artistry and culture, returns for its second year. The three-day event at the Scheels Arena brings together the area’s top tattoo and body modification artists for the opportunity to showcase their work, compete, talk shop and learn from their peers.

This year the expo will have a broader scope, adding an exhibit of custom motorcycles…

North Dakota’s groundbreaking drones law may be changed

October 7th, 2015

Lawmakers say concerns over weaponization are overblown

Recently many North Dakota citizens were surprised to learn that the North Dakota Legislature passed a law which allowed local law enforcement departments to arm drones with non-lethal weapons, as a part of larger bill designed to provide 4th amendment protections for citizens on drone use. The law made national news as the first of its kind to become law.

The author of the bill HB 1328, ND State Representative Rick Becker (R-…