News

On alert after pipeline spill

January 28th, 2015

Cleanup underway but damage assessment from major spill unknown yet

Two spills affecting western North Dakota has environmental activists concerned and state regulators downplaying their effects. Earlier this month, 3 million gallons of saltwater generated from oil drilling leaked near Blacktail Creek outside Williston, making it the largest spill of its kind from the oil boom in North Dakota. Additionally 40,000 gallons of crude spilled in the Yellowstone River in Montana near Glendive,…

Gimmie a lift

January 21st, 2015

As popular rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft consider expansion to Fargo, they may have to decide what impact some regulation currently being discussed at both city and state levels would have on their business. The Fargo City Commission this week exempt the ride hailing companies from new taxi regulations after concerns were raised about them. They did, however, direct the city attorney’s office to come up with separate regulations for the ride share companies.

At the same time,…

A spate of robberies

January 14th, 2015

Is crime getting worse in our community?

A week hasn’t seemed to go by without a robbery of a convenience store, grocery store or even a pizza parlor in the Fargo-Moorhead as of late. Many wonder if this is part of the pains of getting bigger; as population increases, will we continue to see more and more of these types of crimes?

We sought out the Fargo Police Department for some answers to explain what has been happening in recent months.

Lt. Joel Vettel said Fargo sees an average of…

Legislator Profile: Q&A with ND State Rep. Pamela Anderson

January 14th, 2015

The North Dakota Legislative session is underway and the High Plains Reader will be covering it throughout its duration. This week, we profile freshman legislator Rep. Pam Anderson, D-Fargo, who shocked the state’s political world by upsetting longtime Rep. Bette Grande, bucking the trend of many Republican victories across the state.

While in the minority, the retired banking executive has many goals she hopes to accomplish in her first session, and she even plans to introduce a…

Say Anything: How is local blogger Rob Port scooping the mainstream media?

December 17th, 2014

Minot-based blogger, who started in September of 2003 with readers consisting mainly of fellow bloggers, has gone on to become one of the most prominent political news sources in North Dakota. Rob Port writes for his Say Anything Blog pretty much as a one man show, save for some occasional contributors who frequently scoop other large media organizations in the state, who in turn follow suit on his stories. He went from blogging with a day job to now doing it full-time. As a result, the…

Marijuana site coming to Moorhead

December 5th, 2014

Moorhead has been selected as one of four distribution sites for medical marijuana by Minnesota Medical Solutions or MinnMed. The company was one of two organizations chosen by Minnesota’s Department of Health to grow and sell the state’s supply of medical marijuana under a new state law just passed in the last Legislative session.

MinnMed was among 12 organizations that originally applied for a license. It was the top scorer among the group among reviewers with expertise in public…

Fargo Mayor Walaker dies unexpectedly

December 3rd, 2014

City Commission will set special election to replace him next year

Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker died unexpectedly at his home this week after a battle with kidney cancer. He had just been released from the hospital but collapsed upon his return home causing shockwaves throughout the community. He had been mayor since 2006, re-elected to his third term just this past June.

“It was a real surprise,” said Fargo’s deputy mayor, Dr. Tim Mahoney, who will now take over as acting mayor.…

The Dark Side of Fracking

November 5th, 2014

Artwork by John Pepion / Cover by Raul Gomez

Ban fracking

It is time for a fracked oil and gas moratorium on Ft. Berthold, and Standing Rock reservation, (where possibly up to 200,000 acres is being considered for fracking) needs to pass a ban, indefinitely. Hundreds of municipalities, counties, provinces and countries are. Indian country needs to do the same. North Dakota needs to as well.

For me, this story began at Lake Superior, a place which is sacred to the Anishinaabeg and the source of a fifth of the world’s fresh…

Key Races in ND 2014 election

October 29th, 2014

Four races are among the tightest in ND

With Tuesday’s election fast approaching, the High Plains Reader decided to take a look at some of North Dakota’s most hotly contested and talked about races. By now, voters may be growing tired of the political ads but it is crunch time for deciding who represents you best. We hope to give some insight into the closest races of the 2014 election cycle.

Measure 1

The most talked about measure on the ballot in North Dakota has to be Measure 1, the…

The Measure 5 debate

October 29th, 2014

Photo by J Earl Miller

Multi-million dollar disagreement on how much state funding should go toward environmental conservation

Come Nov. 4, North Dakotans will be able to vote on one of the most environmentally forward measures the state has ever seen. If passed, Measure 5 would set aside 5 percent of gas and oil-extraction tax revenues to be used for clean water, wildlife and parks.

Proponents of the measure say it’s needed to protect the future well-being of our land and water, which could be threatened by…