Writer's Block

​57th Annual UND Writers Conference: ‘Fables & Futures’

February 18th, 2026

Mystery. Whimsy. Tales yet to be told. Join us on the UND campus from Wednesday, March 25, through Friday, March 27, for the 57th Annual UND Writers Conference, “Fables & Futures.”

For centuries, fables have been the long threads guiding us through the labyrinths of the past, the present and the future. We tell each other tales to chart a course along the turbulent seas of our times and to imagine what creatures of the deep might lurk there. And we return to stories, retelling…

Read more...


​A picture is worth a thousand words: Fargo author’s novella adapted into graphic novel

December 18th, 2025

By John Showalter

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

Almost six years ago, I interviewed local author Darrin Albert, pseudonym Blake Alb, about his debut novella “Snowcrow”, a book that explored the sinister side of snowmen. Now, as the weather grows colder and the days grow shorter, the saga of “Snowcrow” has entered a new chapter, crossing into the visual medium. Over the last three years, “Snowcrow” has been adapted into a graphic novel.

Albert describes himself as a writer with a…

Read more...


​Magic or the portrait of a skinny Dorian Gray?

June 19th, 2025

The drug that keeps re-purposing itself

By Ellie Liverani

eli.liverani.ra@gmail.com

There is a drug that is getting a lot of attention nowadays all over the world. It has various commercial names (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus), but the common scientific name is semaglutide.

It is not a new discovery. In fact, it has been studied since the 70s. But in time, it has been more and more re-purposed, similarly to Viagra, but even more so.

The amount of content (and drama) you can find on…

Read more...


​Magic or the portrait of a skinny Dorian Gray?

June 19th, 2025

The drug that keeps re-purposing itself

By Ellie Liverani

eli.liverani.ra@gmail.com

There is a drug that is getting a lot of attention nowadays all over the world. It has various commercial names (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus), but the common scientific name is semaglutide.

It is not a new discovery. In fact, it has been studied since the 70s. But in time, it has been more and more re-purposed, similarly to Viagra, but even more so.

The amount of content (and drama) you can find on…

Read more...


​Magic or the portrait of a skinny Dorian Gray?

June 19th, 2025

The drug that keeps re-purposing itself

By Ellie Liverani

eli.liverani.ra@gmail.com

There is a drug that is getting a lot of attention nowadays all over the world. It has various commercial names (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus), but the common scientific name is semaglutide.

It is not a new discovery. In fact, it has been studied since the 70s. But in time, it has been more and more re-purposed, similarly to Viagra, but even more so.

The amount of content (and drama) you can find on…

Read more...


​Evansville Arts Coalition celebrates with annual Poetry Night

April 22nd, 2025

By Alicia Underlee Nelson

Evansville Arts Coalition (EAC) will celebrate its birthday with an evening of poetry at Evansville Art Center (111 Main St. in Evansville, Minnesota) on Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to all.

The EAC hosted its first Poetry Night in April 1996, shortly after its incorporation as a nonprofit. Except for a pandemic pause in 2020, the event has been held every year since, making it one of longest-running annual…

Read more...


​56th Annual UND Writers Conference: Makers and Machines

February 21st, 2025

In the twenty-first century, the rapid transformation of technology has opened artistry and craftwork to new generations of writers, artists, sculptors, and creators. In the last few decades, the maker movement has modeled this through fairs and makerspaces, which platform working creators, amateurs and hobbyists. YouTube channels and TikTok feeds allow anyone with a smartphone to watch projects unfold. Basements and boardrooms, kitchen tables and community centers — with access to tech…

Read more...


A book review of ‘Dodge County, Inc: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America’

February 20th, 2025

By Madeline Luke

mzlnd@yahoo.com

Ferguson Books in downtown Fargo hosted Sonya Trom Eayrs in November for the release of her book about the takeover of rural southern Minnesota by large animal factory farms or CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). She is a Minneapolis lawyer, but also the farm manager daughter of a third generation farmer, Lowell Trom, who — until he died at the age of 90 — worked his 760-acre legacy farm and fought those who would ruin it saying, “enough is…

Read more...


Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (a MAGA response)

November 23rd, 2024

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and…

Read more...


​New independent bookstores arrive in Fargo-Moorhead

April 18th, 2024

Alicia Underlee Nelson

alicia@hpr1.com

“I think you can tell a lot about a community by the health of its bookstore, because people make a choice,” said Danny Caine, author of “50 Ways to Protect Bookstores” and the co-owner of a bookshop in Kansas. “The people value art, community, they probably value local food and local restaurants. The human booksellers will never be replaced by algorithms or machines.”

If that’s the case, the Fargo-Moorhead community is going strong.…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry artfest2 Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck Tracker Pixel for Entry artfest3 Tracker Pixel for Entry artfest1 Tracker Pixel for Entry Empire

Recently in:

By Dr Christopher Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Sollera For nearly fifty years, this region has known us as Rape and Abuse Crisis Center. We have answered late-night calls. Sat in hospital rooms. Walked with victim survivors…

By Michael M. Miller Francie M. Berg, native of Hettinger, N.D., edited an impressive book, “Ethnic Heritage in North Dakota,” published in 1983. She grew up on a ranch near Miles City, Montana. Her son, Richard Berg, is…

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 Sabrina Hornung As the school year comes to a close, a new crop of young people are starting a new chapter in their lives. As a former young person, I’d like to offer my unsolicited advice. As cliche as it may sound, be the…

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…

June 3-6, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.FARGODOME, 2800 N. University Dr., FargoDo we dare call RibFest the ultimate summer kickoff in Fargo? Well, we just did. Enjoy succulent ribs, pulled pork, brisket and so much more. Featuring top notch…

By Greg Carlson The cinematic precocity of director Kane Parsons is quickly emerging as one of the year’s big moviemaking stories. The 20-year-old filmmaker’s “Backrooms,” an unsettling journey through the looking glass,…

By Sabrina Hornung The Plains Art Museum has been a trailblazing force in the North Dakota art scene since its inception and it’s not slowing down any time soon. In fact, this summer they are preparing to break ground on a major…

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…

By Jim Fuglie I was out for a walk on a fine Bismarck spring evening, strolling down 4th St. alongside the state capitol grounds, when I noticed some dirt work being done on the spot where the former governor’s residence had…