April 15th, 2026
By Sabrina Hornung
In the last week of March, we heard about an AI education droid visiting the White House as the first lady made a pitch to replace teachers with androids. In an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, JD Vance talked about his obsession with UFO files and his belief that aliens are “outer space demons.” We added the term “bimbofication” to our vocabularies and the White House launched onlyfarms.gov, a website built to tout the administration’s…
March 16th, 2026
By John Strand
Disclaimer: This editorial is the work of someone who’s spent most of his adult life working in the media — most of those years co-owning this very entity, the High Plains Reader, since 1996.
The notion that folks in my career lane are branded as the “Enemy of the People” and “fake” by our sitting president speaks volumes. Perhaps more so about him than those of us in the “Fourth Estate.”
Be that as it may, we now exist in a world of name calling, innuendo,…
February 16th, 2026
By Sabrina Hornung
The quote, "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command” from George Orwell’s iconic novel “1984” has come up in conversation more times than I care to admit this month, which only re-establishes the fact that boots on the ground journalism is more important now than ever. As we see folks filming their reality and posting it in real time, government officials scramble to tell the public a very…
January 15th, 2026
By John Strand
If you are reading this editorial and you too are worried sick about the state of our country, keep reading. Maybe we can inspire each other.
It was near closing time. We were discussing our values crisis. So this guy turns around and says “Tell somebody who gives a shit.”
If you are of the other school of thought, and you are relishing the collapse of American values, stop reading now. You, frankly, need to own up to your actions and the consequences now borne by…
December 18th, 2025
By Darrell Dorgan
I’ve been digging around for information on a company called High Plains Acres. High Plains, which has a presence in Jamestown, Bismarck and five North Dakota counties, owned thousands of acres of North Dakota farmland until early December. It’s listed as an LLP, owned apparently by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his marital partner John Freeman. North Dakotans ought to be interested in this business arrangement.
Bessent was appointed…
November 18th, 2025
By Sabrina Hornung
I scroll through comment threads on the news stories in my social media feed and come across the retort, “You voted for this.” Sure the vote’s in…but when someone’s livelihood is at stake, rubbing their nose in it won’t help. If we’re trying to exercise our moral superiority, maybe the correct approach would be some mild bit of empathy. Or, of course, you can just scroll on.
We live in North Dakota, folks voting against their own best…
October 15th, 2025
By Sabrina Hornung
At the end of September, downtown Fargo said goodbye to another old friend; the Spirit Room closed its doors, marking the end of an era. The Spirit Room room has been a fixture downtown for the past 25 years, with a mission “to enrich people’s lives through the development and practice of creative, contemplative, and healing arts.”
Enrich our lives, it did.
The news rang out like news does when you lose a friend that you haven’t seen in a…
September 16th, 2025
By John Strand
Yes, we know, everywhere you look, the world situation is mental. It’s almost inescapable just how tenuous life’s circumstances are. And how they are mostly — pretty much entirely — out of our control.
So in that context (knowing the lack of surprise, were we to focus on our shared fear and misery as the world unravels), we instead are going to focus on a good news story right here in front of our noses. The High Plains Reader just turned 31, which means…
August 19th, 2025
By Sabrina Hornung
I’m going to go ahead and say it. I have trust issues with a lot of things and artificial intelligence (AI) is one of them.
Yes, it’s a tool that can sit shotgun and make your everyday tasks and life easier as a whole. Sure, I appreciate my transcription apps, Spotify playlists, and I appreciate Alexa’s nonjudgemental input when I ask her random questions throughout the day.
Like anything, it’s a double-edged sword — just look at social media.…
July 15th, 2025
By Sabrina Hornung
On July fourth, Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest took place at Coney Island. The winners, Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo, reigned victorious. Chestnut earned his 17th title by consuming 70.5 hotdogs and buns, his previous record being 76 set in 2021. Sudo earned her 11th title by ingesting 31 hot dogs, her previous record being 51.
What’s more American than celebrating how many hotdogs a guy can stuff in his mouth while over 50…
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By Bryce Vincent Haugen There are three Fargo Park Board seats up for election June 9. Park Board President Vicki Dawson and long-time member Dr. Joe Deutsch announced their reelection bids, but board member Aaron Hill is vacating…
By Michael M. Miller Rev. Salomon Joachim, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Beulah, North Dakota., delivered an address to the Western Conference of the Dakota District of the American Lutheran Church in 1939. His presentation was…
Thursday, April 23, 7 p.m.Fargodome, 1800 University Dr. N, FargoHeralded as "The Nicest Man in Stand-Up" by The Atlantic, Nate Bargatze is also one of the top-grossing comedians, breaking both streaming and attendance records. Now…
By Sabrina Hornung In the last week of March, we heard about an AI education droid visiting the White House as the first lady made a pitch to replace teachers with androids. In an interview with conservative commentator Benny…
By Ed RaymondWhy do women make up only 2% of humans on death row? In the 16th Century, when the Roman Catholic Pope refused to grant Henry VIII of England a divorce so he could marry the beautiful Anne Boleyn, he told the Pope and…
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 Gion A brand new food event called the "ONE BITE Challenge" will launch in downtown Fargo on May 23. Rocky Schneider, executive director of the Downtown Community Partnership told us more. HPR: Hi Rocky. Thank you for…
By John ShowalterAs hip-hop started to make its way into the national spotlight in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was largely split into two camps, “East Coast” and “West Coast”. Not content to be left out of a…
By Greg Carlson Veteran documentary filmmaker Marina Zenovich has chronicled a number of powerful men in entertainment, politics and popular culture, including Roman Polanski (twice), Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Lance Armstrong…
By Sabrina Hornung Something wicked (and wonderful) this way comes to this year’s Plains Art Gala. With the theme being “Nightmare at the Museum,” the Plains Art Museum is partnering up with Drekker and Brewhalla as…
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 Ellie Liverani In November 2025, the FDA initiated the removal of the “black box” warning from Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The “black box” warning is a FAD safety warning for healthcare providers and patients…
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 Chris M. StonerBryon Noem deserves to feel shame. Not for his bimbofication fetish. As a drag queen for nearly a quarter of a century, I whole-heartedly think people should do more exploration of their gender and sexual…
