January 30th, 2019
As midwesterners, I like to think we’re the masters of small talk and with our ever changing weather patterns there’s plenty to talk about. Winter blues are running rampant this time of year but morale is relatively high here at the HPR office. While record-breaking cold temperatures sweep through the midwest thanks to that pesky polar vortex we’re trying our best to stay positive.
I once had a neighbor who moved from Portland (Portland, Oregon not to be confused with Portland,…
January 16th, 2019
A couple of days before Christmas, a video of “Virgin Island Vicky,” went viral. Her real name is irrelevant, but she’s a Minot native. The video shows her going on multiple public racist rants while she and her beau were on vacation in the Virgin Islands. The video shows that he tried to shush her multiple times to no avail. The situation eventually escalated to the point where the police were called and escorted her from the island, according to the UK-based publication The…
January 9th, 2019
by Ryan Janke
ryan.janke78@gmail.com
Some readers will remember a Reba McEntire music video from the 1990s called, Is There Life Out There. They played it on CMT back when music television stations actually played music videos. Anyway, the story of the video followed a woman (McEntire) as she was getting set to graduate from college. She had a paper on her desk that she had been working on for, “three weeks,” and her children wound up spilling coffee on it. When she got the paper back…
December 19th, 2018
I’m a big fan of sharing and collecting oral histories, and then again I can’t think of a single person who doesn’t enjoy a good story. As we prepare to make our holiday treks, now is the time to share our stories as we prepare to surround ourselves with generations of friends and family.
Full disclosure: this is coming from a sentimental wannabe folklorist, but at least story sharing keeps our minds off of our gadgets and off of politics for the time being.
To quote my grandpa,…
December 12th, 2018
by Josh Boschee
joshua.boschee@yahoo.com
photo courtesy of Mitch Marr
Eight words that perfectly describe the beautiful spirit of Kim Winnegge.
"I have given my whole life to words."
Those of us who knew her remember these words as a prominent tattoo she proudly wore on her upper arm. But to Kim, this was a statement of the power that words have in the mundane and the extraordinary moments of our lives.
The web of friends that Kim made and introduced to each other was reconnected with texts,…
December 5th, 2018
Title X was established in 1970 and is the only federal family planning program that provides grants to a number of providers of family planning and related health services. It was designed to provide information, supplies and access to contraceptive services to those who want or need them. Priority is given to low-income individuals by law. In fact, Title X provides affordable birth control for over four million individuals.
Keep in mind that these family planning services provide…
November 28th, 2018
by Ed Gruchalla
egruch@aol.com
With substantial evidence indicating the negative consequences of burning fossil fuels, why is it we have so much trouble in North Dakota moving on to cleaner forms of energy?
Most of us are not ignorant of the consequences of dirty energy sources: changing weather patterns, increasing temperatures, melting glaciers, shrinking biodiversity, and increasing storm intensities. We learn the Arctic is slated to be ice-free by the year 2035, a first in over 5…
November 14th, 2018
It's that time of the year when we’ve finally finished up our Halloween candy and started to deck the halls... but who’s rushing the season when it’s the season of the holiday rush?
Here at HPR we’ve had shopping and holiday menus on the brain for the past couple weeks in preparation for our first-ever holiday edition of HPR. With all of this holiday chatter around the office we’re starting to think that this year just might be the year that we finally send out the holiday…
November 7th, 2018
On Monday Dan Larson, a film student from Montana State University in Bozeman, swung by the office for an interview. This time I was on the other side of the questioning. Larson is currently working on a documentary about the geographical center of North America and the communities that have been trying to claim it. As a result, much of our conversation surrounded the topic of North Dakota’s identity.
It was the same topic that came up multiple times this weekend, upon sharing an…
October 31st, 2018
Tuesday’s mid-term general election is a call to action, especially here in North Dakota. We urge each of you to vote, and then to get your family and friends to vote.
The entire country’s watching North Dakota’s U.S. Senate race. The outcome could affect the balance of power in Washington. The stakes are high, the contributions and expenditures massive, the candidate differences stark.
HPR endorses Heidi Heitkamp for her second term.
Heitkamp has had a fine line to walk as a…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…
From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…
June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…
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 Gionrickgion@gmail.com After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…
Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The writing/directing partnership of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck has to be one of the most curious cases of crazy connect-the-dots career moves in recent cinema. From short documentaries and…
By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
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 Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…
