Editorial

​Good bugs, bad bugs, you know we have our share

August 15th, 2018

Sabrina Hornung - wet plate by Shane Balkowitsch

On August 14, The Bismarck Tribune reported that “A popular insecticide could be banned for agricultural use.” Popular as it may be I can think of a whole slew of adjectives that would be more appropriate like questionable, deadly, poisonous… after all it is a neurotoxic pesticide.

According to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/, neurotoxic pesticides kill off these pests by targeting their nervous system, but it’s not just limited to invertebrates. They’ve been known to have…

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​Driving Through Life Defensively

August 8th, 2018

I’m one of the most well known trans individuals in the Fargo/Moorhead area. This is because I’ve purposely put myself out there as a symbol of visibility. I’m out there to show people that you can be transgender and that you can be happy. I’m also out there to be an open contact that anyone can reach out to with questions or to find resources. In many ways, I’ve become everything that I needed but didn’t have when I was transitioning in this state.

I’m not sharing that to…

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​Serving with purpose

August 1st, 2018

Photograph by Sabrina Hornung

I found myself in Forbes, North Dakota, in search of the local butcher shop. I was working on a collaborative art project at a nearby elder care facility a couple of months ago and was told that The People’s Store in Forbes had the tastiest sausage in all the land. In fact, I heard that it even rivaled that of the famous Wishek sausage, but then again my source may or may not have been from Forbes--a prairie gem with a population of a little over 50. Whenever I’m in that neck of the…

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​Our Opinion: This is a no-turning-back moment in ND and American history

July 25th, 2018

Art by Jessi Schmit

We’d be remiss to not acknowledge the recent untimely death of Ed Schultz whose media journey was rooted right here in Fargo. No doubt a lightning rod, Schultz impacted the world like few ever do.

When HPR was new to the Fargo community, Big Eddie commonly shared his microphone with voices representing The Little Newspaper That Could. He was a big fan of the underdog. He also – by then – had developed a full blown case of hatred for the local daily newspaper organization. His…

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​Time to get your hemp in a row

July 18th, 2018

With all of the excitement surrounding the legalization of recreational and medicinal marijuana, why aren’t we discussing the possibilities of industrial hemp? You might not catch a buzz from it but there’s all kinds of other cool stuff you can do with it. Hemp can be used for food, fuel, fiber, pulp for paper and even bioplastics. So could we feed, fuel and clothe the world with one crop?

Maybe we’re sounding too hopeful.

It wouldn’t be the first time hemp was cultivated in our…

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​Heidi’s Moment to Shine

July 11th, 2018

One of three Red State Democratic U.S. Senators up for reelection this November, North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp is no doubt in the national spotlight.

That President Trump has nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to be that next U.S. Supreme Court Justice will unleash disproportionate pressure on Sen. Heitkamp. And, to that end, we have one word of advice: “Resist.”

National media reports suggest millions of dollars will be…

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​Our opinion: Is the resolution dissolution?

June 27th, 2018

At the town of Nome, North Dakota - photograph by C.S. Hagen

“Some people say I am trying to shut it down and that is what will happen if it gets voted through, but ultimately what I’m trying to do is preserve the legacy of the town,” said Ryan Schock, mayor of Leith, North Dakota, in an interview with KFYR-TV.

Schock made a move to disincorporate the small town of Leith in order to stop write-in candidates Michael Bencz and Deby Nelson from joining their city council. The two are believed to have white supremacist leanings and were elected…

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​I like my world well rounded

June 20th, 2018

Malllorca, Spain - photograph by Sabrina Hornung

Just last week Raul and I were driving a rental car on the backroads of Mallorca, a small Mediterranean Island off the coast of Spain. Not gonna lie, my nose may or may not have been pressed hard against the window admiring the stone walls lining the road and noting the red earth from which the olive trees grew. Once we reached our destination we found ourselves at a pristine cliff-lined beach. The water a color that I’ve only seen in the public swimming pools I grew up swimming in.

As…

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Grabbing the bull by the horns

June 13th, 2018

Madrid’s Plaza del Toro bullfight - photograph by Sabrina Hornung

This week’s highly anticipated edition of the HPR is coming straight from Madrid, Spain, a city steeped in romance and tradition as well as contemporary nuances. Ever since I read “The Sun Also Rises” at the age of 14, I wanted to see this city and experience a bullfight. Not out of bloodlust, but out of cultural context. Ironically, it was the same year I became a vegetarian. 

Twenty years later Raul and I found ourselves at Madrid’s Plaza del Toro, the building itself was an…

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​Summer travel and the lost art of letter writing

June 6th, 2018

Art by Troy Becker and provided by Albino Buffalo

On Sunday Raul and I found ourselves sipping champagne on a plane flying to Spain for my 34th birthday with an unofficial HPR European vacation, but don’t worry pals, we’re still bringing you your favorite weekly news. In fact, you might not even realize we’re gone until you check our Instagram.

I started reading some Hemingway to prepare for Madrid. Who knew that in the glossary for “Death in the afternoon” he would include beer and wine recommendations. Now it’s on to see…

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