February 15th, 2017
They met in Minneapolis, at the bus station. They were both from Ghana, and both had been refused asylum in the U.S. They decided to go to Canada, and took a bus to Grand Forks.
Razak Iyal, 35, says only that he had political and other problems. Seidu Mohammed, 24, was afraid to go back to his native country. It’s dangerous to be gay in Ghana.
The criminal code of Ghana has no clear-cut definition of homosexuality. A prosecuting attorney will use a portion that talks about “unnatural…
February 8th, 2017
“I haven't seen the proposal yet,” said Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams, “but there will be a Request For Bids for a commercial/residential project. It is prime downtown space and there has been a lot of interest.”
The space is the vacant lot on the southeast corner of 8th Street and Main Avenue, the former location of the Richards Tesoro gas station, and some of the most important real estate in the city of Moorhead.
It couldn’t be more centrally located. And look at its near…
February 1st, 2017
A friend in Washington DC, a high-level Senate staffer who doesn’t wish to be identified, gave us some good advice.
There are two things that all Democrats should be doing all the time right now, and they're by far the most important things.
You should NOT be bothering with online petitions or emailing.
The best thing you can do to be heard and get your congressperson to pay attention is to have face-to-face time. If they have townhalls, go to them. Go to their local offices. If you're…
February 1st, 2017
My little sister, Gretchen Kaye Carlson Kost, died Monday, January 30, 2017. A dearly cherished daughter and sibling, wife and mother, cousin and conspirator, she was a friend first, a friend often, and a friend always.
She was also a displayer of dimples, which as a kid she often labored to hide, scowling in photographs when not in the mood or of the inclination to be told what to do, which was pretty much always. But when the grownups were smart enough not to push, that smile was…
January 25th, 2017
Music instructor Kris Kitko was recently in the Kirkwood Mall in Bismarck. She saw a
T-shirt in a store, looked again. On the T-shirt, it said “GRAB AMERICA BY THE PUSSY.”
“Kirkwood Mall is often the site for children’s performances,” said Ms. Kitko, “These shirts were in a front aisle and are easy to see as you just walk in.”
Kris filmed the T-shirt display. “One of the reasons I zoomed in so many times was to let people walk by behind me so that I didn't film them. Do…
January 11th, 2017
There’s more than one way to agitate the internet, but as of lately the biggest agitator involves Trumplethinskin’s twitter account--ok I apologize.Name calling is probably the wrong way to start the first editorial of the year but it may have made you laugh or motivated you to write us an angry letter. Good. We like to see the passion in your eyes.
Yes, Trump lacks the eloquence of nearly all of his predecessor’s--that’s obvious. It scares the bejeezus out of me, too, but on the…
December 21st, 2016
Time flies. It was 20 years ago December 26 that the High Plains Reader changed ownership. The two-plus year old bi-weekly in Grand Forks evolved into what you know
HPR to be today, two decades later.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Founders Ian Swanson, Peter Ryan, Len Schmid, Mark Boswell and Jim Johnson. For the record, it was the Flood of ’97 that dislocated the Reader to Fargo.
Many discounted the possibility that HPR would survive even its first few years. We did, however.
Just think…
December 14th, 2016
We can sit and post and kvetch about the commercialization of the holidays until we are blue in the face, but personally, the thing that I appreciate the most is holiday baking -- especially making springerle with my grandma. Springerle are a traditional German Christmas cookie, often made with wooden forms--some of ours are over 100 years old and happen to be family heirlooms. Each cookie is a relief print and an individual edible work of art.
The serious baking begins once she brings…
December 7th, 2016
We have a huge public relations problem here in the Peace Garden State. While the world was watching the DAPL pipeline controversy, ND failed abysmally in influencing the narrative telling people about us. What they see casts us in anything but a positive light. We need to acknowledge this.
The movie Fargo gave us an example of how far good PR and branding can go. The film – and subsequently the TV series – put Fargo on the map. Who’d have ever thought that DAPL, NoDAPL, and…
November 30th, 2016
By Tom Bixby
tom@hpr1.com
“Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney and Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler called pipeline protesters Liz George and Kana Newell over to their table,” wrote HPR reporter C.S. Hagen, “while they were eating at the Chinese restaurant Rice Bowl,” in Mandan.
The two women were leaving the restaurant. The sheriff and the chief didn’t have to call them over.
What followed was not a conversation. Laney lectured George and Newell, and when they didn’t agree with…
__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
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…
