April 7th, 2016
The tragedy of heroin use and overdoses is landing at our feet and our community and state are unprepared. Lives are in the balance.
While most compassionate people are surprised by this happening here, they also are grasping for understanding and for ways to help.
Make no mistake, this is a Fargo problem, a Moorhead problem, a West Fargo problem, a North Dakota and a Minnesota problem.
A too-common sentiment is, “Well, shouldn’t people take responsibility for their own…
March 30th, 2016
It’s about that time when we ask our readers to call the shots. The Best of the Best is coming around the corner and we at the High Plains Readers want you to tell us the best bands, the top artists, the best eats, drinks, and everything in between.
On another note-- what are we missing? What would you the readers like to see in the Best of the Best? Are there music categories that we are missing? Are there sub genres of art, craft, and theater that are non-existent? Should we involve…
March 30th, 2016
I’ve been spending a considerable amount of time in nursing homes lately. One for my grandmother’s two week rehab after a broken hip and also participating in the North Dakota Council on the Arts Art for life program, which we’ll elaborate on later. This experience has opened my eyes for the better.
Yes, there are negative connotations as far as nursing homes go, such as over medicating, theft, elder abuse etc, but not every nursing home or every experience in a nursing home is…
March 16th, 2016
HPR’s cover this week depicts three flags flying half mast. The flagpoles are syringes, such as those used to inject heroin.
Our community has been rocked. Three men died in seven days due to heroin overdoses. There have been other near misses. Law enforcement officials notified the public Sunday that heroin arriving recently in Fargo-Moorhead and the region may be tainted and or laced with fentanyl.
This situation is not only urgent, but tragic beyond words.
We have family members,…
March 9th, 2016
Many state residents watched the North Dakota Republican Gubernatorial debate last week with Wayne Stenehjem, Rick Becker and Doug Burgum at the podiums. It was insightful and intriguing.
The predominant focus on declining oil revenues tells us a lot. Listening to the questions posed, one after another, a listener might think that oil is the only industry in the state.
But it’s not. North Dakota first and foremost is an agricultural state and a breadbasket of the…
March 2nd, 2016
Gender and sexuality have always been a hot button issue.. wait, let’s rephrase that. Sexuality has always been a hot button issue and a hot topic in gossip and conversation, but gender has been generating a lot of buzz in mainstream conversation as of late, thanks to Caitlyn Jenner.
The two do tend go hand in hand. Sure, one can assume that we’ve all been assigned a biological gender. Nurseries have been color coded for generations, but what happens when society no longer fits in a…
February 25th, 2016
There are multiple photographers throughout the state who have taken it upon themselves to explore the roads less travelled in hopes of documenting and exploring not only the landscape but small towns on the brink of disappearing from both our sight and our memory.
It’s hard to imagine that less than 100 years ago a town could be booming, with multiple banks, opera houses, blacksmith shops, schools, etc., but now all that’s left of these communities are crumbling structures and…
February 17th, 2016
Ordinary Americans cannot continue to be blind to the unsettling reality that our elected congressional leaders are too often self-serving, pitifully inept, condescending con-artists, and not in the slightest focused on any of us or the greater public good.
Granted, this sentiment is bubbling up at the present moment due to the idiocy in our nation’s capitol after the death of a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
The Constitution spells out…
February 10th, 2016
Something Fishy is Going on
By the time this is published a renovation will have taken place -- and we are not talking about the renovation occurring at the High Plains Reader office that has left your editor squatting at John Strand’s desk for the past week.
According to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, a “chemical renovation” is taking place at the Raleigh Reservoir in Grant County, which is located in southwestern North Dakota. This “renovation” is intended to…
February 3rd, 2016
A hot topic in North Dakota in recent months has revolved around the desire to statutorily limit the use of college students as confidential undercover informants. This change is supported by the parents of Andrew Sadek, the college student at North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton who was strong-armed into becoming an informant after allegedly…
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By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…
By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comThere’s not really a word for reconciliation, it's said in our language. There’s a word for making it right. To talk about reconciliation in terms of the relationship between Indigenous…
Thursday, December 5, 7-11:30 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 Broadway N., FargoLegendary post hardcore band Quicksand plays Fargo, with fellow New Yorkers Pilot to Gunner and local heroes Baltic to Boardwalk and Hevvy…
By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com Okay, so last month I promised you a woman President of the United States. So much for my predictability quotient. Lesson 1: Never promise something you can’t control. And nobody, not even…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWith What is Happening in the World, Why not Artificial Intelligence? Since Lucy fell out of a tree and walked about four million years ago, she has been evolving to humans we call Homo sapiens. We…
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 In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…
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By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s sophomore feature “Dandelion” is now playing in theaters following a world premiere at South by Southwest in March. The movie stars KiKi Layne as the…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIn 1974, the Jamestown Arts Center started as a small space above a downtown drugstore. It has grown to host multiple classrooms, a gallery, performance studio, ceramic studio and outdoor art park.…
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 Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…
Rynn WillgohsJanuary 25, 1972-October 8, 2024 Rynn Azerial Willgohs, age 52, of Vantaa, Finland, died by suicide on October 8, 2024. Rynn became her true-self March 31, 2020. She immediately became a vocal and involved activist…
By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com My name is Faye Seidler and I’m a suicide prevention advocate and a champion of hope. I think it is fair to say that we’ve been living through difficult times and it may be especially…
