Editorial

Would North Dakota rather poison the well or sip from it?

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…

ND’s “Legendary” Black Eye

February 3rd, 2016

HPR joins the Andrew Sadek family in demanding elimination of laws allowing college students to be used as undercover informants

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…

In our opinion /Sticks and stones may break my bones but words are replaced with emojis

January 27th, 2016

What we have here is a failure to communicate

Is the pen mightier than the app?

Social media is saturated with links with pages and pages of lists. One of which included “words that need to die in 2016,” such as “bae,” “fleek,” “hashtag,” etc. With the advent of social media, are we in danger of losing our regionalisms and colloquialisms -- i.e. phrases that distinguish us from the rest of the world -- and be faced with a strange universal social media slang?

Ya sure, you…

We fully expect the Governor’s race to be above board, provocative, insightful and positive

January 21st, 2016

Burgum Rocks ND

Doug Burgum’s formal announcement last week that he’s seeking the Republican Party endorsement in the North Dakota Governor’s race was an absolute game changer. And, for the sake of disclosure, we consider this development to be good news.

That said, the unfolding Governor’s race will undoubtedly be for the benefit and greater good of all North Dakotans. We have some terrific candidates who have thrown their hat in the ring. Three Republicans -- Doug Burgum, Rick…

Feats of animal cruelty and mourning the passing of an icon

January 13th, 2016

Police Dogs and Diamond Dogs

Police Dogs

A law was recently passed Under the Federal Law Enforcement Animal Protection Act, that anyone assaulting federal law enforcement animals could face up to ten years in prison and pay upward of $1,000 in fines.

What happens when the guilty party is another officer of the law?

What if said officer of the law is only charged with misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty?

Ramsey County (MN) deputy Brett Barry was caught on video picking up his K9 partner,…

Our Opinion / Happy Holidays everyone and to each of you a Happy New Year.

December 23rd, 2015

We Have Each Other

It’s been the tradition here at HPR that we always take the last week of December and the first week of January off as a holiday break. And to give each of us a bit of time to reflect and visualize going forward into our next year.

Of course, at times like this, we wax nostalgic, too. There’s no doubt a lot of water under the bridge. Two decades plus, in fact.

And it gives us pause so as to think about what’s next. Creative stirrings, or something like that.

You…

Our Opinion / What the heck is happening here?

December 18th, 2015

Remember the Golden Rule

I was always told the best way to make friends and keep friends was to avoid talking about religion and politics…unfortunately those are the two biggest hot button issues at this particular juncture. We all know what opinions are like -- everyone has one. That’s what letters to the editor are for. I promise I do read them and I do share them with my colleagues.

The state of America continues to worry me. In a land settled by immigrants for immigrants, what would…

Time for an investigation into Sadek’s death

December 9th, 2015

60 Minutes piece reiterates need for answers

This past weekend, 60 Minutes delved into the murky world of confidential informants, highlighted by the death of one of our own Andrew Sadek, the NDSCS student from Wahpeton who was more than likely murdered because of his work as a confidential informant. Sadek was pressured to become an informant after selling $80 worth of weed on campus and threatened with 40 years in jail and $40,000 in fines. His mother recently told HPR she will seek to…

Our opinion/Real terror threat in America coming from white American extremists

December 2nd, 2015

We must do more to prevent political violence in the US

Following the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, there has been a major rush to demonize Syrian refugees in this country this despite evidence piling up that Syrian refugees were not responsible for them. But moreover we’ve had several reminders recently that the only ones spreading terror and gun violence in America are white male extremists. Lately they are the real threat to us all right in front of us all over America.

It’s…

Our opinion/#Mystorystartedthere family immigration histories shared over social media

November 24th, 2015

You’ve come a long way, Baby

Haji Hagopian and his wife Nouritza fled what was once Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1923 at the tail end of the Armenian genocide, Nouritza was three people away from being gunned down by a Turkish firing squad. My Grandfather was merely three months old at the time and the family soon found themselves in Marseilles, France. After Haji's death the family relocated to Chicago in 1939. From there they found themselves in central North Dakota. Haji and…