Editorial

#feelthebern is real

September 16th, 2015

Excitement over Sanders nothing to blow off

The excitement and energy emanating from the Bernie Sanders presidential run is spreading to the Fargo-Moorhead area. It’s easy to see why, he is an unconventional candidate speaking the truth in a time of tremendous skepticism about politicians who have said one thing to get elected and done something else after. Young people, college students and other citizens not normally drawn to campaigns or politics are constantly talking about Bernie…

Happy 21st Birthday, HPR

September 9th, 2015

The little newspaper that could turns 21 with this edition of HPR. We are proud as all get out and hope you bear with us as we reminisce and acknowledge.

The High Plains Reader no doubt has had a storied past. Good and bad. It’s never been easy, but whoever said building a business from scratch is easy? We’ve had our moments where we hit the ball out of the park and others where we fell flat on our face. Mostly, though, we went through the motions, the ups and the downs, and we grew…

Our Opinion / Family values candidate bets family on political future

September 3rd, 2015

Two weeks in a row we’re reading about the unfolding race for governor in North Dakota. Little did we know when we mentioned Drew Wrigley as perceived heir apparent to the post, that in a matter of days his political world would be rocked big time.

Among most political pundits and even rank-and-file Republicans, it was a foregone conclusion that Lt. Gov. Wrigley would seek and likely get the party nod to replace Gov. Jack Dalrymple. That assumption can now safely be considered a…

On your mark

August 26th, 2015

Our Opinion / What kind of North Dakota we envision will bear out in who we choose to be governor

HPR leans left. That’s no secret. We like many aspects of what people call progressive movements. Yet, we also advocate for fiscal prudence.

That said, it will not come as a surprise that we are eagerly anticipating the forthcoming race for governor in North Dakota. No doubt, Gov. Jack Dalrymple’s announcement this week that he will not seek reelection in 2016 has fueled immense…

The education of a wandering girl

August 19th, 2015

Dig into Pockets of culture

By Sabrina Hornung

At the beginning of the year I relocated to my hometown. I’m not gonna lie -- I felt pretty down and out, betrayed, heartbroken and downright disgusted. Everything I owned was hastily stored in my mom’s garage in no particular order. I found myself in Jamestown contemplating my life choices. Living out of a few boxes in my grandparents’ house and sharing my childhood bedroom with my two cats, “Lion King” sheets and twin-size canopy…

Refugees coming to Fargo results in media misinformation

August 13th, 2015

More responsible reporting, less racist social media comments please

The recent uproar over 100 refugees coming to Fargo in a resettlement program administered by Lutheran Social Services was indicative of how the media can twist things and stir people into a frenzy using misinformation and race baiting. When a legal immigration program is fused with images of illegal immigrants crossing the border and the origin of where those are coming from are constantly mentioned, you have to wonder…

Love always makes a difference

August 6th, 2015

Diane Miller speaking at TEDxFargo / Photo by Dan Francis

A million times thank you to the Fargo-Moorhead community

Throughout my three and a half years of being a leader in local media, I’ve gone from thinking “I’m HPR’s best editor ever” to thinking “How on all crevices of the earth would anyone have ever considered me to be an editor?” I didn’t even know how to spell the word spelled. I thought it was spelt.

I could go on. Growing up, I was a fabulous gym-class student but just an OK English student. I had no journalism…

Starting anew

July 29th, 2015

Welcome, Sabrina Hornung and Chris Hennen; a grateful send-off for Diane Miller

We’ve known for several months that HPR editor Diane Miller will be moving to the Twin Cities. We fully expect she’ll soar to new heights in her new environs.

That said, it will be with full hearts as we wrap up Diane’s tenure as editor-in-chief here at the High Plains Reader. She’s done a stellar job to say the least and we love and respect her.

When the inevitable move away from Fargo became apparent,…

Don’t trample rights of individuals

July 23rd, 2015

A week ago, as HPR was preparing to go to press, a firestorm was unfolding in our community. Long story short – as most of you know this well – a Fargo resident was targeted on social media and it was implied that he was inappropriately taking pictures of young children at the Island Park swimming pool.

The original Facebook post included pictures of 37-year-old Kirk Ludwig, as well as his car and license plate. That post went viral. It was like someone opened a flood gate. A tsunami…

Public safety in question

July 15th, 2015

Fargo was in a bit of an uproar this week after a man was allegedly caught taking pictures of kids swimming at Island Park Pool. While he can’t be criminally charged, he was promptly banned by the Fargo Park District from all city parks. Also, Police identified the man and cited him for pot possession.

Much debate ensued on social media about the rights of the swimmers and the freedom of speech rights of the photographer. While it’s important for everyone involved to follow the law,…