Editorial

Best of February

January 28th, 2015

Frank Waln, performing at Sing Our Rivers Red event on Feb. 9

Hello, February. What a calendar lineup we have here in Fargo-Moorhead.

BeethovenFest | All of February

Kicking off with a free screening of “Beethoven Lives Upstairs” and an All-Beethoven Concert by the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony on Jan. 31, the area’s first ever BeethovenFest will be a month-long community-wide event celebrating one of the most important and influential composers of all time. Check out our story inside this week’s issue for more details.

Fargo Winter Blues Festival…

MLK Day Awards Recap

January 21st, 2015

(Guest editorial)

On Martin Luther King Day 2015, Fargo-Moorhead saw an opportunity to bring out the best in what capped off a great year in human and social relations activism within our community. The 15th annual MLK Day Celebration and Award Ceremony highlighted organizations and individuals who deserve to be most proud of bypassing stigmas, ignorance and arrogance toward those less fortunate or inadequate to fully grasp their interpretation of the American dream.

As I entered the…

We, the dream team

January 14th, 2015

Why of all U.S. cities does Fargo have such an amazing college football program? My friend and I pondered this question as we drank coffee and ate fries while watching the game at the Wurst Bier Hall last Saturday.

Sure, our team doesn’t have quite as much prestige as the Oregon Ducks, Seattle Seahawks or the New England Patriots. But for a community our size, this is about as first-rate as it can get – “this” being four national championships in a row, wins against big,…

A new year’s resolution

December 23rd, 2014

High Plains Reader will be on vacation for two weeks. We’ll hit the shelves again on Jan. 15. Happy holidays to you all!

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As a child, I was obsessed with sports. In particular, I loved playing basketball. I practiced nearly everyday, alone and outside. In my imagination, as I practiced by myself, I had an opponent and I would absolutely school him or her every which way. I out-dribbled her. I out-scored her. I out-ran her.

I even once said out loud that I would be the first woman in…

Last minute holiday gift ideas

December 17th, 2014

So You Think You Can Dance / Photo by Lee Cherry

Stuck on gifts? Here’s some random, fun ideas. Best yet, they are all available in town. Prices may vary.

-A selfie stick

An older gentleman by the name of Jim Bastian sells a contraption of this sort at a kiosk at West Acres according to Prairie Biz mag. Yes, selfie sticks are a thing … for better “groupie” shots.

-Tickets to the Steve Miller Band

I’m a joker. I’m a smoker. He’s coming on March 20th. Scheels Arena.

-“Burrito tour” gift card

I made this up … but it’s…

One election, not two

December 12th, 2014

Our Opinion / How any special election is structured could hugely affect the functionality of Fargo’s City Commission for months on end.

Some call it a potential conundrum. Sitting Fargo City Commissioners are required to tender their resignations should they choose to run for the mayor’s seat vacated when Denny Walaker died. Conceivably, that could result in a real mess.

Let’s look at this issue piece by piece.

The City Commission is required to set up a special election in order to…

Rest in Peace, Dennis Walaker

December 3rd, 2014

Our heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to Mayor Walaker’s family, friends, and colleagues

Sometimes, what’s ordinary can be extraordinary. That’s how we saw Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker, as an ordinary guy, a people person. After a brief and public battle with cancer, his death Tuesday night rocked the city.

We have absolutely no doubt that Denny Walaker would not be comfortable at all with the wave of accolades and kudos directed at him right now. On the surface, he was your…

‘Times’ for an oil change

November 25th, 2014

Our opinion/ The New York Times’ “Downside of the Boom” provides an alarming wake up call to ND.

This week’s New York Times release of an exhaustive, nine month investigative look at the oil boom and its effects in North Dakota should be a wakeup call to state citizens. Quickly dismissed by state oil-boom cheerleaders, the two-part report, “The Downside of the Boom,” provides alarming, thorough detail about concerns raised by those who are willing to confront the good as well…

In The Light of Day

November 19th, 2014

Our Opinion / The public has a legitimate interest in the unexpected and negotiated departure of Chief Ternes

Pretty much out of the blue, a media report Saturday, Nov. 8 let the cat out of the bag about city leaders “negotiating” the departure of Police Chief Keith Ternes. Mayor Walaker was quoted. By the next night, Sunday, Nov. 9, just after 8 o’clock, the city commission had announced a 7 a.m. special meeting for Monday, Nov. 10, “to discuss the Fargo Police Chief…

Voting requirements as clear as mud

November 12th, 2014

Our opinion/ North Dakotans were stymied by new Voter ID law

Since Election Day, stories have been pouring in across North Dakota from voters not allowed to vote because of requirements from the state’s new Voter ID law. This year was the first general election vote following the ND Legislature’s enactment of the law.

In particular, many college students were unable to vote on Election Day because they had moved shortly before the election. The problem, however, seems to be not the…