Editorial

HPR’s Ballot Measure Primer

October 22nd, 2014

Our Opinion / Get off your duff Nov. 4 and cast your vote

Far too many of you reading this editorial will sit idly on your duffs come Election Day Nov. 4 and the consequences will be immense. With eight measures in the balance, we implore you to get informed and to cast your vote. Following are HPR’s recommendations for ballot measures. Next week we focus on the candidates.

VOTE “NO” CONSTITUTIONAL MEASURE #1

This measure would create and enact a new section to Article I of the North…

Silly season is here

October 16th, 2014

Our opinion/ Polls, campaign finance hypocrisy & races you should really care about on our minds as Election Day approaches

Election season, or silly season, is officially in high gear with only a few weeks remaining until Election Day. By now you either may be getting tired of the ads and back and forth between the campaigns or just starting to get engaged. With things picking up, we thought we’d share our thoughts on a few of the bigger political stories in our region as of late.

The…

The Wide Divide

October 9th, 2014

HPR’s inbox has been flooding with letters on North Dakota’s Measure 1, which states, “The inalienable right to life of every human being at any stage of development must be recognized and protected.”

Let’s for a moment set aside our concerns about end of life care and in vitro fertilization and discuss an even bigger, more important picture.

How about we start looking at the term pro-life in its most literal, real, tangible and universal sense. Being pro-life and “choosing…

Measure 6, questions to consider

October 2nd, 2014

Advocates for shared parenting in North Dakota are proposing a measure that could change the lives of families throughout the state.

According to the proposed ND law, “(Measure 6), upon voter approval, would create a legal presumption that each parent in a child custody case is fit to parent, unless ‘clear and convincing evidence' demonstrates otherwise. Furthermore, the measure would give each parent in a custody case, unless one parent is proven unfit, equal parental rights and…

Back to Iraq?

September 25th, 2014

Our opinion // The US should be very cautious about expanding our involvement in the Middle East

This week, the United States began air strikes in Syria in an attempt to disarm ISIS who is causing all sorts of problems in Iraq in attempt to take it over. The move marks a significant reengagement of the United States in military action in Iraq after previously pulling all troops from there as the vast majority of the American people had wanted.

We should be very cautious about prolonging…

20th Birthday Party Review

September 18th, 2014

HPR’s 20th birthday has come and gone. We held three events and a lot of folks of all walks of life popped in to be part of the celebration. Above all else, times like that remind us how fortunate we truly are.

Our karaoke party at the Plains Art Museum Thursday night was the kick-off event. We had an amazing layout of food provided by Josie’s Corner. Jon Offutt signed glass paperweights made their debut that night. By Request DJ did a good job setting the tone with music and coaxing…

Welcome, ESPN College Gameday, to downtown Fargo

September 9th, 2014

It’s not often football is a topic we choose to editorialize about, but two stories surrounding the sport caught our eye this week, one good and one bad.

The first is the return of ESPN’s College Gameday to Fargo for the second year in a row to highlight the success of NDSU Bison Football. The best part about this news is the decision to broadcast the show from downtown Fargo again. While it has led to some grumbling from some faithful Bison fans who think Gameday should be located…

Protect and serve—not teargas and tank

August 28th, 2014

It’s not often we find ourselves agreeing with Senator Rand Paul. But in the wake of the shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown and subsequent mishandling of protests by the Ferguson Missouri Police Department, Paul asked on national television why the federal government spent $8 million to fight terrorism by giving money to the Fargo Police Department. It’s a question many are asking in the wake of scenes from Ferguson, which looked more like war zones than an American city. Why do…

Veggie-ing out is easy

August 7th, 2014

I’ve now been a vegetarian for full year. Holy corncobs, has it ever been easy.

In fact, it’s been so easy that I’ll never go back to eating meat again – ever. Quote me on that, because I used to be a bacon cheeseburger, pepperoni pizza and fried chicken fanatic. I even once ate 12 pieces of bacon (nothing else) at an Embers in Mankato …

College!

I decided to become a vegetarian mostly for wellness reasons, but also for environmental and ethical reasons. But that’s not what this…

Moorhead homeless deserve support

July 31st, 2014

The debate over a proposed homeless apartment complex in Moorhead has not exactly been a lesson in political courage. With the Moorhead City Council initially voting to oppose the project, despite the fact that its approval is unnecessary, it just shows even city government can sometimes be afraid of the next election no matter how far it is away.

Who speaks out, though, for the voiceless, those homeless among us growing in numbers every year, sometimes in bitter cold (some of them not…