Editorial

Our Opinion / Jeremy Kelly and the FM Good Neighbor Project

March 11th, 2020

photo by Raul Gomez

HPR has been a supporter and advocate for harm reduction services here in our community for some time now. We were fortunate to have a strong connection with Jeremy Kelly and there’s no doubt he had a lasting positive impact on our perspectives on addiction and its many facets.

Jeremy died last week while facing an arrest for various outstanding warrants. It would appear that he was overdosing at the time of the arrest, but we can’t say we know that for certain. Toxicology reports…

Read more...


Stirring drinks, stirring pots and standing for the anthem

March 4th, 2020

cyanotype with onion dye by Sabrina Hornung

Last week Inforum reported on a vinyl beer sign outside of the VFW in Wadena, Minnesota that reads, “IF YOU CAN’T STAND FOR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM YOU DON’T NEED TO SIT AT THIS BAR.” We’re fully aware of what bar manager Cody Boyer was getting at, but if taken out of context it could also sound like a slap in the face for the disabled veterans and members of an organization that was designed to advocate for veterans.

According to vfw.org, the organization was started in 1899 and…

Read more...


You say you want a revolution

February 26th, 2020

Mcrgh! - Trumped by Bloomberg

by Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu

No one knows how much abuse and humiliation the Sanders faction is willing to endure to remain in the bosom of the corporate political beast.— Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report

First, it’s my sense that the predator class and its collaborators all-out effort to smash Bernie Sanders is not based on fear that his neo-New Deal reforms will ever come to pass. In the highly unlikely event that Sanders gains the White House, the elites know his proposals, like…

Read more...


Art for our sake

February 19th, 2020

A Call to Arms by Shane Balkowitsch

Last week North Dakota made national news again and it wasn’t anything for us to be proud of… again. Our friend, collaborator and fellow artist Shane Balkowitsch proposed a 7’ photo mural of Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg to the city of Bismarck. It was to be funded by Balkowitsch and to be installed on the side of a privately owned building in which a privately run mom and pop business was operating. A local TV station caught wind and all hell broke loose. The…

Read more...


Is happy for now more accurate than happily ever after?

February 12th, 2020

Scherenschnitte by Sabrina Hornung

Thanks to Disney Plus and bouts of insomnia, I’ve been revisiting old Disney movies from my childhood to see if they withstood the test of time.The older I get the more I realize, too, that talking and making friends with gentle forest creatures is more realistic than a handsome prince coming out of the woodwork and probably a lot less trouble in the long run. I’ve never tried online dating but the consensus I’ve gotten from my friends who do has affirmed that there’re more…

Read more...


There’s a sexual awakening in the force

February 5th, 2020

Scherenschnitte by sabrina hornung

Art by Sabrina Hornung

There’s something to be said about a halftime show that overshadows the big game itself, and that absolutely warms my heart -- mainly because full disclosure: I honestly don’t care about football.

Apparently the show was seen as inappropriate to the “Concerned Carols” of the world. The controversy behind Jenifer Lopez and Shakira’s performance elicits the world’s biggest eye roll from yours truly. Why? If you happen to remember the state of pop music in…

Read more...


The world is grieving for Australia

January 22nd, 2020

photo by Erin Thostenson - Melbourne Botanical Gardens

by Erin Thostenson
photo by Erin Thostenson, Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne.
ErinAT@far.midco.net

I've lived most of my life in Fargo, but I attended La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia last year to finish my degree in writing and literature. Australia is a very dear country to me and I care for the people, both the friends that I have made and the regular honest folks who make up the nation, earnestly. It is acutely painful seeing the bushfire and climate disaster they are…

Read more...


1:48 seconds of Music that Helped Midwife a Cultural Revolution

January 15th, 2020

by Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu

On New Year’s Day, I was sporadically listening to Sirius Radio Channel 5 as they did their annual countdown of top songs from the 1950s and cringing at my fading aural memories. This prompted me to look back on specific years and I noted that in 1954, the list of number one Billboard singles included cloying songs by the likes of Eddie Fisher, Doris Day, Perry Como, Pattie Page, Jo Stafford and Rosemary Clooney, the kind of stuff my parents watched…

Read more...


From us to you

December 23rd, 2019

artwork by Sabrina Hornung

The holiday season is upon us and we are still always surprised just how quickly time flies. That said, it goes without saying how grateful we at HPR are for ALL OF YOU. You see, the High Plains Reader is your paper. Our advertisers are your advertisers. Our mission is to be relevant in your lives.

For those who don’t already know, HPR hits the streets this week on Thursday, Dec. 26, and then we take a two-week vacation. No HPR Jan. 2 and 9. We are back and out in force Jan 16.

The…

Read more...


Good news for people who like bad news

December 18th, 2019

editorial photo by Raul Gomez - Porto Portugal

As we fall into the full swing of the holiday season, I keep hearing sentiments of shop local, keep it local, etc., etc. A sentiment that we fully support but it’s so much more than just the shopping and supporting your local eateries and watering holes. Don’t get us wrong, these are all very important parts of our community, but we’re forgetting something.

In a world oversaturated with media, how much do you think about the local media you consume? Sure at any given time we’ll…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry Empire Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL2 Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry staveq1 Tracker Pixel for Entry WurstWest

Recently in:

By Bryce Vincent Haugen There are three Fargo Park Board seats up for election June 9. Park Board President Vicki Dawson and long-time member Dr. Joe Deutsch announced their reelection bids, but board member Aaron Hill is vacating…

By Michael M. Miller Rev. Salomon Joachim, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Beulah, North Dakota., delivered an address to the Western Conference of the Dakota District of the American Lutheran Church in 1939. His presentation was…

Thursday, April 23, 7 p.m.Fargodome, 1800 University Dr. N, FargoHeralded as "The Nicest Man in Stand-Up" by The Atlantic, Nate Bargatze is also one of the top-grossing comedians, breaking both streaming and attendance records. Now…

By Sabrina Hornung In the last week of March, we heard about an AI education droid visiting the White House as the first lady made a pitch to replace teachers with androids. In an interview with conservative commentator Benny…

By Ed RaymondWhy do women make up only 2% of humans on death row? In the 16th Century, when the Roman Catholic Pope refused to grant Henry VIII of England a divorce so he could marry the beautiful Anne Boleyn, he told the Pope and…

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 Gion A brand new food event called the "ONE BITE Challenge" will launch in downtown Fargo on May 23. Rocky Schneider, executive director of the Downtown Community Partnership told us more. HPR: Hi Rocky. Thank you for…

By John ShowalterAs hip-hop started to make its way into the national spotlight in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was largely split into two camps, “East Coast” and “West Coast”. Not content to be left out of a…

By Blaise Balas As many Fargoans will tell you, it is almost vanishingly rare that our town gets any kind of major recognition, let alone placement in a movie. Movies are reserved for New York, Chicago, Boston — you know, the big…

By Sabrina Hornung Something wicked (and wonderful) this way comes to this year’s Plains Art Gala. With the theme being “Nightmare at the Museum,” the Plains Art Museum is partnering up with Drekker and Brewhalla as…

Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…

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 Ellie Liverani In November 2025, the FDA initiated the removal of the “black box” warning from Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The “black box” warning is a FAD safety warning for healthcare providers and patients…

January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…

By Chris M. StonerBryon Noem deserves to feel shame. Not for his bimbofication fetish. As a drag queen for nearly a quarter of a century, I whole-heartedly think people should do more exploration of their gender and sexual…