Tracker Pixel for Entry

​The Strenuous Past, the Way Forward

Editorial | September 19th, 2023

By John Strand

jas@hpr1.com

Our Opinion: Thank you, Reader readers, for 29 fulfilling years

Chugging along, The Little Newspaper That Could commences its 30th volume and year with this issue. Simply getting here speaks volumes. Just imagine the words, the bylines, the opinion pieces, the heart that has been part of the High Plains Reader’s nearly three-decade storied journey.

At the risk of sounding like a relic – spanning a couple generations can do that – HPR has always tried to be relevant. And in these dramatically changing times, especially for print media, and after all we and this newspaper have been through, it’s truly a milestone to be optimistically looking forward to our 30th year birthday.

The story which precedes most all of us goes back to a day at Whitey’s in East Grand Forks in September 1994 where a small cadre of college journalists hatched the idea of creating their own newspaper. They came up with the name High Plains Reader and toasted it.

Just over two years later, ownership changed for the twice-monthly paper printed in Grafton and distributed predominantly in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.

Then shortly after that ownership change, the historic Flood of 1997 dislocated HPR entirely from Grand Forks and the only way forward it seemed was to make Fargo-Moorhead our new home base.

It was not long before the covers were in four-color process and we were really stepping up to the big leagues. Then we took the leap and began to publish the paper weekly.

For context, up until that general time, no competing newspaper had succeeded to simply exist for more than two or three years, in several decades. Yet HPR persisted.

Through the years, lots of nicknames were tossed at us and our newspaper. We were something of an easy target, of liberal persuasion in a conservative region. We made friends, never gave up and became the heart and center of the progressive community, where our favorite people dropped in to visit, touch base and get to know one another.

Over time, we cannot even begin to count the bylines carried in pages of our paper. We always had some anchor, standout writers who became pillars of our content: Chris Jacobs, Greg Carlson, Ed Raymond, for example. And we had a stellar list of writers who were editors of HPR or contributors.

And we had hundreds of hundreds of customers who advertised with us and that’s truly who paid the bills to get this paper to thousands upon thousands of readers weekly, decade after decade.

The Flood of ‘97 was a defining moment. For many years we did our best to be the arts and entertainment newspaper for both the Grand Forks and the Fargo regions, but eventually our focus needed to be on the community in which we were based. It was a necessary decision yet painful to cut the cords with our roots in Grand Forks.

Now, these many years later, we often hear from people who tell us of the role the High Plains Reader played in their personal lives. It’s gratifying to hear recognition that our heartfelt effort was in fact appreciated and made a difference.

When HPR was a relative newcomer to downtown Fargo, we were a constant voice for a better downtown, for more vibrancy, for more arts and culture. Some of you may recall how lonely it was downtown. HPR was hip before our downtown again got hip.

Our journey was never about the money. Had that been the case, there would not have been a High Plains Reader. Rather, it was about heart and community. Our army of people got paid with an immense sense of gratification because they were part of something bigger than any one of us. It was a movement, a groundswell rippling out week after week, reaching new readers and new generations, carrying glimmers of hope and affirmation.

These days the print media, small and large, is in danger of extinction. But mind you, we did in fact – well, many of us did — survive an era when the country’s president called the media the enemy of the people. Remember that?

Plus we’ve seen the shift from local media to nameless, faceless digital conglomerate media like Facebook and X and trust us, every dollar invested in those media means fewer dollars for local media, the ones who write the stories that you cut out and tape to your fridge.

There are way too many names and moments to try to recall 29-plus years of them in 800 words, but please know it’s been a remarkable journey and we are not nearly done by any stretch of the imagination.

HPR survived hell and high water, floods and fire, good times and bad, and a 100-year pandemic. Though now a monthly independent North Dakota-based print and online media, our audience still numbers in the tens of thousands.

So, happy 29th birthday to The Little Newspaper That Could and join us in aiming proudly toward our 30th anniversary a year from now. Meantime, we thank our advertisers, our contributors, our predecessors and our extended family.

It’s a humbling honor to be your newspaper. Thank you, sincerely.

Recently in:

By Maddie Robinson  maddierobi.mr@gmail.comIn order to get affordable child care for her son, Paulina Erbele has to drive from her work in Gackle,…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comphoto by Logan MacraeAnyone who lives in the Fargo-Moorhead area knows that its yearly weather is a sequence of…

Saturday, December 2, 20231st seating: 3:30pm, 2nd seating: 6pmSons of Norway, 722 2nd Ave N, FargoCelebrate the holidays with a four-course plated sit-down dinner and hosted by the one and only Frode Tilden. “If you love…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comRemember the legacy of the NPL.Last Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the annual meeting and dinner hosted by the Dakota Resource Council in Bismarck. I came in feeling a little defeated,…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comHow Many of Napoleon’s Hats Will Save Planet Earth for Homo Sapiens?Before I get into this week’s subject of why we need to double the number of college majors in English and Humanities if we…

We are looking for 55-gallon plastic food grade barrels, do you have ideas or connections?We use these barrels to teach our resilient yard workshop series including Make Your Own Rain Barrel and Make Your Own Compost Tumbler. If…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comThe temperatures have dropped and so have the leaves in the Upper Midwest. That means it's now the holiday season. Part of the joy of this special season for me is eating. But first things first.…

Dropkick Murphys Put Music to the Words of Woody GuthrieBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comPhoto by Dave StaubleWith the release of 2022’s “This Machine Still Kills Fascists” and 2023’s “Okemah Rising.” The Dropkick…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com“Saltburn,” the highly anticipated follow-up to “Promising Young Woman” – which earned Oscar gold for Best Original Screenplay – doesn’t quite equal the bite and sting of…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comA trio of Burleigh County artists are making their mark in Wing, North Dakota, to promote local foods and are quite literally painting the town, or at least the newly acquired Wing City Government…

By Eric Dallmanericd@hpr1.comWe recently watched “The PROM” at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, and it was an experience that left a lasting impact on us. The story, a heartwarming yet familiar one, follows a group of Broadway stars…

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 John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On the first day of the month I ask people to thank a journalist they know or someone who contributes to papers in some meaningful way. When I grew up, my best friend's father was a journalist…