June 27th, 2021
by Ed Raymond
01 July 2021
HecKKK, There’s No Racism in the Divided States of AmeriKa!
Although I lived on Highway 27, four miles east of Little Falls, for my first 18 years, I didn’t learn until I was 89 that HW 27 actually was constructed on top of an Indian trail that had been used by Minnesota tribes for thousands of years.
Isn’t it amazing that we probably learn something about our history every day? I played cowboys and Indians in the hills near it, walked…
June 20th, 2021
by Ed Raymond
24 June 2021
When Will Money Talk for the Very Last Time?
I have never been a country music fan, but I have been a country “poet” fan for decades. As a vocalist, I have sung solos, in duets, trios, in male and mixed quartets, in madrigals, and in church, high school, and college choirs. I also sang in a mixed quartet called the Winter Wonderland Quartet and traveled for a year in a show WCCO’s Cedric Adams put together with Miss America Bebe Shopp…
June 13th, 2021
by Ed Raymond
17 June 2021
Why Cooks Are Yelling “Flip Your Own Damn Burgers!”
A June 3 headline in The Wall Street Journal caught my eye because it raved: “U.S. Economy’s Rebound is Without Historical Parallel.” I was shocked because I remembered a news story in The Guardian a few months ago that stated one in four Americans, or a quarter of the entire population, did not have enough money to have access to “nutritious food needed for a healthy life.”…
June 7th, 2021
by Ed Raymond
10 June 2021
When Lampreys and Humans Ate Each Other
Some of my musical favorites are on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CD containing Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Cats. He loves to rehabilitate old stuff. He just bought the oldest continuously running theater in London, the Royal Drury Lane which opened in 1663. It’s ironic the Divided States of America is already falling apart in a little more than two centuries. The theater burned…
May 31st, 2021
by Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
03 June 2021
Eternal Fact: Homo Sapiens Can’t Stop Having Sex or Abortions
Bible thumpers proclaim God commanded us to “Be fruitful and multiply!” Homo sapiens have done a good job for about 300,000 years, particularly after migrating out of Africa 60,000 years ago. Population statisticians estimate about 100 billion Homo sapiens have lived and died on earth to this point. As about one in four pregnancies end in miscarriages, it means that it took…
May 24th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
27 May 2021
The Pillow Guy Thinks Trump Could Be Back in the Oval Office by August
After listening to Republican representatives at a Congressional hearing insist there was no insurrection at the capitol on January 6, 2021, I believe The Divided States of America is on hospice and will require heavenly resurrection to recover from insurrection.
They testified it was just a bunch of patriotic tourists on a tour of the halls displaying their faith in…
May 16th, 2021
by Ed Raymond
What Hath Trump Wrought?
Dan Rather at 89 has been directly involved with the history of the United -- now Divided -- United States of America for one-third of its life. He spoke truth to power at all levels of government. He asked penetrating questions to dog catchers and presidents alike. He took on the paranoid Tricky Dick Nixon with both humor and wrath—while increasing Nixon’s paranoia.
Dan got into trouble when “Big Daddy” President George…
May 10th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
What Are Our Biophysical and Religious Limits?
Scientists are studying the effects of the world’s ever-expanding economic growth, increases in population, consumption of our natural resources, and our limited ability to decrease or store our waste. To describe the studies they use the inclusive term “collapseology.”
A report from Future Earth emphasizes that “extreme weather events, food insecurity, freshwater shortages, and degradation of…
May 3rd, 2021
By Ed Raymond
30 April 2021
Oliver, David, and Madame Defarge Knew About Economic Inequality
Charles Dickens wrote about real history, not fake, in his novels. In Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities and ten others,he wrote about debtor’s prisons, workhouses for the young, poor houses for the old, and the perversions of economic inequality illustrated by the estates and the magnificent mansions of the rich. Think of…
April 25th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
24 April 2021
The Longest Civil War in History: Yankees vs. Planters
The American Civil War actually started in 1619 when 20 slaves were brought to the shores of New England. By 1860 there were four million slaving in our economy. Our first eight presidents were slave owners and many signers of the Declaration of Independence that declared “all men are created equal” owned slaves. George and Martha at Mount Vernon owned 125. George declared he…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…
From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…
June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…
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 Gionrickgion@gmail.com After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…
Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The writing/directing partnership of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck has to be one of the most curious cases of crazy connect-the-dots career moves in recent cinema. From short documentaries and…
By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
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 Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…
