September 19th, 2018
We failed to educate the players of “flag” football
I passed all of the American history courses in Morrison County District 54, Little Falls High School, and Moorhead State Teachers College, but I’m often appalled about what I don’t know about the history of race relationships in this “shining city on a hill.” I had never heard of the 1873 Colfax, Louisiana Massacre of blacks that took place eight years after our American Civil War killed 750,000 until I read a September 4,…
September 12th, 2018
The dilemma of spenders and producers
The Carnegies, Rockefellers, and Vanderbilts all killed workers who protested their wages and working conditions. They gained so much wealth using such tactics it has kept their descendants from soup lines for five generations. After acquiring so much wealth, power, mansions, and personal possessions enough to boggle our minds even today, these three families did do paybacks. Andrew Carnegie built 25,000 libraries across this great expanse of…
September 5th, 2018
Let’s start with a riddle
A car containing a father and his teenage son failed to make a curve and hit a tree. The father was killed instantly, but his son was severely injured and was taken to the city’s hospital and immediately wheeled into an operating room. The trauma surgeon on call raised the sheet on the boy’s face and exclaimed: “This is my son! I can’t operate on him!” How can that be?
I was going to write a column about a “real” fact that first-time mothers on…
August 29th, 2018
Just How Long Will Our Democracy Last?
A truth hit me the other night while Corky and I were watching Simone Biles defend her national championship in gymnastics. Our democracy is very young and vulnerable. One of our daughters was a very competitive gymnast in middle and high school and was a member of the F-M Acro team that entertained at half-time for numerous state and national events, including several National Basketball Association playoff games in the 1970’s. We have…
August 22nd, 2018
What Kind of Country Will Our Grandchildren Live In?
Perhaps the developers of a new science called cliodynamics will help us find an answer. In this new field, scientists and mathematicians analyze history in the hopes they can find trends and patterns in order to predict the future. Remember the adage: “Those who don’t know history are bound to repeat it.” I wonder if they are analyzing history to see if there ever was a leader with less character than Donald Trump. The word…
August 15th, 2018
Well, Mr. President, Have You No Sense Of Decency Sir, At Long Last?
We might have another flag debate in this country. We still see the Confederate symbol flying in activities promoted by white supremacists on the streets of America and at numerous Klu Klux Klan meetings in the South. And on rural pickups. A new American flag has been created by a New York artist that symbolizes our divided country. Yes, the red, white, and blue stars and stripes are still there, but a divided black…
August 8th, 2018
Actually The Times Have Been A-Changin’ Since The Big Bang
Bob Dylan did a terrific job reminding all of us that “the times they are a’changin’.” My first 14 years were spent on a small farm near Little Falls, living in a house with no electricity or running water, reading books by kerosene lamp, and dashing to the two-holer 60 feet away in the boondocks when it was 20 below.
This morning I microwaved an old cup of coffee, got on the Internet and read The Washington Post, The…
August 1st, 2018
1978-2018: Average CEO Pay Up 64% To $13.94 Million Average Worker Pay Up 2.6% To $38,613
Since the Bush Great Recession ended in 2009 corporate profits have grown at an annualized rate of 6.5%. Big bank profits have grown at even a higher rate. If we go back forty years we come up with the shocking figures in the headline. Since the end of the recession in 2009 yearly wage growth has never hit 3% while the Consumer Price Index has hovered around 2%. The Labor Department just announced…
July 25th, 2018
The Long Road From Plymouth Rock To Fantasyland
Did a liberal or conservative make this statement?
“I believe that in a modern, moral, and wealthy society, no person in America should be too poor to live. So what that means is health care is a human right. It means that every child, no matter where you are born, should have access to a college or trade school education if they so choose it. And, you know, I think that no person should be homeless if we can have public structures and…
July 18th, 2018
“Hi Ho, Hi Ho! It’s Off To Work We Go!”
How many undocumented workers are in the United States? Estimates range from 11 to 25 million. We need some history to understand why our immigration laws are in such a mess. The most important of our hundreds of immigration laws has never been enforced. That’s the one that says any employer who hires an undocumented worker is committing a felony and can be rewarded with a clanging jail cell door. Over three decades ago fat cat American…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonLocal groups will speak out against current and projected federal budget cuts in downtown Fargo this Saturday, April 26. The Red River Valley chapters of Fearless and Indivisible will lead a protest from…
By Prairie Rose Seminolems.prairierose@gmail.com I was a child who walked behind my parents into classrooms and kitchens, spaces of song and prayer, where teachings lived in the air and settled on my shoulders. I didn’t yet have…
Saturday, April 26, 1:30-3:30 p.m.Rourke Art Gallery + Museum, 521 Main Ave., MoorheadThings are coming up rosy at the Rourke in a true feast of the senses during the third annual “Gallery in Bloom” exhibit. The pop-up…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I feel like reading a newspaper is the equivalent of listening to music on vinyl. Not only is it analog, it’s an experience. I might be a little biased, but there's something about the rustling…
By Ed Raymondfargogadly@gmail.comThe wizards and kleagles in whites now wear blue suits and red tiesA hundred years ago, more than 30,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan from virtually every state in the Union wearing their white…
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.comRyan Coogler goes big and bold with “Sinners,” a sweaty, bloody vampire movie set in 1932. The filmmaker stuffs this universe with enough ideas to serve a limited-series season of episodic…
By Raul Gomez Modern Man was a gentle soul. If you were down or just wanted a friend, he’d be there for you. I remember the first day I met Modern Man. It was Jeremiah Fuglseth and me. He wanted to write about this legendary…
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 Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…
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 Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com In 2023, the Superintendent of Fargo Public Schools, Rupak Ghandi, gave a passionate plea to the Fargo School Board to follow federal law, because a recently passed state law would increase…
