February 1st, 2017
Dear Mr. President:
I was born in 1932 during the Great Depression on 180 acres of sand and rocks near Little Falls, Minnesota. I played Anti-Over and Pump-Pump-Pull-Away with my 20 schoolmates from surrounding farms in a little country school for eight years. I thought I was living in a great country.
My four older brothers and sisters and I milked 20 cows before breakfast and milked the same 20 before supper. We read books by kerosene lamp. We warmed and cooked by a wood-coal stove in…
January 25th, 2017
How to make America a third-world country again
A national columnist asked the question, “Did we really elect Donald Trump to be president of the United States?” Even with all the investigations pertaining to Russian intervention, voter repression, Wikileaks exposure of Democratic Party e-mails and the FBI director’s letters to Congress about Hillary’s private server and e-mails. We probably will never know.
In the 2000 presidential election the five Republican appointees on the…
January 18th, 2017
A most unpopular Bible verse
I have been listening to religious sermons for almost 78 years since I passed to my “age of reason” at seven, so I have “analyzed” about 4,000 sermons give or take, 20 years worth delivered by Roman Catholic priests and 58 years by Lutheran ministers. I think I have a sharp ear for the turn of a phrase or a potent verse.
I swear on a stack of King James’s I had never heard James 5:1-6; this eye-and-ear catching bible verse about the subject of…
January 11th, 2017
Sex chromosomes XX and XY just don’t cut it anymore
In my last column of December, I wrote that the January 2017 special issue of National Geographic would be totally devoted to the issue of gender around the world. I have received my copy, so I have spent hours marking up the 152 pages that have explored the science of homosexuality and its effect on social systems in civilized and not-so-civilized areas of the world.
I think this effort is the most important document published in at…
December 21st, 2016
What kinds of freedom do you want with your religion?
Here we go again. The Telescope Media Group in St. Cloud, Minn. wants to get into the wedding photography business—but does not want to video, film, or photograph same-sex weddings.
In other words, they want to have the religious freedom to discriminate against their fellow human beings. They claim they are Bible-believing Christians who do not want to be forced “to produce a conception of marriage that directly contradicts their…
December 14th, 2016
Firearms kill one and wound two Minnesotans every day
When 23-year-old law clerk Chase Passauer was killed in April of 2016 in the St. Paul law office of North Star Criminal Defense, someone finally kept track of how much his death cost.
The eight bullets fired into his body cost about $3.00, but the crime committed by an ex-felon who should not have had a firearm in the first place ended up costing society about $7 million. That sum included the costs of the investigation,…
December 7th, 2016
Things to consider
In this age of the disappearing middle-class and the greatest income inequality in our history, I see the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is sponsoring a fund drive called KeepThem Ruby, to repair and preserve Minnesota’s own Judy Garland’s leather, sequined, and glass-beaded slippers from that epic “The Wizard of Oz.” Holy Toto, they think it will take $300,000 to fix the 80-year-old shoes, so donors will receive tote bags by a Tony…
November 30th, 2016
Is the white god creating a mighty white fortress?
Six weeks and six days after Abraham Lincoln gave his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865 he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer.
His speech was a plea to end the division of the states that had cost the lives of over 600,000 troops and 400,000 civilians: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we…
November 22nd, 2016
Chaos and the American empire
Harper’s Magazine in the last edition published a long list of items that were mistaken for guns in the hands of people killed by police in the United States since 2001.
People were shot to death because they held hairbrushes, bottles of cologne, beer, and pills; toys and underwear.
Among the hundreds of items handheld, one seemed to stand out: a Bible. Maybe the victim got a break later when he approached the pearly gate. I wonder if the police shooter…
November 16th, 2016
The longest civil war in history
Our American Civil War, brought on by white supremacists and the enslavement of millions of blacks, started in 1860, killed 620,000 of the Blue and Grey over five years of intensive fighting, and really hasn’t been concluded yet.
The military part of the war was deadly, almost matching the 644,000 we have lost in all of our other wars. We have gone through Reconstruction days, 40 acres and a mule, hundreds of Jim Crow laws, the so-called separate but…
__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comIt’s been eight years since the Water Protectors were cleared off the banks of the Cannonball and Missouri Rivers. It was a bitter ending to a battle to protect the water; and for most of us…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Rodeo is a family tradition for sisters Kate and Tera Flitton. The duo performs under the moniker Stellar Trick Riding Cowgirls. The Utah natives will be performing along with bareback riders,…
Saturday, April 19, 8 p.m. doors open at 7 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 N Broadway, FargoCheck out this cult classic on the big screen as a live band performs along with David Bowie’s vocals, all while basking in the Art Deco glory…
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 Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comA column on How Trumusklicans are trying to change historyIt took William L. Shirer a couple decades to write and then publish “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany,”…
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 Photos by Rick GionLiving in downtown Fargo has its perks. One of them is taking walks along Broadway and peeking into the restaurants and shops for a glimpse of what’s new. Sometimes this makes a…
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 Making her feature directorial debut, Rachael Abigail Holder guides “Love, Brooklyn” to a satisfying conclusion, even if some viewers might have hoped for a different outcome for the…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comTelling Queer History is an LGBTQIA+ organization that utilizes oral storytelling and community building to educate, honor and collect oral histories. To honor its final year in operation, 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 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 Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com Somewhere lost in the cultural scuffle of what it means to be transgender is that it is an absolute joy to experience the world in such a way. When you take away the societal prejudice and…
By Gilbert Kuipersgilbertkuipers@outlook.com I live in North Dakota District 24 and have been challenging the district Republicans about their understanding of climate science for years. There has been no serious response to my…
