June 10th, 2015
Whatever Happened to the Idea of the Common Good?I have always been a faithful reader of Lloyd Omdal’s columns because he can pick a problem apart and submit a reasonable solution with a dollop of humor without preaching. But the former N.D. Lt. governor and retired UND prof was very serious in his May 24 Forum column “’Dream’, is Fast Fading.”
He wrote: “The American Dream is slowly fading as the size of our dependent population grows. North Dakota has thousands of…
June 3rd, 2015
Blood moons and blood days at the National Rifle Association corralThere is a blood moon “gospel” of sorts among Christian fundamentalists that prophecies the Rapture, or the End Times, will begin to take place if there are four blood moons (eclipses) within one and one-half years.
According to old records, four blood moons around 1493 supposedly marked the expulsion of Jews from Spain -- and the European discovery of America. Another four heralded the founding of the state of Israel…
May 27th, 2015
A reader recently sent me a marvelous computer -- animated video of our rover Curiosity landing on Mars in November of 2011. The depiction of the separation of various rockets, the bizarre complexities of the landing, the parachutes, the rover container bouncing across the sparse Mars landscape, the unfolding of the parts, and then the awakening of that marvelous creation of humans was simply amazing. Particularly for a young farm boy who…
May 20th, 2015
James Hilton wrote “Lost Horizon” in 1933 with the theme that World War I with the introduction of flying machines and the machine gun, the 1929 stock market crash, and the resulting Great Depression, would send the world into a disastrous maelstrom. So in order for a few to gain inner peace and a sense of purpose, Hilton created the mythical Shangri-La based in a Tibetan monastery in the Himalayas. Hilton hoped that after the…
May 13th, 2015
When 1976 Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner, a real hunk of a muscular man, came out 39 years later with the statement “for all intents and purposes, I am a woman” in a rather spectacular TV interview, he also emphasized the mysteries of the brain. Jenner admitted his brain is more female than it is male. Why? Is it because of a wound? Is Satan playing games? Is it because of messed-up neurons and bad electrical connections? We don’t have a clue—yet. He was just a very young…
April 30th, 2015
At last count the 7 billion descendants of Adam and Eve – or of Pithecanthropus erectus – who presently inhabit the earth try to communicate with one another through 7,000 languages.
Three billion use one of the top twenty languages in this order: Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, Arabic, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, Japanese, Punjabi, German, Javanese, Wu Chinese, Telugu, Vietnamese, Marathi, French, Korean, Tamil and Italian. In contrast the…
April 26th, 2015
A few years ago conservative Republican judges on the US Supreme Court chastised their liberal counterparts for citing foreign legal cases in their written opinions because courts in other countries had nothing intelligent to offer American jurisprudence. We can learn nothing from civilizations that have lasted much longer than ours? The arrogance and resulting stupidity is absolutely astounding. The New York Times published an article recently that sanely and…
April 15th, 2015
Memo to the North Dakota House of Representatives: The times they are a’changin.’
Science continues to rip away the shroud of ignorance surrounding religious beliefs. Perhaps baseball fans recall a player by the name of Billy Beane who played for the Dodgers, Tigers and Padres in his major league career. He has been employed by Major League Baseball to serve as an intermediary between the LGBT community and pro baseball. He came…
April 8th, 2015
I love watching the top 64 college teams trying to win the NCAA basketball championship. I only miss a few games. But watching the North Dakota Legislature and the U.S. Congress commit March Madness governance is also entertaining and very maddening at the same time.
And watching the Middle East March Madness erupting into wars among dozens of countries, regions, provinces, tribes, groups, armies and whatever, reminds me of a demolition derby with…
April 1st, 2015
It’s Time to Sharpen the Pitchfork Tines
The Walt Disney Corporation just raised the price of a day pass to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando to $105. This increase was made while one-half of our population is in poverty, and two-thirds of our families do not have savings enough to cover a $500 repair bill or a $1,000 emergency room charge. Over half do not have a month’s income on hand, and their retirement funds represent about four months of income.
In the last six years the median…
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By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…
By Johnathan Campbell history@nd.gov Since Halloween is just around the corner, I thought I’d share three mysterious — and mildly creepy folktales — that have been shared about the Former Governors' Mansion State Historic Site,…
November 1-2, 9 p.m.Downtown VFW, 202 N Broadway, FargoEden Parker hosts two nights of music and mayhem with everything from original music, piano bar sing-alongs, to Halloween hymns. Dress up for the costume contest, drink up and…
By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com As a political columnist, I know I should be writing an election preview for the issue of this paper that comes out just a couple weeks before what is being labeled, once again, as “the most…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comCitizens United Turned Billionaires Into Oligarchs, Dictators, and KingsWe have reached a stage in Divided States of America politics where if the Democratic Party decreed that zebras have black…
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 In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…
North Dakota’s All Star Tribute to John Prine at the Fargo TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comOn November 3, The Radio Stars are rounding up a number of North Dakota’s finest musicians from Watford City to the Red River…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s sophomore feature “Dandelion” is now playing in theaters following a world premiere at South by Southwest in March. The movie stars KiKi Layne as the…
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By HPR Contributorssubmit@hpr1.com They are the inventive, passionate, adaptable, resourceful, sometimes over-enthusiastic, wack-tacular people who create art in our community, and they’re opening their studio doors to you for…
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 John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…
Rynn WillgohsJanuary 25, 1972-October 8, 2024 Rynn Azerial Willgohs, age 52, of Vantaa, Finland, died by suicide on October 8, 2024. Rynn became her true-self March 31, 2020. She immediately became a vocal and involved activist…
By Curtis Stofferahncurtis.stofferahn@email.und.edu In1915, Arthur Townley, an organizer for North Dakota's Socialist Party, witnessed a session of the state legislature where legislators were poised to discuss the establishment of…
