March 30th, 2026
By HPR Staff
I'm a Gen Xer who landed in Fargo in the late '90s, a small town kid who didn't know a soul. By sheer dumb luck I ended up at Ralph's, and that place gave me my people. Lifelong friends, the kind you don't find twice.
When Ralph's closed, a lot of us scattered. Those of us who stayed drifted from bar to bar looking for something that felt right. Most of it didn't. Then some of us found Dempsey's.
It wasn't just a bar. Dempsey's eventually built The Aquarium, which became the…
March 23rd, 2026
By Jim Fuglie
I’m feeling a little mean right now. It doesn’t happen often, but I tend to pay attention to politics and politicians and I’m pretty disappointed in one of our politicians right now. So I’m going to be mean to him.
His name is Doug Burgum.
Just so you know right off the bat, I voted for Doug Burgum. Once. It was in the Primary Election of 2016, and he was running against Wayne Stenehjem for the Republican nomination for North Dakota Governor. I didn’t so much vote…
January 15th, 2026
By Vern Thompson
Benjamin Franklin offered one of the most sobering warnings in American history. When asked what kind of government the framers had created in 1787, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Few words better capture the fragile nature of self-government.
Another warning comes to mind today from Colin Powell: “If you break it, you own it.” He was speaking about the Iraq War. Both warnings feel painfully relevant right now.
Over the past twelve months, we have…
January 15th, 2026
By Jim Fuglie
Want to live to be really old? Get yourself elected Governor of North Dakota. Our governors live a very long time. I thought about that recently with the passing of former Governor Allen Olson. He was 87 when he died in December.
The governor who he beat in 1980 to take the reins of state government was Art Link, who died in 2010. Link lived to be 96 years old. Bill Guy, who preceded Link, was 93 when he died in 2013. George Sinner, the Governor who beat Allen Olson in…
December 18th, 2025
By Chandler Esslinger
Across North Dakota right now, a familiar conversation is resurfacing. We hear the argument that harm reduction “enables” people, that syringe access encourages drug use, that naloxone keeps people addicted and that meeting people where they are somehow protects them from the “necessary” consequences of their actions. These programs are under fire not because they fail. They are under fire because they expose a worldview that worships punishment over…
November 18th, 2025
By Vern Thompson
Personal background and historical perspective
My deep concern about tariffs stems from my background as a fourth generation North Dakota farmer. Having lived through the 1980s farm crisis as a young farmer, I witnessed firsthand the challenges that devastated rural America. During that period, we endured a grain embargo against the Soviet Union, interest rates of 19.25% on operating loans and the worst drought since the 1930s. The combination…
September 23rd, 2025
By Vern Thompson
Moral accountability and the crisis of leadership
As a recovering person living one day at a time for the last 35 years, I have learned not to judge others because I have not walked in their shoes. I believe in a higher power and hold myself to a set of morals, yet I fail at something every day. Despite those failures, I strive for progress, not perfection. It is this journey of humility and honesty that shapes my view of leadership today.…
June 19th, 2025
By Vern Thompson
Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very hard workers. Work in the oil fields isn't for everyone. It involves long hours away from home and family for long periods, affecting thousands of people.
The mindset and philosophy are much different in the Bakken than those of my friends back home. Don't get…
June 19th, 2025
By Jim Fuglie
I’ll never get used to spending the night in a motel room in Hettinger, North Dakota. After all, it’s my hometown. For more than 40 years there was a “Fuglie House” in Hettinger, including one with a barn.
That was the “Johns House,” named for a pioneer doctor who had built it and later, after he had retired and moved away, rented it to my father. It’s still there.
The doctor had bought a big chunk of a block across from the court house…
April 27th, 2025
By Vern Thompson
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 oil well sites. You remember seeing the satellite images that looked like candles on a birthday cake? Images lit up brighter than a city.
In my travels, I talk with and listen to workers from different areas of the United States and Canada. In both western…
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By Bryce Vincent HaugenOn Palm Sunday two thousand years ago, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey to directly take on the authoritarian Roman rulers of the region, according to Christian scripture. It was an overtly political…
By Michael M. Miller Rev. Salomon Joachim, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Beulah, North Dakota., delivered an address to the Western Conference of the Dakota District of the American Lutheran Church in 1939. His presentation was…
Wednesday, March 25, Group lesson 7 p.m., Dance 9 p.m.Sons of Norway, 722 2nd Avenue North, FargoCare to dance? If you don’t already know how to dance, the Northern Lights Dance Club can show you a thing or two about social…
By John StrandDisclaimer: This editorial is the work of someone who’s spent most of his adult life working in the media — most of those years co-owning this very entity, the High Plains Reader, since 1996. The notion that folks…
By Ed RaymondWhat if eight billion people looked and acted like Adam and Eve?So, we have different fingerprints and DNA. We can transfuse people’s blood and implant organs with some limitations. With facial recognition equipment,…
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 Sabrina Hornung There’s a Bosnian saying that states simply, “It’s a sin to throw away bread,” which really resonates with me — especially growing up with grandparents who lived through the Second World War and the Great…
The Slow Death at The AquariumSaturday, March 21, doors at 7:30 p.m. The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe Slow Death is a punk supergroup led by Jesse Thorson, with members and collaborators that include…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Filmmaker Julia Ducournau’s third feature, a mashup of body horror, family melodrama and AIDS allegory set in a grim and gray dystopia, fails to live up to the promise of her wild debut…
By Jacinta TensI have been a fan of graffiti since I first saw it as a child. As a kid who was always into some sort of creative endeavor, the movement, colors and intricate details of pieces I would see on trains always fascinated…
Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…
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 Liverani In November 2025, the FDA initiated the removal of the “black box” warning from Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The “black box” warning is a FAD safety warning for healthcare providers and patients…
January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…
By HPR StaffI'm a Gen Xer who landed in Fargo in the late '90s, a small town kid who didn't know a soul. By sheer dumb luck I ended up at Ralph's, and that place gave me my people. Lifelong friends, the kind you don't find twice.…
