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…
April 17th, 2025
By Faye Seidler
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 trans youth suicide. He spoke about being a survivor of the suicide loss of a trans child. And said that when there is a conflict between state and federal law, they would have to do what is best for kids.
In 2025, House Bill 1144 was created in response to that…
February 28th, 2025
By Gilbert Kuipers
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 letters to the editor in the Valley City Times Record, Bismarck Tribune, and Fargo Forum. In 2022, I spent about $1,000 on Valley City ads, trying unsuccessfully to get a serious response. It would be nice to have a meaningful discussion to understand what they…
February 21st, 2025
By Winona LaDuke
Some days I just sit out by Bad Medicine Lake in the no internet zone. (Well at least last time I checked, there were no bars on those roads towards Rice Lake in the back country.) That’s remarkable; no bars, a free zone. In this day and age, we sit at our keyboards, day in and day out…and yet some places have no internet and they survive.
A long time ago, we Anishinaabe came from the Sky world. That’s to say that the first woman came down…
January 17th, 2025
By Jim Fuglie
A friend of mine, a well-known Bismarck liberal (I have a few of those), came up to me after church the other day and asked, “So, are you moving out of the country?”
I knew he was referring to the future of America, in light of November’s presidential election. It’s kind of been a half-joking theme among those of us who aren’t happy with the outcome of that election.
I said that I was taking deep breaths and staying put, but that my wife had…
December 2nd, 2024
By Curtis W. Stofferahn, Ph.D.
Curtis.stofferahn@email.und.edu
In June, two events markedly contrasted the difference between two different visions of agriculture: precision agriculture and regenerative agriculture. The dedication of the Grand Farm Innovation Shop and Midwest Ag Summit Panel presented the precision agriculture side of the contrast, while the Barnes County Historical Society's and Dakota Resource Council’s sponsorship of John Ikerd’s presentation “50 Years That…
November 23rd, 2024
By Faye Seidler
My name is Faye Seidler and I’m a suicide prevention advocate and a champion of hope. I think it is fair to say that we’ve been living through difficult times and it may be especially challenging to see the way forward today. But I want to assure people there is still a way forward, there is still hope, and we can still leave a better world for both our kids and theirs.
I understand that without context, the weight of those words means pretty…
November 20th, 2024
By Jim Fuglie
Okay, so last month I promised you a woman President of the United States. So much for my predictability quotient.
Lesson 1: Never promise something you can’t control. And nobody, not even Melania, can control Donald Trump.
The rest of my predictions were not too bad. I just missed a big one. By a mile. I predicted Republicans were pretty much going to sweep North Dakota, though. I got that right.
But I was pretty confident all along that Donald…
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By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comDairy Queen restaurants across the country will raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals during Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, July 31. At least one dollar from every Blizzard…
By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu The Northwest Blade, from Eureka, South Dakota, published a wonderful story in August 2020. It’s called “Granddaughter keeps Grandmother’s precious chamomile seeds,” by Cindy…
October 3-5, 2025Memorial Union at NDSU, 1401 Administrative Ave., Fargo With the theme of “Existence is Resistance: Healing Through Unity,” this year’s summit will kick off with a professional development day followed by a…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com Yes, we know, everywhere you look, the world situation is mental. It’s almost inescapable just how tenuous life’s circumstances are. And how they are mostly — pretty much entirely — out of our…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWhat are the four freedoms of Donald John Trump? Nearly a century ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said every citizen in the United States of America should have four freedoms: Freedom from…
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 Gion and Nichole Hensenrickgion@gmail.com The wait is finally over. Those who have visited Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Cafe lately know about the recent major additions and renovations that have taken place over the past…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com As a follow-up to “The Whale,” a raucous adaptation of the first novel in Charlie Huston’s Henry Thompson series was a good choice for eclectic auteur Darren Aronofksy, whose bold visions…
By HPR staffsubmit@hpr1.com Mark the first weekend of October on your calendar. It’s the weekend of the Studio Crawl, which takes us all on a wonderful, metro-wide tour of our talented (and often wacky) arts community. On October…
Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comPenn & Teller are returning to their roots. The legendary magic and comedy duo will appear on the Crown Stage at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, where they first…
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 Loneliness is on the rise in North Dakota, where there is one of the highest rates of people living alone. The challenging winter can be a major contributor, yet North Dakota is not alone.…
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@rocketmail.com 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…
