October 25th, 2024
By Dina Butcher
In 1938, when my parents were living in Germany, my father — along with 30,000 other Jewish men — was rounded up by Nazi Stormtroopers during an event known as Kristallnacht. He was taken to a concentration camp and performed forced labor until some relatives were able to secure his release. Shortly after this horrible experience, he began planning to bring his family to the United States. His mother, sisters, and several other relatives stayed…
October 21st, 2024
By Curtis Stofferahn
curtis.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 a state-owned terminal elevator aimed at granting the state's farmers a degree of control over the marketing of their wheat. Amidst the fervent debate surrounding the elevator, Treadwell Twitchell, a Representative from Cass County, reportedly admonished…
October 17th, 2024
By Terry Kalil
Public libraries are making headlines nationwide and have become an unexpected target of efforts to limit individual rights, freedom of speech and critical thinking. Nationwide, Minnesota has taken a strong leadership stance in protecting Andrew Carnegie’s vision of public libraries as “dedicated to the diffusion of knowledge.” As a 2013 National Public Radio article noted, during the Depression when no one had any money, people went there to…
September 19th, 2024
By Jim Fuglie
“The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
You might recall that memorable line, uttered by Dick the Butcher, from perhaps the least memorable of Shakespeare’s plays, “Henry VI.” I’ve been thinking about it because I’ve been thinking about lawyers. And governors.
It’s been 40 years since North Dakota had a lawyer in the governor’s chair. That could be coming to an end. Because right now, our congressman, Kelly Armstrong,…
September 19th, 2024
By Peg Furshong and Clovis Curl, CURE
What do CO2 pipelines, hydrogen hubs, data centers and industrial ag have in common? Water.
With many new projects on the horizon for the upper Midwest, it is time we pause and reflect on a critical question: What is the value of water?
Here in the Midwest, we often pride ourselves on being “water rich” — think “Land of 10,000 Lakes” — but this overlooks the growing strain on our water from rapidly-expanding water intensive…
August 15th, 2024
By Chad Oban
North Dakotans know that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. That is certainly the case with the ill-advised constitutional ballot measure to eliminate the ability of local political subdivisions to levee property taxes.
As the chair of Keep It Local, a coalition of over 70 organizations and member associations dedicated to protecting local control in our state, we are speaking out against this measure because we know it’s a…
July 18th, 2024
By Madeline Luke
About 100 years ago the state of agriculture in North Dakota was pretty dire. Minnesota banks, grain mills, and railroads treated ND as a colony; they extracted our labor and natural resources for their own profit. After years of being on the bad end of a poor deal, farmers formed the Nonpartisan League (NPL) to pass laws which ensured that out of state corporations could never exploit North Dakotans again. Thanks to the most recent legislative session…
June 27th, 2024
By Jim Fuglie
My articles here are about politics. I’m writing this before the North Dakota primary election. You are reading it after the primary. Advantage: readers. So I won’t speculate much on that election, because you already know who won.
I think instead I’ll talk about Burgum. Doug Burgum. You’ve heard of him. He used to be North Dakota’s Governor. Not so much lately. Even he admits it. I went to the Memorial Day Service at the North Dakota…
May 16th, 2024
By Jim Fuglie
I am an old man. I have been a politics junkie most of my life. I have been involved in many campaigns, but have not run for office myself. Each time someone has suggested I do that, I tell them the same thing: I will not put my name on a ballot until all my college roommates are dead. Luckily for me, a few of them are still with us. Brad, Ron, Jim, you know who you are. Ssshhh.
But in all my years of participating in other people’s campaigns, I…
April 18th, 2024
Dismissing the value of small towns for the future of our nation is a mistake
By Bill Oberlander
According to U.S. Census projections, by the middle of this century, roughly 90% of the total population will live in an urban setting. This conclusion follows a trend that began at the start of the industrial revolution. Advances in machinery and technology moved the largest labor demands away from farms and rural outposts into urban centers. People have been moving to the…
_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
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…
