April 3rd, 2019
By Zach Nerpel
zachnerpel@gmail.com
Surely, it wasn’t lutefisk all the way down, lefse or friendly attitudes. There had to be something more to our Upper Midwestern, white culture. I’d done extensive scientific research into the regions of our Great Country™ which led to intriguing, broad generalizations that we just couldn’t match. The East - old America, the melting pot. Commerce and tall buildings. Mafiosos, hot dog vendors.The West - manifest destiny, everything from surfing to…
March 6th, 2019
I’ve got a problem. I need to write a column that is going to be kind of critical of three people I like, and I’m trying to figure out how to do it without making them all angry at me. Their names are Sara, Doug and Marvin. Also, I’m not sure I want to be critical of what they are doing, or have already done, except that they’ve all done some weird stuff and somebody needs to tell the story. So I’m just going to start typing and see what comes out.
It’s about Rep. Marvin…
February 27th, 2019
By Zach Nerpel
zachnerpel@gmail.com
The very air seeks to betray us. Temperatures this season have fallen well into the negative teens and twenties and the oxygen on which we rely has become fatal if sought outdoors. To simply exist has become painful.
Falling snow blurs our vision at night only to amass and blind us in the morning when it reflects our good friend, the sun, into our sleepy, innocent eyes. And if not, the clouds conspire to withhold our beacon of light for days on end.…
February 21st, 2019
“…the root cause of the poverty of Third World peasants is their powerlessness—their lack of power to alter the social structures responsible for their poverty. By buttressing these social structures directly (as in Chile and Guatemala) and indirectly (through national and international aid organizations), the United States has perpetuated rather than alleviated…”world hunger”…The failure of aid programs to narrow the gap between rich nations and poor is that…aid has been…
February 13th, 2019
By Cara Cody-Braun
cara.braun@wyndmereschools.org
I am not much of a science fiction fan, but I’m a sucker for a story with a portal. Who hasn’t dreamed of entering a different world? Alice’s fall down the rabbit hole in “Alice in Wonderland” led to the most intriguing encounters. For me though, the idea of going to a different time period is most attractive. That’s why I have Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series on my need to read list. Like most people, I loved the…
February 6th, 2019
“(Søren) Kierkegaard…has opened our eyes to the shallowness of much of our pseudo-Christian life, and to the outright deception in politics which Christianity has been made to serve.”
- William Hubben
“The people starve because their superiors eat too much in taxes. The more laws there are, the more thieves and bandits will multiply.”
– Lao Tzu
“I thought it went without saying that when the Soviet Union collapsed and the eastern states opened up, we would be plagued by a…
January 23rd, 2019
“And now what is better, that our fatherland should be a Republican or a monarchical state?...Ask the rich for the solution, and they will love an aristocracy best, ask the people and they prefer a democracy; only the kings prefer a monarchy. How then is it possible that almost the whole globe is governed by monarchs?... But, truly, the real reason is…that men are very rarely worthy to govern themselves.”
– Voltaire, 1745
“…once fascists came to power in Germany and Italy, they…
January 16th, 2019
By Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu
"People spend so much time mocking Trump or waiting for him to be impeached. And the danger with this kind of obsession with a single person is that you don’t see the system that produced him."
— Arunhati Roy
National Security Adviser John Bolton is criss-crossing the Middle East to engage in damage control, or what The New York Times derisively termed “clearing up after his boss.” Washington’s war crimes’ partners are being told that Trump…
January 16th, 2019
I’ve listened to a few State of the State speeches by North Dakota Governors–probably somewhere between 15 and 20—and even had a hand in writing a few of them, so I think I’m qualified to offer a few comments on the one Doug Burgum gave the other week to the North Dakota Legislature.
As they go, his was a pretty good one. I thought his speechwriters (likely Mike Nowatzki and Jodi Uecker) did a pretty good job. It was hopeful and optimistic, as is Burgum’s nature, and he threw…
December 19th, 2018
by Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu
It’s mid-December and as wintery conditions and the Christmas holidays approach, I’m reminded of a story my mother told me about my Norwegian grandmother. In December 1882, as a sixteen-year-old, my Grandma Emma traveled a considerable distance on XC skis from her rural village to the port city of Bergen. Alone and with only a backpack, she had to leave her new Christmas gift skis at the dock before boarding ship for the perilous transatlantic…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…
From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…
June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…
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 After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…
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 The writing/directing partnership of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck has to be one of the most curious cases of crazy connect-the-dots career moves in recent cinema. From short documentaries and…
By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for 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 Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…
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.nd7@gmail.com 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…
