August 15th, 2018
“Liberty is a strong food, but a difficult one to digest; it needs a healthy stomach. I laugh at those degraded people who, letting conspirators incite them to rise in arms, dare to speak of liberty, without having even a notion of what it is; who, with hearts a prey to all the vices of slaves, imagine that to be free they need only be rebels.”
– Jean Jacques Rousseau
“If…If…We didn’t love freedom enough.”
– Alexsandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago
“He would never…
August 8th, 2018
By Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu
"The sun was shining as I was strolling
The wheat field waving the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice was chanting
This land was made for you and me"
— Woody Guthrie
With socialism, even in a diluted and inchoate form, assuming a higher profile, I’m reminded of my early years in North Dakota during the 1950s. On the one hand, it wasn’t the Gestapo-like scenes from Standing Rock, today’s widespread sex trafficking in the booming oil fields…
August 8th, 2018
By Mark Rodenbiker
mrodenbiker@gmail.com
The first brick building had just gone up on the corner of the block. The government built that to house the post office, so it didn't mean so much. Not like this one; for a person to have the ambition to build a brick building of that size was an acknowledgement that Rocklake was no longer a railroad siding. Now, in 1907, Rocklake was a town.
The post office may have made it government-official before that, but the show hall made it…
August 8th, 2018
“Hell… is the suffering of being unable to love.”
– Fyodor Dostoevsky
“I and the public know, what all school children learn; those to whom evil is done, do evil in return.”
– W.H. Auden, September 1, 1939
“To my knowledge, America has never known any enemy children.”
– Senator William Langer (R-ND), March 29, 1946
“We ask ourselves what kind of world we live in, but it’s too painful to face the truth. Maybe our worst fears have already been realized -- maybe the…
July 11th, 2018
By Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu
Recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
- The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Good on everyone who rallied in such large numbers on behalf of keeping families together. I will generalize and break down the participants into three groups. The first was composed of folks who may have participated in their…
July 11th, 2018
“Davis Refinery permit approved.”
That was the headline in the paper last week, telling us that the North Dakota Department of Health has approved an air quality permit and issued a permit to construct an oil refinery three miles from Theodore Roosevelt National park.
Yikes! What kind of monsters would want to do this—put an oil refinery right next to Theodore Roosevelt National Park? And what kind of state regulators would permit that to happen?
And who, at the highest level of North…
June 27th, 2018
North Dakota has more than a million acres of public land, most of it in western North Dakota, our Little Missouri National Grasslands, managed by the United States Forest Service.
Most of it is grazing land, although it’s grazed by more than cattle. Pretty much every creature that lives in North Dakota has a presence there. For some—mule deer, sharp-tailed grouse, sage grouse, prairie dogs, coyotes, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, and countless species of birds, including our state…
June 20th, 2018
By Paul Jensen
Fargo, as the most populous city in the state with 120,000 inhabitants, added nearly 6,000 20-to-34-year-olds in 2015, just over five percent of the total population. Fargo is attracting well-educated young professionals due to its clean air, strong economy, low unemployment, safe environment and affordable real estate.
Sustainable growth is only possible if we don’t cut corners on our infrastructure, energy use and other forms of sustainability. We have unfortunately…
June 20th, 2018
Negligent Homicide - the term that describes a killing without any intent to kill but occurs when a person is acting in negligence.
– Black’s Law Dictionary
"In the [19] twenties and [19] thirties denaturalization and denationalization were increasingly used by governments as ways of getting rid of citizens they deemed undesirable…As the stateless refugees entered the countries of the West…it was soon discovered that these were people who could neither be repatriated nor granted…
June 6th, 2018
Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu
“Rev. William Barber is the closest thing to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that we have in our midst.”
- Prof. Cornell West on the Poor People’s Campaign Co-Founder, Rev. William Barber
Recently, I was privileged to be among the thirteen people arrested for civil disobedience at the first Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) rally at our state capitol building in Harrisburg, PA. The campaign, modeled on Dr. Martin Luther King’s original movement from 50 years…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonLocal groups will speak out against current and projected federal budget cuts in downtown Fargo this Saturday, April 26. The Red River Valley chapters of Fearless and Indivisible will lead a protest from…
By Prairie Rose Seminolems.prairierose@gmail.com I was a child who walked behind my parents into classrooms and kitchens, spaces of song and prayer, where teachings lived in the air and settled on my shoulders. I didn’t yet have…
Saturday, April 26, 1:30-3:30 p.m.Rourke Art Gallery + Museum, 521 Main Ave., MoorheadThings are coming up rosy at the Rourke in a true feast of the senses during the third annual “Gallery in Bloom” exhibit. The pop-up…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I feel like reading a newspaper is the equivalent of listening to music on vinyl. Not only is it analog, it’s an experience. I might be a little biased, but there's something about the rustling…
By Ed Raymondfargogadly@gmail.comThe wizards and kleagles in whites now wear blue suits and red tiesA hundred years ago, more than 30,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan from virtually every state in the Union wearing their white…
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.comRyan Coogler goes big and bold with “Sinners,” a sweaty, bloody vampire movie set in 1932. The filmmaker stuffs this universe with enough ideas to serve a limited-series season of episodic…
By Raul Gomez Modern Man was a gentle soul. If you were down or just wanted a friend, he’d be there for you. I remember the first day I met Modern Man. It was Jeremiah Fuglseth and me. He wanted to write about this legendary…
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 Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…
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 Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com 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…
