Last Word

​The Little Missouri State Scenic River is in trouble again

June 28th, 2017

The river lost most of its scenic protection in June, when Gov. Doug Burgum reversed course and joined the members of his State Water Commission in opening the entire river to industrial water development.

In May, Burgum declared upstream areas of the state’s only official State Scenic River—the areas surrounding the three units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park—off limits to industrial water use, and told State Engineer Garland Erbele to “immediately review, modify and make…

Read more...


​Health Department Shelves Meridian’s Permit Application

June 21st, 2017

The North Dakota Department of Health has called “Bullsh*t!” on Meridian Energy’s application to construct its Davis Oil Refinery three miles from Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

In fact, in a strongly-worded letter to Meridian, Terry O’Clair, Director of the Division of Air Quality, says he has actually stopped the review of the application until Meridian sends the Department information to prove the numbers are accurate that they use to justify building so close to a national…

Read more...


​What does the health insurance marketplace look like in North Dakota?

May 17th, 2017

With the recent passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) by the U.S. House of Representatives, it is important to have an honest and truthful discussion regarding what the AHCA is and what it is not.

But before we get into that, what does the health insurance marketplace look like in North Dakota?

There are a few different areas in which North Dakotans currently receive their health coverage – an employer, the government (Medicare, Medicaid or the VA) or the individual…

Read more...


​The Trump/Sessions “Department of Injustice”

May 17th, 2017

“Whatever the learning or acuteness of a great lawyer, our chief respect for him depends on our belief that, set in a judge’s seat, he will strive to judge justly, come of it what may. Could we suppose that he would take bribes, and use his acuteness and legal knowledge to give plausibility to iniquitous decisions, no degree of intellect would win for him our respect. Nothing will win it, short of our tacit conviction, that in all important acts of his life justice is first with…

Read more...


​Fracking and the Little Missouri River

April 19th, 2017

The North Dakota State Water Commission has violated state law more than 600 times in recent years by issuing permits for industrial use of water (read: fracking oil wells) from the Little Missouri State Scenic River. Employees there claim they didn’t know they weren’t supposed to do that. I believe them. But that’s no excuse. More on that in a minute. First, a little history lesson.

Let’s travel back in time 42 years. The 1975 North Dakota Legislature passed a bill that…

Read more...


​White male privilege vs. American democracy

April 19th, 2017

“Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens" -Justice John Marshall Harlan, 1896

“When the white man turns tyrant, it is his own freedom that he destroys.”

-George Orwell, 1935

“Misogyny – a hatred of women” - -Webster’s Dictionary

“There were three ways for a well-brought up young Southern white woman to go (1903-1976): 1. She could be the actress…offering a sweet, winning smile to the world. In short, going with the wind. 2.…

Read more...


​The shame of fearing fear itself

April 12th, 2017

“The American people [must] tear out by the roots the hatred that [has] eaten into their attitudes toward their fellow men, lest ‘we…awaken in the not far distant future to the terrible fact we too have become conquered by the spirit of hatred, cruelty, and racial intolerance which made Hitler what he was.’”

- Senator William Langer (R-ND), March 29,1946

“…this in no degree reduces the number and awfulness of Nazi evils; it reduces the number and awfulness of Nazi evil…

Read more...


Should Fargo have another bike co-op?

April 5th, 2017

The answer is yes, of course it should. However, that is the simple answer. There is much more to it than that; and to understand the answer, one must understand why the last one closed.

When the FMCBW -- Fargo Moorhead Community Bicycle Workshop -- first opened it was extraordinarily political -- WAY too political. For a long time it felt like it was a Social Service agency that just happened to also fix bicycles.

Not that there is anything wrong with helping others, but as a bike…

Read more...


​Thank you, Richard Nixon and the EPA

April 5th, 2017

A thousand trucks a day. That’s what Billings County Commission Chairman Jim Arthaud bragged to the Dickinson Press one day, a number of years ago, when he was asked how many vehicles would use a new bridge over the Little Missouri River north of Medora.

A lot of water has flowed beneath that proposed bridge since 2012, the last time the public was invited to consider a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project. He might lower that estimate by a few hundred today.

As I…

Read more...


​James Comey: Trump tracker

March 29th, 2017

“The organized lying practiced by totalitarian states is not, as is sometimes claimed, a temporary expedient of the same nature as military deception. It is something integral to totalitarianism, something that would still continue even if concentration camps and secret police forces had ceased to be necessary…From the totalitarian point of view history is something to be created rather than learned.” - George Orwell

“I can only live in two different forms: as a mind in the…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck Tracker Pixel for Entry Hjemkomst1 Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry WurstWest Tracker Pixel for Entry Aarp

Recently in:

By Bryce Haugen In the week since Renee Good was killed by an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, the state’s largest city, ICE officers have fanned out throughout Minnesota. ICE agents have been…

By Kooper Shagena Just off of I-94 and Highway 83 on State Street in Bismarck, an abandoned Kmart sits behind an empty parking lot, watching the cars roll on and off the interstate exchange. It has been standing there quietly since…

Saturday, January 31, mingling at 6:15 p.m. and program at 7 p.m.Fine Arts Club, 601 4th St. S., FargoThe FM Symphony is getting intimate by launching a “Small Stages” chamber music series and it's bringing folks together via…

By John Strand If you are reading this editorial and you too are worried sick about the state of our country, keep reading. Maybe we can inspire each other. It was near closing time. We were discussing our values crisis. So this…

By Ed RaymondA mind that snapped, cracked, and popped at one hundredI wasn’t going to read a long column called “Centenarian: A Diary of a Hundredth Year” by Calvin Tomkins celebrating his birthday on December 17 of 2025…

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 GionSince the much-dreaded Covid years, there has been much ebb and flow in the Fargo-Moorhead restaurant scene. In 2025, that trend continued with some major additions and closings. Let’s start the New Year on a positive…

Saturday, January 17, 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 members of The Ergs!, Dillinger…

By Greg Carlson Writer-director Naomi Jaye adapts fellow Canadian Martha Baillie’s 2009 novel “The Incident Report” as a potent and introspective character study. Retitled “Darkest Miriam,” Jaye’s movie stars Britt…

By Jacinta ZensThe Guerrilla Girls, an internationally renowned anonymous feminist art collective, have been bringing attention to the gender and racial imbalances in contemporary art institutions for the last 40 years. They have…

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 Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com At the beginning of the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas," the Grinch is introduced as having a smaller than average heart, but as the movie progresses, his heart increases three…

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 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…