Letters to the Editor

The Fair Credit for Farmers Act will improve the lives of farmers in North Dakota

April 18th, 2024

To the editor:

Farmers and advocates across the country are asking their legislators to support farmers’ access to credit by co-sponsoring the Fair Credit for Farmers Act.

The Fair Credit for Farmers Act directly addresses many of the barriers farmers face as they attempt to access credit at the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Many farm families look to pass their farm to the next generation, credit is an essential tool for farmers to access land, yearly operating funds and the ability…

Read more...


​The Country of Origin labeling fight is not settled yet

April 18th, 2024

To the editor:

The USDA has recently just released a new rule regarding Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) for beef products. I’m happy that beef products being born, raised, and slaughtered in the USA will now be the only products that can receive the “Product of the USA” label, “Made in the USA” label, or an American flag on packaging. However, their extension date of Jan 1 of 2026 is way too long to wait to require compliance. Companies can even ask for a deadline extension.…

Read more...


Em Christie, Letter to the Editor

December 10th, 2023

Degrading the Humanity of All Involved

To the editor:

Learning a new name for someone can be hard, new pronouns, even

moreso. Gender-neutral pronouns seem to vex more than most, though the

grammar has long been a part of our language.

An easy way to remember to use gender-neutral pronouns is to pretend like

you don’t know the gender of the person you’re talking about. (e.g. Someone

left their car keys behind. They’ll come back soon.)

How the media talk about gender can shift societal…

Read more...


​ND State Senator Ryan Braunberger

January 18th, 2023

Dear Editor,

The North Dakota legislative session has started to pick up. Many of the bills that have come before the committees are just cleaning up some language; others that are yet to come are troubling.

The bills that I am currently the most concerned about are as follows.

Senate Bill 2150 is meant to clean up and merge the language from multiple other statutes and counter the trigger ban currently in the court system. The new bill is the lesser of two evils; however, it is still a…

Read more...


​Hettinger’s West River Health Services

January 15th, 2023

To the editor:

After my first week as a Representative in the North Dakota legislature, I found myself spending the weekend with an IV in my arm at the hospital in Hettinger. It wasn’t the legislature’s fault.

Not feeling well while visiting my son’s family in Bowman, I came to Hettinger’s West River Health Services clinic-- 40 miles away and open on a Saturday. From the minute I walked in the door, my medical treatment was equal to any I’ve previously had, which includes Mayo,…

Read more...


Ruth Buffalo: National Native HIV-AIDS Awareness Day

March 20th, 2022

To the editor,

In 2018, I became the first Native Democratic woman elected to the North Dakota State Legislature. I proudly serve my district and advocate for my community. COVID-19 made headlines when it ravaged the Native community, as have many health and wellness issues throughout my life and career.

There’s one health inequity Native populations face that isn’t making headlines anymore - HIV/AIDS.

The U.S. HIV epidemic has become more concentrated in marginalized and…

Read more...


Unaffordable Prescription Drugs

March 20th, 2021

To the editor,

Five years ago, I nearly lost my life to leukemia because I couldn’t afford my medication. Even though my doctors warned me the cancer would return if I didn’t take the medicine, I did not fill my prescription because I couldn’t afford the $2,400 a month co-pay. Luckily, I found the same medicine at a more affordable cost of $680 a month through a Canadian pharmacy.

My story is shockingly common. Surveys have found that one in three adults did not take a medication as…

Read more...


Where to Get Vaccination Info Without Internet Access

February 15th, 2021

To the editor,

As coronavirus vaccines continue to roll out in North Dakota, people without Internet access are asking where they can get vaccination information and how they get signed up for the vaccine.

Getting information to people without online access is critical so they can also get in line until such time when supply of the vaccine meets demand.

Those who don’t have access to a computer should first contact their health care provider. If you don’t have a provider, call the N.D.…

Read more...


No Immunity for Nursing Homes

February 11th, 2021

To the Editor:

AARP North Dakota strongly opposes a bill in the N.D. Legislature that grants nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care (LTC) facilities immunity related to COVID-19.

House Bill 1175 strips away the rights of residents and their families to seek legal redress and hold facilities accountable when residents are harmed, neglected, or abused.

In North Dakota, about 10,000 people live in these facilities. More than 840 COVID-related deaths (approximately…

Read more...


New Americans Vital to ND Long Term Facilities

May 24th, 2020

Nyamal Dei, Board Member
The North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
(701) 318-5167

Friday, May 22, 2020

Dear Editor,
An unfortunate situation arose this past week when a news story developed around COVID-19 cases in Fargo-area nursing homes and noted that past federal inspections indicated there were failures to sufficiently address infection control procedures at these facilities.

Comments to Valley News Live from North Dakota Long Term Care President Shelly Peterson gave a false…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry StCloud Tracker Pixel for Entry NDCountryFest Tracker Pixel for Entry AprilAuthor Tracker Pixel for Entry TheatreB Tracker Pixel for Entry Marigold Tracker Pixel for Entry Hjemkomst

Recently in:

Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.com A midnight wedding ceremony at the Clay County Courthouse in Moorhead on August 1, 2013 was more than a romantic gesture. Eighteen couples made history on that day by exchanging vows in the…

By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu On March 11, 2024, we celebrated the 121st birthday of bandleader Lawrence Welk. He was born March 11, 1903 in a sod house near Strasburg, North Dakota, and died on May 17,1992. The…

Saturday, May 117 p.m., gates at 5 p.m.Outdoors at Fargo Brewing Company610 University Dr. N, FargoWisconsin’s finest export, The Violent Femmes, started out in Milwaukee in 1981 as an acoustic punk band, and they’ve been…

Is this a repeating pattern?By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThere’s a quote circulating around the world wide web, misattributed to Sinclair Lewis: "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a…

by Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comAccording to my great-grandfather many years ago, my French ancestors migrated from Normandy to Quebec to Manitoba to Wisconsin to Minnesota over the spread of more than two centuries, finally…

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 In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com It is not unheard of for bands to go on hiatus. However, as the old saying goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” That is why when a local group like STILL comes back to…

Now playing at the Fargo Theatre.By Greg Carlson gregcarlson1@gmail.comPalme d’Or recipient “Anatomy of a Fall” is now enjoying an award-season victory tour, recently picking up Golden Globe wins for both screenplay and…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com There’s no exaggeration when we say that this year’s Plains Art Gala is going to be out of this world, with a sci-fi theme inspired by a painting housed in the Plains Art Museum’s permanent…

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 John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

Dismissing the value of small towns for the future of our nation is a mistakeBy Bill Oberlanderarcandburn@gmail.comAccording to U.S. Census projections, by the middle of this century, roughly 90% of the total population will live…