Letters to the Editor

​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...


Your Gift Matters, No Matter the Amount!

December 23rd, 2019

To the editor:

The holiday season is one of the very best times of the year to energize your spirit of generosity, thanksgiving and giving back. For the countless nonprofits serving our community, it is also a critical time of year for their financial stability.

The phrase “any amount will help” is certainly used a great deal throughout the year, but when it comes to gifts during the holiday season, it is so unbelievably true.

According to a new study from the Lilly School of…

Read more...


Letter to the Editor: ‘A husband defending my wife’s accomplishments’

May 22nd, 2019

On Tuesday, May 21, the Grand Forks Herald published a story about the search for a new CEO for the Grand Forks United Way. That story quoted Phyllis Johnson, United Way’s interim CEO and current board chair to the effect that someone from either coast or from a city would be a poor choice as the agency’s new leader.

The Johnson quotation the Herald published argued that “people who come from one coast or another, or some distance, its harder for them to kind of settle into…

Read more...


Letter to the Editor: Summer Traffic Warning

May 22nd, 2019

To the editor:

Summer will be here soon and when the temperatures rise outside, so do the number of travelers on our state’s roadways. The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) wants everyone to enjoy the few precious warm months we North Dakotan’s love, but to do so in a way that allows everyone to arrive at their destination safely. NDDOT is asking every driver and vehicle occupant to help meet the Vision Zero goal of zero motor vehicle fatalities and serious injuries…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck1 Tracker Pixel for Entry Dvfa Tracker Pixel for Entry TheatreBSMS Tracker Pixel for Entry TheatrebSMS Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird28 Tracker Pixel for Entry MidwestRoadTripAdventures

Recently in:

Proposed Bills Could Take Books off Library ShelvesBy Laura Simmonslaurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu The passing of ND House Bill 1205 and ND Senate Bill 2360, which would prevent sexually explicit books from being in public…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comHPR chats with a local legendThe following interview was done in February of 2016, just a few months after Mr. Josef Olivieri's 90th birthday. We're sorry to hear of his passing at the age of 97 on…

Fargo Theatre, Thursday April 13, 2023Competition submission deadline April 11Topics of suicide prevention and mental health: films will receive scores for their use of script, performance, camera, sound, editing and theme.…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.comOur Opinion: Who on Earth would ever want to move to North Dakota?Let’s talk about the left hand and the right hand. Or, more correctly, let’s focus on the right hand, being as there is no left in ND…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comTwo ForumWhite Nationalist Trumplican Nincoms Have Pooped All Over LibrariansSo it has come to pass that Scott Hennen and Ross Nelson have assaulted librarians in the state, accusing them of…

Well shiver me timbers. After weeks of sampling some of the finest drinks in F-M from more bars than we could shake a belaying pin at, the results of High Plains Reader’s 6th Annual Cocktail Showdown are in! For nine weeks,…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comWhen thinking of popular sandwiches associated with the Upper Midwest, the sloppy joe immediately comes to mind. But let’s not forget the sandwich with a spicy side – the taco grinder. It’s a…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comphoto by Andy Wilcox Many of Fargo-Moorhead’s talented bands and musicians have been able to gain fans around the country. Some of this, of course, is due to social media making it…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comKevin Armento’s play “Killers” inspired both Stefanie Abel Horowitz’s 2019 short film “Sometimes, I Think About Dying” and Rachel Lambert’s 2023 feature “Sometimes I Think About…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIf you’ve ever driven down the Enchanted Highway, the 32-mile ribbon of road connecting Regent to Gladstone in western North Dakota, home to the world’s largest salvaged metal sculptures,…

By Jessica M. Hawkesjmhawkes84@gmail.comIt wasn’t long after the founding of the railroad and river town of New Rockford that entertainment venues started to put down their own roots. Its population bolstered by booms of nearby…

By Jan Syverson  Jan.r.Syverson@gmail.comFor the past 30 years live, stand-up comedy has had a place in the Fargo Moorhead area, Starting with…

By Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comSpring is here (mostly), and our area is buzzing with people eager to get back out and about -- many newly vaccinated and feeling a bit safer. Partnering with Jade Events, Fargo Brewing is just…

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,…

By Ken and Alice Christiansonsubmit@hpr1.com HB 1332 is currently before the North Dakota legislature. The bill proposes to permit social workers to use a discredited treatment method to convert the sexual orientation of gay and…