Letters to the Editor | 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 the community.” Johnson cited reasons that at once skirt violations of federal civil rights laws, oppose efforts at economic development and community building, and further disparage the predecessor she forced from office last year.
That predecessor, Patricia Berger, my wife, first moved to Grand Forks in 1990, shortly after we were married. Pat and I grew up in the New York City metro area and she joined me here a short while after I began my work in UND’s History Department. Patricia had been executive director of a suburban Chamber of Commerce, and she sold a start-up business to move here. She has worked since—worked hard—as a non-profit community builder, as President of United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Area since 1994.
Phyllis Johnson’s innuendo is that my wife and I are birds of passage, transients without interest or understanding of this community where we have made our home. We know why people like to live in New York and we also know why people like to live in Grand Forks. We live in Grand Forks. And Grand Forks has been our home for much more of the last quarter-century longer than it has been Johnson’s—and Grand Forks remains our home in retirement.
I am a husband defending my wife’s accomplishments, a grateful immigrant who found a home here. But this is about more than the two of us.
The civil rights laws and our hopes to make this lovely, prosperous place more lovely and more prosperous both dictate that we seek out and welcome neighbors to join us. It is common decency—and it is good business.
Sincerely,
Albert I. Berger
Professor of HistoryUniversity of North Dakota
March 20th 2021
February 15th 2021
February 11th 2021
May 24th 2020
December 23rd 2019
__293px-wide.jpg)
_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
__300x100.png)
By Bryce Haugenbrycevincenthaugen@gmail.comOn most Wednesdays, local resident Nick Barth can be found outside the Red River Women’s Clinic, standing on the sidewalk holding an anti-abortion sign and urging patients to reconsider…
__300x100.png)
By Michael M. Miller michael.miller@ndsu.eduTheresa Meier Eissinger of Napoleon, N.D., writes, “Christmas Eve at the Meier farm (between Linton and…
Sons of Norway, Kringen Lodge #4-25, is a fraternal organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Norwegian culture.Sentrum på 722 2nd Ave N, FargoKringen Kafe er åpen for Kaffe og Bakverk mandag-fredag 9.00 til…
__300x100.jpg)
By Sabrina Hornung sabrina@hpr1.comOur opinion: Finding peace on Earth in the midst of the war on ChristmasAs the holiday season…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.com Is It the Common Good for Billionaires to Sail $500 Million Superyachts?The new Republican Party and Abraham Lincoln set out 161 years ago to save the United States from break up. James Russell…
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 Sarah Wassberg Johnson sarah@thefoodhistorian.comIt was 1998. I was in the basement of Elim Lutheran Church in Fargo, putting on a white robe and a…
__300x100.png)
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comTrudy Wolf is a woman of many hats and has been making waves since she came to Zeeland Public schools in 1993. Zeeland, located in south central North Dakota, had 87 residents according to the 2019…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comThe final film in Joachim Trier’s Oslo Trilogy, “The Worst Person in the World” is one of the best films of 2021. Despite several erroneous descriptions from critics tagging the movie as a…
__300x100.png)
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comCreative Moorhead is injecting new life into Moorhead’s art scene and revitalizing its downtown spaces. Artistic or handy people with a connection to the city are encouraged to connect with…
By Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comDrag shows, for me, feel like a celebration of artistry, esthetic, music, and camaraderie. With a dash of confetti thrown in.The local drag community is a close-knit family. Giving back to affiliated…
by Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comAdam Quesnell's last show at The Cellar beneath the Front Street Taproom in Fargo was in early September of 2018. He was embarking on a seminal move from Minneapolis to LA. As always, his comedy was…
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 Laurie J Bakeremsdatter@gmail.com Part of modern yoga is participating in the world around us. We live in a time of upheaval in society and nature, and of great suffering in humans of all ages. Most of us perceive this suffering…
By Theresa L. Goodrichsubmit@hpr1.comIt was day ten of our epic southwest road trip and we’d made it to Arizona. After camping in Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, and New Mexico, we were exhausted, but fortunately our night in…
By Melissa Van Der Stadm.forfargo@gmail.comA proposal for affordable housing in Downtown Fargo is currently being discussed in two separate committees — the Tax Exempt Review Committee and the Renaissance Zone…