Articles

Benshoof: In a summer pickle? Just ask: What would Bieber do?

We’re all probably tired of reading about him, but Justin Bieber is in the news again.

As gas prices increase, local scooter owners tout vehicle benefits

FARGO – It’s no secret that the cost of gas took off like a rocket last week, leading to prices of more than $4 per gallon around the Fargo-Moorhead area, some of the highest in the nation.

• Deb and Mark Tufte on their scooters
• Kymco scooters
• Suzuki Burgman

F-M libraries, museum encourage community to read ‘Moby-Dick’

FARGO – Talk about a whale of a book. Starting this month, the Fargo, West Fargo and Moorhead public libraries and Plains Art Museum kicked off the “Three Communities, Two Books, One Art Exhibit” project, which includes an array of activities centered around Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick.”

• How to read ‘Moby-Dick’

How to read ‘Moby-Dick’

FARGO – Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick” is a book that many people probably wouldn’t consider to be recreational reading, thanks to its intimidating length and difficult writing style.

Park Rapids couple wins gaming room makeover from website

PARK RAPIDS, Minn. – For Alex and Cassie Holmen, playing video games used to be a headache. Literally.

• Alex and Cassie Holmen in their gaming room
• Games in the gaming room
• Specialty gaming glasses

Benshoof: ‘Star Trek’ tech a reality? Make it so

FARGO - As fans flock to the local multiplex this weekend to watch “Star Trek Into Darkness,” they’ll see a utopian society set more than 250 years in the future.

• Sam Benshoof

Rosie Sauvageau, Shane Maland & Little Winter to close FM’s Finest

FARGO – After more than two months of live local music, FM’s Finest comes to a close tonight with performances by singer/songwriter Rosie Sauvageau and Shane Maland & Little Winter.

• Pianist Rosie Sauvageau
• Who will play F-M's Finest outdoor concert? You decide

Oysters! JT Cigarro Grille & Lounge offers a Fargo first

FARGO – JT Cigarro is bringing a touch of seafood to the North Dakota prairie. A few weeks ago, the bar opened its new JT Cigarro Grille & Lounge, which includes the area’s only oyster and martini bar. On the menu are unique offerings such as raw oysters but also plenty of other regular grill options.

• Oysters on the half shell
• The JT Cigarro Grille & Lounge

Fargo man gives flowers to strangers for Mother’s Day

FARGO – Nearly 100 area mothers received an unexpected Mother’s Day gift while grocery shopping on Sunday, first from a stranger and then from their children.

• Trinity Schaff

Moorhead native, now best-selling author, sells movie rights to book

LAKE CHARLES, La. – If Mel Brooks has his way, a Moorhead native could one day be portrayed on the big screen by Jim Carrey.

• Jim Bailey

Columns

Benshoof: Forum sign gets blank look on local TV newscast

FARGO - Call it the curious case of the retouched photo. An eagle-eyed Forum employee recently noticed something strange about a background photo used during weather segments of KVLY-TV/KXJB-TV Valley News Live.

• Sam Benshoof
• Here is the skyline of downtown Fargo
• A screen shot of KVLY’s Wednesday night broadcast
• Close-up view of Valley News Live's backdrop

Benshoof: ‘X-Files’ actor says, yes, truth indeed out there

When I was young, I used to picture myself as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in the television show “The X-Files.”

• Sam Benshoof

Things change as smoke clears

Fargo’s smoking ban began about six months ago, and the dust has settled predictably.

We all win, lose in fantasy leagues

I don’t like sports. I like caring about sports. The caring, however, has always been hampered by my gladiators of choice: the Chicago Cubs, the Minnesota Vikings and the athletic programs of Iowa State University – a trio of perennial losers.

Station’s early Christmas leap stirs inner Grinch

No, you didn’t go to bed on Halloween night and accidentally sleep through the month of November.

Political guests a drag on comedy

Since late-night comedy shows have become as must-do for presidential wannabes as “Meet the Press,” there has been some hand-wringing as vigorous as a surgeon scrubbing up before an operation.

Shirt theft a cruel trick on indie duo

Promising to ask no questions if something stolen is returned rarely seems to work, but I was wishing it would this past Friday night.

Less covers, more copies

Cover bands aren’t all bad, but they’re usually boring. Blame the formula. Like their cultural cousins – light beer, fast food, laugh-tracked sitcoms, top-40 radio, wedding-dance DJs and romantic comedies – cover bands are delivery mechanisms for the familiar.

I’ve had enough summer solitude

I don’t like what college kids and cabin-dwellers do to this town in the summer.

The Rail

10K Lakes Fest blog
George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic weren’t as rump-shaking as I expected.