Author: Emily Welker

Pet Connection: Meet Jupiter

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — He’s named after a planet that’s pretty far distant from ours. But little Jupiter the Malamute/shepherd cross wants nothing more than to be as near to you as possible, at all times. The volunteers at Journey Home Animal Rescue say the year-old puppy has only been with them a few short weeks, but he’s already settling…

Seeking “Mr. Sparta”

FARGO — After two decades out of the high school stage spotlight, Fargo North High is welcoming back a tradition this weekend that puts boys on the pageant stage. It’s a fundraiser and “reverse pageant” called the “Mr. Sparta” competition. Candidates compete in runway, talent, and question-and-answer categories. The contests are leaders from a variety of extracurricular activities at North,…

Remembering the Memory Cafe for Giving Hearts Day

FARGO — Giving Hearts Day is just a few hours away, and one local nonprofit is hoping you remember them this year for the annual fundraising event. Memory cafe volunteers say they’ve been growing steadily since they established the charity in the metro four-plus years ago. They’re now up to between ninety and one hundred clients each Monday at their…

Help at a Hard Time for Giving Hearts Day

FARGO — It’s one of the toughest times of life for any family to grapple with. And this year, the regional hospice nonprofit Hearts in Action is asking for your fundraising help to keep their mission of keeping sick folks comfortable at home going strong, ahead of Giving Hearts Day. It was known for forty years in our region as…

Sharing the Love in Downtown Fargo

FARGO — Remember this time of year in grade school? The red construction paper hearts, the tiny cartoon cards with silly puns, the little bags of heart-shaped candy and cookies you painstakingly wrapped the night before the Valentine’s party at school. No one went away empty-handed. In a time when so much of what we see and exchange with the…

Pet Connection: Meet Iris

FARGO — Iris’s is a story of survival and flourishing in spite of harsh conditions, a little like the tough and lovely flowers she’s named after. She comes to Pet Connection from Journey Home rescue in Grand Forks, and they took her in from a puppy mill situation. While the people who had her claimed her health was good, it…

Spay It Forward Expands

FARGO — The temperatures here during winter can make surviving the streets a matter of chance for homeless pets. Now, you’ve got a chance to apply for a low-cost program to spay or neuter yours. Minn-Kota Paaws is a local pet welfare group that works to spay and neuter strays, feral cats, and other animals in the region to keep…

A Hot Time in the Old Town: 8th Annual Hotdish Festival

FARGO — It’s one of the hottest tickets in town, at one of the coldest times. The eighth annual Fargo Hotdish Festival is this weekend, and one contender is hoping to turn the tables on the competition. Last year’s “Most Creative” and “People’s Choice” winner, the Jasper Hotel in downtown, is vying to be a contender for this year’s top…

Pet Connection: Meet Eve

BOTTINEAU, N.D. — Eve came in to the Kritter Krazy shelter Christmas Eve and she’s still only four months old. Rescue founder Tasha Gorentz says she was out that day doing some outreach in the community and someone handed the little dog over to her, saying they couldn’t care for the puppy anymore and asking her to find her a…

Go See “Go, Dog, Go!” en Espanol — Starring a Fargo Native

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s a timely, bilingual take on a beloved children’s book, and it’s taking the stage right now at the nationally-renowned Children’s Theatre Company in the Twin Cities. And it stars a Fargo native. Kimberly Richardson grew up in Fargo and got her stage training here. Now, she’s appearing in the Spanish/English adaptation of P.D. Eastman’s “Go, Dog, Go!”…