Sam Easter

This holiday season, plucky Grand Forks businesses stare down storm clouds

GRAND FORKS — Rachael Eider has led RH Standard, the downtown Grand Forks clothing boutique, for about a decade now. And to hear the headlines tell it, there’s always one thing or another threatening small businesses like hers. So why lose sleep over…

Helping for the holidays

When Maribeth Groen talks about kids in need in Kent County, she doesn’t just talk about the poverty level — she talks about something more subtle. Groen is the director of marketing and communications for the Heart of West Michigan United Way. She…

Artistic endeavors

Kenn Vidro Kenn Vidro wants people to be happy when they see his art. Case in point: When one of his pieces was stolen at ArtPrize last year, he just hoped whoever made off with it liked what they were getting — part of his “Pop goes Grand Rapids”…

Kraus-Anderson completes new Scheels store at Dakota Square Mall in Minot, N.D.

MINOT, N.D. • Kraus-Anderson has completed construction of a new 110,000-square-foot Scheels retail sporting goods store at the Dakota Square Mall, 2400 10th St. SW in Minot. Designed by R.L. Engebretson Architecture, the $20.66 million renovation…

Manufacturing and the new way of doing business

At Marvin, the window and door maker based in Warroad, Minnesota, times are changing just as quickly as everywhere else. The pandemic may be gone, sure – but the scrambled economy it’s left in its wake is demanding a new way of doing business. One…

Home improvement

Andrew Straatsma said he and his fiancée are among the lucky ones. They’ve been living in Heritage Hill, the east side downtown historic district, for about three years now. But despite a surge in housing costs around Kent County, their rent still is…

A bit of good news for Grand Forks economy. But are clouds gathering on the horizon?

GRAND FORKS — Here’s a kernel of good news: professional and business services sector jobs are up in the Grand Forks region, spiking to about 4,000, up from a pre-pandemic lull of about 3,400. Fufeng debate: A look back as the controversy about a…

Fufeng debate: A look back as the controversy about a proposed Grand Forks corn mill reaches eight months

GRAND FORKS — Eight months ago, city leaders gathered at the Grand Forks Herald’s downtown offices to make what they considered a thrilling announcement: a huge corn-milling plant was planning to come to Grand Forks soon, offering hundreds of jo

U.S. government bulletin raises alarm on Chinese influence, investments

GRAND FORKS – The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a bulletin on Wednesday detailing concerns with China’s influence in the United States, and the way the Chinese government seeks to influence state and local officials. The…

Fufeng Group deal in Grand Forks could get high-level federal security review

GRAND FORKS — A U.S. government group that reviews foreign business investments has expressed interest in Fufeng Group’s arrival in Grand Forks, a lawyer working with the city told top leaders on Tuesday — and she recommended that the city work with…

Police, FBI visit home of Fufeng opponent over social media activity ‘we weren’t sure how to take’

GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks police and the FBI on Thursday visited the home of Jodi Carlson, a leading opponent of a new corn mill to be owned by the China-based Fufeng Group, following up on a social media post quoting the Declaration of Independence…

15 years later, Democrats reckon with votes supporting North Dakota abortion ban

Abortion access in North Dakota is about to change dramatically. On July 28, a 2007 law banning the procedure — with narrow exceptions for rape, incest and the mother’s life — will take effect. It’s a 15-year-old law, written and passed in a bygone…

In tiny Oberon, N.D., concern over election comes after string of city issues

OBERON, N.D. – The tiny town of Oberon sits just southwest of Devils Lake. Home to about 100 people, it’s like countless tiny towns sprinkled across the Midwest. But it’s been a headache for North Dakota leaders recently, with problems on open…

New territory for the law office

GRAND FORKS, N.D. • John Oelke, an associate attorney at German Law in Grand Forks, says law practice is changing — and that the change isn’t done quite yet. The coronavirus pandemic changed work and the office in far-ranging ways, and that same…

Grand Forks City Council, after Dachtler and Mock, forges a new identity

GRAND FORKS – City council member Katie Dachtler said she watched election night results roll in on Tuesday anxiously, rooting for friends around the state who were running for office. But it still felt odd, she said, to know that her name wasn’t on…

Altru planning new Grand Forks behavioral health facility

GRAND FORKS – Altru Health System says it is planning to work with Universal Health Services, a health care services company, on “an inpatient behavioral health facility in Grand Forks.” The size and scope of the project was left unclear in a late…

Grand Forks' Fufeng lawsuits draw judges from Ramsey County

GRAND FORKS — Both Fufeng Group lawsuits facing Grand Forks — aimed at forcing a citywide vote on the Chinese agribusiness’ planned corn mill — will have judges from Ramsey County after a number of local judges have recused themselves or been…

Grand Rapids officer who killed Patrick Lyoya charged with second-degree murder

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A police officer was charged with second-degree murder for shooting a Black man in the back of the head during an April traffic stop, authorities announced Thursday. Kent County prosecutor Christopher Becker said he had…

District 20, North Dakota's new rural district, sees hottest legislative primary in Grand Forks area

GRAND FORKS – For legislative races, Grand Forks is looking at a mostly quiet primary on June 14. In the city itself, there are eight primary races — for state representatives and a senator in two districts across two parties. But those races are…

Moments before 6-1 Grand Forks City Council annexation vote, speaker threatens to “come across this table”

GRAND FORKS — As Grand Forks has negotiated to bring Fufeng Group to the city, there have been plenty of heated moments at City Council meetings. But Monday saw its most heated yet, as a man addressing City Council leaders threatened in a loud…