1. ‘Vaccine hesitancy’ takes hold in western North Dakota, threatening herd immunity
BISMARCK — In the first months of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, North Dakota has emerged as a national leader, getting hundreds of thousands of shots into arms efficiently and immunizing more than a quarter of its population by late March.
But top public health officials have asserted that “vaccine hesitancy” — skepticism or cynicism about taking the quickly authorized vaccines — will be North Dakota’s most daunting challenge on its path to herd immunity, and already, the pace of inoculation has slowed as the state has expanded eligibility for the vaccines to the general public.
Read the full story here.
2. Hundreds march in opposition to alleged ‘White Lives Matter’ rally
Protesters and concerned citizens responded to reports of an alleged “White Lives Matter” rally by marching in opposition through downtown Fargo on Sunday, April 11. C.S. Hagen / The Forum
FARGO — An impromptu counter protest in response to alleged plans for a “White Lives Matter” rally brought hundreds of activists and concerned citizens to the Fargo streets Sunday, April 11.
Starting around noon, police blocked off roads in the downtown area surrounding Island Park to City Hall, while more than 200 protesters — rallied together by social justice groups OneFargo, the Black Lives Matter chapter of Fargo/Moorhead and the Red River People Over Profits Initiative — gave speeches and held signs defying Nazis and white supremacists.
Read the full story here.
3. Hotels in Fargo-Moorhead, N.D., hit hard as pandemic losses lead to closings
The Kelly Inn located at 4207 13th Ave. S. in Fargo is closed and is slated to be torn down. David Samson / The Forum
FARGO – The hotel industry has been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Fargo-Moorhead and North Dakota have not been spared.
At least seven hotels in the metro area are closed at this time, most of them victims of bottom lines that went into the red as people started hunkering down a year ago.
Read the full story here.
4. North Dakotans recall ‘Hell on Earth,’ Holocaust atrocities that changed their families forever
Dina Butcher, of Bismarck, with her father, Siegbert Schoenthal, on her wedding day in 1965. Schoenthal survived imprisonment in a German concentration camp. Special to The Forum
April is Holocaust Remembrance Month. I have always been horrified and intrigued by the Holocaust. How could such evil and mass murder take place? How could so many people willingly participate? How could they think that killing millions of people just because of their religion was necessary and justified? Sadly, the Holocaust has touched the lives of several people from this area.
Read the full story here.
5. Harvey Wallbanger cake was a ’70s staple that deserves a comeback
Did Mom’s original Harvey Wallbanger Cake recipe contain vodka? I don’t remember it, but it still had a sharply sweet, root beer-and-orange flavor. Tammy Swift / The Forum
I can’t really say I miss many of the foods of the 1970s.
Jiggling molds of pink salmon mousse? Blech. Jell-O salads topped with mayonnaise? Yuck. Tang instead of orange juice? It seems our astronauts deserved more.
Read the full story here.
