The Extra Newspaper

02/06/2025

Global Market Offers Foods and Crafts at the Hjemkomst

Culinary treats and crafts from around the world will be on sale at the Hjemkomst Center during its second Global Market on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Sponsored by the Immigrant Development Center, Inclusive Moorhead and the Indigenous Association, it’s the second of what’s planned as monthly evenst showcasing the global cultures of Moorhead residents to build excitement for the proposed downtown cultural mall.

Seven vendors are expected Tuesday, including Seema Market, Woke Soap, Jeylan’s Sweets, Niimi’idiwag, Tee’s Tacos, Eternal Bloom Blankets and Hannoun Sourdough. Hours are 5 to 7 p.m.

The Global Market coincides with the opening of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County’s exhibit, “Land to Table: Foods in Clay County.” The exhibition, which will continue through 2026, occupies the Fourth Floor Gallery downstairs. Admission to the reception, as well as the rest of the society’s exhibits, is free that evening.

02/06/2025

Making Friends for 'The Loop'

The outlines of Moorhead’s new community center and library – recently nicknamed “The Loop” – have finally broken the surface.

Following a season of underground work at Center Avenue and Fourth Street, it’s beginning to take shape within sight of residents eagerly awaiting its Spring 2026 opening.

But as its physical outline becomes clear, the Friends of the Library organization has turned its attention to covering an unexpected yet predictable gap – the difference between the funding secured to to finance it and inflation-fueled increases that have added weight to its cost since the project was launched more than two years ago.

On Thursday, Feb. 13 – Giving Hearts Day – the Moorhead Public Library’s volunteer group is gearing up to help bridge that gap. The 100-plus members of the library support group are hosting an open house from 4 to 8 p.m., with something for library lovers of every age.
Plans include a free concert by acoustic trio Tucker’d Out, a photo booth featuring portraits with mascot Booker the Owl, a mini book sale, children’s activities and snacks courtesy of the Popcorn Man and Addie’s Sunshine and Treats.

Read more about the event and progress on The Loop, the new community center/regional library, in the Feb. 6 edition of the FM Extra. It's on the newsstands now, and online at https://www.thefmextra.com/making-friends-for-the-loop/

02/06/2025

Moorhead Drum Store Beats the Odds

Five years ago, lifelong blues musician Michael Carbone set out to fulfill a percussionist’s dream: a sort of wonderland for drummers, where they could find everything from snares and sticks to congas, bongos, electronic gear and even education in one spot.

Today the rhythmic world of the Upper Midwest centers on Carbone’s dream come true. Drummer’s Journey, his drum emporium in the EasTen Shopping Center, attracts the musicians who lay down the beat. “There was nowhere to buy drums anywhere in the region when we got started,” Michael reflects. “Now, we carry the largest selection of drums for at least 200 or 300 miles in every direction. We’ve sold drums to customers from every state except Alaska and Hawaii.

“One of our first went to Mexico City for Michael Rivera, the drummer and lead singer of Rare Earth. A Canadian drummer is coming down to pick up her set next week. We field inquiries from all over place – England, Israel, Brazil, Germany, France. We’ve even shipped to a drum store in Kyiv.

“We get a lot of business from the musicians’ grapevine. Word of mouth is our best advertising,” he adds. “We’ve tried like crazy to get the word out. Yet every single week, someone still comes in, looks around and tells us, ‘Wow! I had no idea there was a place like this around here.’”

That wonder seems justified. The showroom of Drummer’s Journey is filled from wall to wall with drum sets, from utilitarian standards to the kind of gear that dedicated drummers drool over. That starts with the flashy drum sets just inside the door, fabricated in brilliant colors and flashy patterns. Michael jokes, “What it mostly takes to be a drummer is an attraction to shiny objects.”

Read more about the region's premier drum store in the Feb. 6 edition of the FM Extra, on the newsstands now (free!), and online at https://www.thefmextra.com/moorhead-drum-store-beats-the-odds/

02/06/2025

From the Kitchens of Amy and JJ --
Slow-Cooker Baked Potato Soup

This time of year calls for something that will “stick to your ribs” as my grandmother would say. This slow cooker soup is thick and delicious. When I brought leftovers into work, all i heard from co-workers was “That smells amazing!” Do yourself a favor and make a double batch.

Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients:
6 Cups Russet Potatoes – peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 Medium Yellow Onion – diced
3 Cloves Garlic – minced
4 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Block Cream Cheese (softened)
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Cooked Bacon Bits
1 Green Onion, green stems chopped

Add potatoes, onion, garlic and chicken broth to your slow cooker
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours
Add Cream Cheese (softened), Heavy Cream, Sour Cream, Bacon Bits and Cheddar Cheese. Cook for 1/2 hour.
Put into a bowl and add the green onion tops for look (I also add a little more shredded cheddar cheese). Enjoy!

02/06/2025

Authors vs Folks

Marcus Krueger, HCSCC

I would wager that the most sung song in the English language is “Happy Birthday,” but you rarely hear it sung on TV. That’s because this song, written Patty and Mildred Hill in the 1890s, is owned by Warner Music Company. Until recently, anybody who put the song on TV or in a movie had to pay Warner thousands of dollars. If you want to put the song Cripple Creek on TV, go ahead. Nobody knows who wrote this popular old Appalachian standard. Therefore, we call it a “folk song,” and it belongs to anybody and everybody.
Here’s my favorite joke: Ole was fishing in Moorhead when he saw Sven fishing on the Fargo side. Ole bellowed “Hey Sven! How do I get to the other side of the river?” Sven replied “Ole! You ARE on the other side of the river!” I tell that joke all the time.

Read more of Markus's comments in the Feb. 6 edition of the FM Extra, on the newsstands (free!), and online at

I would wager that the most sung song in the English language is “Happy Birthday,” but you rarely hear it sung on TV. That’s because this song, written Patty and Mildred Hill in the 1890s, is owned by Warner Music Company. Until recently, anybody who put the song on TV or in a movie had to pay...

02/06/2025

Clay Board Hears West Central Regional Water District Report

Two area rural water experts updated the Clay County Board of Commissioners on the progress of the West Central Regional Water District on Tuesday in Moorhead.

Two area rural water experts updated the Clay County Board of Commissioners on the progress of the West Central Regional Water District on Tuesday in Moorhead.

Lucas Spaeth, WCRWD board chair as well as the utility superintendent for the city of Halstad, said the major needs for the project included water quality concerns, aging infrastructure, lack of licensed operators, high capital costs and emerging contaminants.

The West Central Regional Water District includes the counties of Clay, Norman and Polk. The district established final boundaries last spring, encompassing 30 cities and approximately 40,000 people. Its supply comes from existing Minnesota and North Dakota municipal and rural water systems, and is the first rural water district formed in the state since 1985.

Read more about the water board reports in the Feb. 6 edition of the FM Extra, on the stands now, and online at https://www.thefmextra.com/clay-board-hears-west-central-regional-water-district-update/

Cities in the northern portion include Trail, Gully and Crookston, and on the southern end Barnesville and Comstock.

Spaeth said the aging infrastructure hits the rural areas harder than in the metro, and that upgrades have become quite critical.

02/06/2025

02/01/2025

Congratulations to Grant Swenson, who wins this week's pair of free beverages at Third Drop Coffee:

Why do you love Third Drop? "The pastries!"

01/31/2025

Brandenburg Appointed Head of Moorhead Parks & Recreation

Sean Brandenburg was named to succeed director Holly Heitkamp as head of the Department of Parks and Recreation at Monday’s meeting of the Moorhead City Council.

He has served as Minnesota State University Moorhead’s youth outreach coordinator for the past five years. He was also named to the advisory Moorhead Park Board 18 months ago.

In his current role at MSUM, Brandenburg manages K-12 youth events, programs, and community engagements, including College for Kids and Teens. Prior to joining the university, he spent five years with the city of Billings, Montana, where he developed and coordinated specialized recreation programs for youth, adults, seniors and families in the areas of sports, fitness, wellness, camps, aquatics, outdoor pursuits and education.

A native of Fargo, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Concordia College and a master’s in sports facility management from the University of Northern Colorado. He was designated a certified park and recreation professional by the National Park and Recreation Association.

Introducing him to the council, city manager Dan Mahli noted that this marks his second time with the parks department: “As a student, he was a seasonal mower and trimmer.”
Department heads are selected by the city manager, but must be approved by the council.

Brandenburg will be replacing Heitkamp, who retired in December after 27 years managing Parks and Recreation and the Hjemkomst Center.

01/31/2025

Sourdough Magic Creates Great Taste, Healthy Results

Amena Chaudhry hadn’t been able to eat bread for decades. Then she discovered sourdough.

“Bread made with sourdough starter is entirely different from what’s commercially available,” the Moorhead baker explains. “The product you find in stores doesn’t use it; vinegar or something similar is just added to give it that distinctive sour taste. Real sourdough is made the traditional way, with only flour, water and, instead of packaged yeast, a fermented starter.”

That starter is the secret that has made the Moorhead woman’s bread, scones, English muffins and even cookies a sensation, especially among those whose health conditions make it imperative to avoid gluten and starch. Concocted of only flour and water, plus wild yeast and lactose bacteria from its environment, the living mixture is labor-intensive, requiring regular feedings of flour and water to keep it fresh.

Added to the other ingredients in one of Amena’s recipes, it’s left to ferment for 24 to 48 hours before it goes into the oven. The result: Delicious bread with that special sourdough tang, but minus almost all of the gluten. As a bonus, the fermentation process also creates foods with low glycemic content – a huge boon to diabetics.

For Amena herself, who has several health conditions, the discovery was revolutionary. “I must avoid foods that cause my blood sugar to spike. Baked goods were at the top of the list. But now I can eat a slice without seeing any change.” And her home-based bakery, Hannoun Sourdough, is offering the same benefits to a growing list of customers.

Read more about Amena's sourdough delicacies in the Jan. 30 edition of the FM Extra. It's on the stands now, as well as online at https://www.thefmextra.com/sourdough-magic-creates-great-taste-healthy-results/

01/31/2025

An Appetite for Clay County Foods

If there’s anything that people talk about more than our weather, it’s food. Beginning Feb. 11, visitors to the Historical and Cultural Society’s next major exhibit will get a taste of just what locals have been putting on their tables over the past 150 years, when the tales the staff has cooked up — “Land to Table: Food Stories from Clay County” – debuts in the Fourth Floor Gallery of the Hjemkomst Center.

“Everyone loves to talk about food,” archivist Petra Gunderson-Leith points out. “People really attach themselves to what they eat. It touches every aspect of our lives. We’re exploring it from five different aspects: cultural influences, historical heritage, the livelihoods of people who raise and sell it, healthfulness, and current trends in both food and agriculture.

The major exhibit replaces “Ihdago Manipi,” an exploration of the early years of Clay County from the days of the Dakota, Ojibwe and Metis through settlement days. It has been the main attraction at the historical museum since September 2021, closing last month.

Staff members are preparing to serve up intertwined glimpses of the area’s tastes and trends. “Food is a really massive topic,” Petra admits. “The staff has basically been concocting this topic ever since the previous exhibit opened to the public. It allows us to explore all kinds of things that are at the core of the people who have lived here, from Norwegian lutefisk and German beer to Lakota wojapi and Kurdish baklava.”

Read more about the HCSCC's next major exhibit in the Jan. 30 edition of the FM Extra. It's on newsstands now, and also online at https://www.thefmextra.com/an-appetite-for-clay-county-foods/

01/31/2025

McKnight Foundation Honors Two with Statewide Awards

Two Moorhead women who work with immigrants, refugees and Moorhead’s diverse communities are among seven Minnesotans to receive the Virginia McKnight Binger Heart of Community Honor for 2024.

They are Eman Yassin, an advocate for immigrants, refugees and others living on the margins, and Yoke-Sim Gunaratne, who has headed Cultural Diversity Resources since its inception in 1994.
The statewide awards, offered in collaboration with the Minnesota Council of Foundations, were established 40 years ago to “honor individuals who have had a significant impact on the state of Minnesota and its communities but who have not been widely recognized for their work in the past,” according to the McKnight Foundation’s website. Binger was the first board chair of the foundation.

According to Mayor Shelly Carlson, who introduces the two, Yassin came to the area as an Iraqi immigrant with few possessions. Recognizing that education was the path to success, she earned associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in social work after her arrival. “She has applied her knowledge to assist other newly arriving people,” Carlson said, “walking alongside people to deliver what they need, whether it be support to complete paperwork or help in obtaining housing, food, clothing or mental health services.”

Read more about Yoke-Sim and Eman in the Jan. 30 edition of the FM Extra, on the stands now, and online at https://www.thefmextra.com/moorhead-women-receive-statewide-honors/

01/31/2025

Moorhead Honors 11 Long-Time Employees

Eleven men who have worked for the city of Moorhead for from 25 to 35 years were honored by Mayor Shelly Carlson at Monday’s regular meeting of the City Council. (From left) Carlson, Tom Sopp, Darsey Thoen, Shannon Monroe, Michael Schroder, Robert Matheson, Bob Zimmerman, and Dan Mahli.

01/31/2025

Clay Board Approves Extension of Mall TIF District to 10 Years

The Clay County Board of Commissioners agreed to provide a letter of support for the Moorhead Center Mall Redevelopment Tax Increment Finance district extension from five to 10 years on Tuesday in Moorhead.

The massive redevelopment area of nearly 18 acres in downtown Moorhead is set to cost more than $500 million.

Read more about the lengthened TIF in the Jan. 30 edition of the FM Extra, on the newsstands, and online at

The Clay County Board of Commissioners agreed to provide a letter of support for the Moorhead Center Mall Redevelopment Tax Increment Finance district extension from five to 10 years on Tuesday in Moorhead. The massive redevelopment area of nearly 18 acres in downtown Moorhead is set to cost more th...

01/24/2025

WCI Shines Light on Opportunities for Home & Small Business Solar Opportunities

As the cost of solar panels has gone down and electrical rates go up, interest is growing – says Cedar Walter of West Central Initiative – in bringing solar energy into homes, small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

But how to go about it? That’s just one of the questions that will be answered at 6:30 Thursday evening, Jan. 23, when an expert from Solar United Neighbors presents an overview of how solar energy can benefit homes and businesses in northwestern Minnesota. He’ll take participants through solar technology, the its economic benefits, financing and other aspects of bringing solar energy down to earth. The program is free to join, and members are not obligated to buy solar panels.

“By the end of the evening, you’ll know what you need to decide whether to take the next step,” Cedar promises. And what is that step? Joining the new solar co-op on which the two nonprofits are collaborating – a buying pool through which members can joint to purchase equipment and set up professional installation in their facilities.

This week’s meeting in Moorhead was the third and final in-person event WCI has organized across the nine northwestern Minnesota counties it serves. In addition to Clay, they include Becker, Douglas, Grant, Otter Tail, Pope, Stevens, Traverse and Wilkin. Two virtual seminars are planned at noon Feb. 11 and at 7 p.m. March 25. (See link in comments.)

Read more about West Central's collaboration with Solar United Neighbors in the Jan. 23 edition of the FM Extra, now on the newsstands, and online at https://www.thefmextra.com/wci-shines-light-on-solar/

01/24/2025

FM Legion Riders to Brave the Cold for Charity

No matter what the forecast for the first weekend of Frostival, the FM Legion Riders will be “freezin’ for a good reason” around the clock next Friday, Jan. 31, through Sunday, Feb. 2. Along with the mission that propels it – raising funds for the Veterans Honor Flight and Golden Drive for Kids – the 44-hour event packs plenty of food, fun and fellowship into those three days.

Once again, the Riders – including area veterans, spouses and friends – will be spending 44 hours over three days and two nights in tents pitched on the grounds of Moorhead American Legion Post 21.

“We do it every year to bring awareness to homelessness among vets,” Legion Riders director Marc Simonet says. The duration, he explains, signifies the 22 American vets dying every day die by su***de. Sleeping outside represents the numbing truth of homelessness and others struggles so many face.

Freezin’ for a Reason has become a midwinter tradition since 2022, when the Legion Riders first erected their tents there. While others enjoy a full slate of activities inside the club – from homemade burgers, pizzas and soup Friday and Saturday to the Riders Breakfast and Ice Cube Bingo Sunday – Marc and other members will be sticking it out with Mother Nature, no matter what she brings.

“I haven’t heard the forecast, but it can’t get any worse than it was the first two years,” he says. “Back then, it was 20-plus below zero with sharp winds and wind chills in the minus-40s.” With a grin, he adds, “But we do cheat and put a little heat in the tent.”

Read more in the Jan. 23 edition of the FM Extra, on the newsstands now, and online at https://www.thefmextra.com/legion-riders-brave-the-cold/

01/24/2025

Hotdish Connoisseurs Flock to Legion Sunday, Jan. 26

The Minnesota winter calls for comfort food – and what’s more comforting than hotdish? The region’s most devoted casserole whizzes compete to clarify whose concoction hits the spot with a panel of judges on Sunday, Jan. 26, in a prelude to Frostival.

It’s the fourth year that the Moorhead Legion has hosted the fund-raiser for Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN. Vice president Lori Ishaug predicts that this year’s even may draw even more than the 15 distinctive entrees that challenged the judges in 2024.

“You can never tell what will take first place,” she predicts. In the contest’s first year, she entered her mother Marlene’s favorite, goulash. “Our family just loves it. She made the best goulash of all time,” Lori reports. “It didn’t even place, but it’s all good.”

While the winter festival is slimmed down to nine days starting Jan. 31, the fourth annual edition of “Uffdah It’s Cold Out – It’s Hotdish Time” at the American Legion holds in its traditional spot on the last Sunday of January. Home chefs arrive with their specialties between 11:30 and 12:30. Last year, 15 distinctive dishes lined up in the Legion kitchen.

This year’s celebrity judges include Legion Commander Paul Leeman and two Valley News Live journalists, evening anchor Bobby Falet and digital desk host Adam Chalifoux. “Hotdish is something new to him,” Lori says of the latter. “He says it’ll be interesting.”

Read more about the Legion's hotdish festival in the Jan. 23 edition of the FM Extra, now on newsstands and online at https://www.thefmextra.com/hotdish-connoisseurs-flock-to-legion/