Heads up

A word about the header (and please don't be scared by the pun, I like them!): I got it from James Lileks' lovely site about Fargo (it's there, just scroll down his main page) and did a little cropping.

Downtown Fargo is one of my favorite places to hang out. The West Acres area (in southwest Fargo) seems to be the fertilizing soil for chains. That is, chain restaurants, clothings stores, shopping, etc. Which, while nice when you want to eat somewhere new, is not exactly my favorite thing. The homogenization of small town (or rather, medium-sized city) America is something of a crime, in my mind.

So downtown Fargo, in its recent and lovely renaissance, is the spot where all kinds of locally owned establishments are popping up.

And here's why I like local better than national (or worse, multi-national): Local is good because it gives back. Instead of profits going to some mega-corporation far, far away, profits are invested back into local businesses and the community (through taxes). Local businesses buy goods and services from other local businesses. Local businesses provide jobs (in a way that McDonald's and Walmart never can), often more jobs (and better jobs) than their chain counterparts. Local businesses inspire and foster innovation.

But above all, local businesses are unique; they provide diversity. And diversity is what makes a city or a community or a region what it is.

So yes. I suppose this is a sort of philosophy of why I write what I write. Now go local!

Welcome, chickadees!

Welcome! This is a fun little site dedicated to Fargo, North Dakota (and by extension, its sister city, Moorhead, Minnesota).

I began writing about Fargo-Moorhead in the fall of 2006 for my college newspaper, The Concordian. As soon as they get it online, you can search the issues in the Archives, or on The Concordian website.

However, since the column was called "Downtown Hotspots," I was necessarily limited to downtown Fargo-Moorhead. Which was frustrating sometimes, because there are cool places out of the downtown area, too!

So yes, posts will be arranged as reviews, historical vignettes, fun facts, etc. You get the idea.

This is also to collect fun links about Fargo (and Moorhead) together in one place.

The Insider's Guide is for natives, tourists, visitors, college students, adults, retirees, high school students, and pretty much anyone else interested enough to read it. Except for maybe people writing research papers. I doubt your professors/editors would like it very much if you cited a blog, however much I have a degree in History.

Anyway, once I get things up and running, enjoy!