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InFocus: March 2025

Forum photographers have collected their favorite shots from March, which was packed with tournaments, trials and everything in between.

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Bismarck Century's Olivia Klimpel and West Fargo Horace's Jaiden Haile meet for introductions during the North Dakota Division AA state high school basketball championship game on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at the Fargodome.
David Samson / The Forum

The Forum's staff photographers are busy capturing life in the Fargo-Moorhead area, and March was packed with tournaments, trials and everything in between.

We've followed the city's efforts to curb homelessness, documented the triumphs of state tournaments and followed teams to championship wins, like Moorhead's Spuds boys' hockey players, who went on to win their first-ever state championship in Minneapolis. We traveled to Grand Forks to cover an art exhibition on Ukrainian women in war, documented protests throughout the region in response to a changing America, shared the tragic news of the passing of Fargo's Modern Man, documented Molly Ringwald's recent appearance at the Fargo Theatre , launched Shelter Stories, featuring the stories of animals up for adoption, and caught up with the community celebrations at the St. Patrick's Day parade after it was delayed a week.

There are plenty more moments we've gathered together that left an impression on us in March. We'd love to hear from you. If you have a photography tip, email Forum Photo Editor Anna Paige with details.

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A deer grazes along the Minnesota side of the Red River on Friday, March 14, 2025, near Fargo's Mickelson Park. The weather in the FM area has been unseasonably warm, hovering in the 50s for the past few days, but a storm is expected to bring freezing rain and snow to the region starting Friday evening into the weekend.
Anna Paige / The Forum
Bagpipers from Heather and Thistle Pipes and Drums play during the annual Fargo-Moorhead St. Patrick's Parade on Saturday, March 22, 2025, heading down Broadway in downtown Fargo. The piper is walking and playing. The bag looks like a fluffy dog.
Bagpipers from Heather and Thistle Pipes and Drums play during the annual Fargo-Moorhead St. Patrick's Parade on Saturday, March 22, 2025, heading down Broadway in downtown Fargo.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
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Rev. John T. Folda, Bishop of Fargo, leads a dedication mass at the newly constructed Holy Cross Catholic Church in West Fargo on Thursday, March 20, 2025. Folda sprinked blessed water on people in the church pews as he passed by in the procession, which was preceded by handing over the church keys to the Bishop.
Anna Paige / The Forum
Siobhan Rafteseth goes for a walk with her 4-year-old daughter Sydney, baby Scarlett and their dog Leia on Monday, March 10, 2025, in West Fargo.
Siobhan Rafteseth goes for a walk with her daughters. Sydney, 4, and Scarlett and their dog Leia on Monday, March 10, 2025, in West Fargo.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
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West Fargo fans cheer for their team during the ND Division AA East Region Boys Basketball Championship Game on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in Fargo.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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Angelina Foster (center) and fellow advanced skaters perform to Blondie's "Call Me" during the "Like Totally 80's" ice show on Friday, March 21, 2025, at the Moorhead Sports Center, featuring Moorhead Parks and Recreation skaters and members of the Red River Valley Figure Skating Club.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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From left, Brad McCaslin, Kelton McCaslin, Logan Larson, Nathaniel Staehling and Nate Forystek listen to discussion about their appeal of a Planning Commission decision that found them in violation of city code, which only allows three unrelated people to live together. Brad McCaslin bought the home in south Fargo for his son and four fellow NDSU student athletes. "We’re just trying to live," Staehling told The Forum after the Fargo City Commission upheld the decision on Monday, March 17, 2025, at City Hall in downtown Fargo.
Anna Paige / The Forum
Lilly Held, a 17-year-old junior at Fargo South High in the choir room on Feb. 26, 2025. Held, who goes by Lilly Danielle for her artist name, sang the national anthem at the North Dakota state wrestling tournament on Feb. 20. She posted the video her aunt took of her singing on TikTok and it went viral.  Lilly is lean, white, and has long brown hair. She's sitting at a piano, but not playing it. She's smiling towards a person off frame.
Lilly Held, a 17-year-old junior at Fargo South High in the choir room on Feb. 26, 2025. Held, who goes by Lilly Danielle for her artist name, sang the national anthem at the North Dakota state wrestling tournament on Feb. 20. She posted the video her aunt took of her singing on TikTok and it went viral.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
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Concordia students from left Abby Nelson, Erik Ault, Samuel Zimmerman, Tommie Treptau, Andy Kocher, and Abby Fisette enjoy the first ice cream of the season from the Moorhead Dairy Queen, which opened its doors on Saturday, March 1, 2025, in a long-held tradition that marks the coming of warmer days.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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DJ "Coinman" Smith is pictured on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in his campsite north of the First Avenue bridge along the Red River in downtown Fargo. He has been collecting items to use in his home when he is able to find housing, storing things in bins and large duffel bags.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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Fargo North head basketball coach Travis Hoeg returns court side on Friday, March 14, 2025, during the North Dakota Division AA state high school boys basketball conciliation finals in the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. Fargo North bested Grand Forks 84 to 81. Hoeg was absent for the quarterfinals game, which Fargo North lost to Bismarck Century due to a brief suspension. No reason for the suspension was given, but Fargo Public Schools determined Hoeg did not violate conduct policies or student-staff relations.
Anna Paige / The Forum
Susmita Gurung, from Nepal, holds an American flag after becoming a US citizen during a naturalization of new citizens ceremony on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at the Sanctuary Events Center in downtown Fargo.
Susmita Gurung, from Nepal, holds an American flag after becoming a US citizen during a naturalization of new citizens ceremony on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at the Sanctuary Events Center in downtown Fargo.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
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A female cardinal responds to the call of her mate and lands nearby on a branch in the Horace Mann neighborhood in north Fargo on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. Warm weather has brought a rush of melting snow to the city, with wildlife and humans alike enjoying the mild temperatures.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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Erika Berg, of Kindred, reads "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" by Robin DiAngelo. Her daughter, Julianna Berg, sits next to her, reading "1984" by George Orwell on Saturday, March 1, 2025, outside the Fargo Public Library. Across North Dakota, people gathered to read together outside public libraries as part of "Read Outs" organized by Right to Read ND to show opposition to Senate Bill 2307, which targets library content.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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Moviegoers cheer as Molly Ringwald appears on the screen during "The Breakfast Club" on Saturday, March 22, 2025, for the Fargo Film Festival finale at the Fargo Theatre in downtown Fargo.
David Samson / The Forum
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A woman looks over the works of Olia Fedorova that are part of "Women at War" on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the North Dakota Museum of Art in Grand Forks. Fedorova, a refugee in Graz, Austria, was in Kharkiv — Ukraine’s second largest city — in 2022 when it was shelled daily from February 24 through May 13. Russia also hit the city with guided bombs, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, targeting apartments, businesses, and public places of gathering. Fedorova wrote a series of ten poems, what would become her “Tablets of Rage,” while seeking shelter in her cellar during this time. She used materials at hand and wrote the work on bed sheets and other textiles, before she left Kharkiv for Austria in May 2022.

Translated, the poem reads:
“May you choke on my soil.
May you poison yourself with my air.
May you drown in my waters.
May you burn in my sunlight.
May you stay restless all day and all night long.
And may you be afraid every second.”
Anna Paige / The Forum

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Isabell Haaland shows her cookie creations at the family home in Moorhead.
David Samson / The Forum
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West Fargo Horace and Bismarck Century tip off during the North Dakota Division AA state high school basketball championship game on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at the Fargodome.
David Samson / The Forum
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West Fargo Horace players celebrate their win over Bismarck Century in the North Dakota Division AA state high school basketball championship game on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at the Fargodome.
David Samson / The Forum
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West Fargo's Brody Englestad smiles during an awards presentation on Saturday, March 8, 2025, during the North Dakota High School State Swim and Dive Meet at Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo. Engelstad beat the state record of 1:40.66 with a time of 1.39.26 in the boys' 200 freestyle.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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Young Barnesville Trojans fans cheer for their team in a game against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton during the Minnesota Section 8-2A girls basketball tournament semifinals on Friday, March 7, 2025, in the Memorial Auditorium at Concordia College in Moorhead.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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The Barnesville Trojans celebrate their 57-56 win over Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton during the Minnesota Section 8-2A girls basketball tournament semifinals on Friday, March 7, 2025, in the Memorial Auditorium at Concordia College in Moorhead.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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Moorhead's Brooks Cullen (8) celebrates his first period goal against Stillwater with teammate Tyden Bergeson during the Minnesota boys hockey state 2A tournament championship game on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
David Samson / The Forum
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Moorhead’s David Mack attempts two against Wayzata’s Samuel Mohs in the Minnesota Class 4A State Boys Basketball Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
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Fargo Davies' Charlie Metzger celebrates the nail biting win over West Fargo in the North Dakota Division AA state high school basketball semifinals on Friday, March 14, 2025, at the Fargodome.
David Samson / The Forum
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Mandan cheer team member Addyson Rademacher-Nuame carries Jalynn Southard on her shoulders as they cheer for their team during the North Dakota Division AA state high school girls basketball tournament semifinals on Friday, March 14, 2025, at the Fargodome.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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Legacy/Bismarck's team members pose for photos after their 3-0 win over West Fargo United in the North Dakota state high school girls hockey tournament title game on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.
David Samson / The Forum
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West Fargo's Bonfas Loria celebrates after making a free-throw following a foul in the last seconds of the game against Grand Forks during the ND Division AA East Region Boys Basketball Championship Game on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in Fargo.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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Moorhead skates over to the glass to celebrate their Minnesota Section 8-2A boys hockey championship game win against Bemidji with their fans on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls, MN.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
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Kindred players and fans run onto the court after their ND Division A Boys Basketball Region 1 Tournament championship win against Wahpeton on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in Fargo.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
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Moorhead City Council members and other community members sign a beam that will be used in The Loop, the future Moorhead library and community center, on Monday, March 17, 2025, in Moorhead.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
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City crews remove homeless encampments along the Red River Tuesday, March 11, 2025, just east of Fargo City Hall and north of the First Avenue Bridge that connects downtown Fargo and Moorhead.
Anna Paige / The Forum
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Artist Anna Johnson uses a stencil she made to create a design on a new mural inside of the NDSU Library on Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Fargo.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
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Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster and violinist Sonja Bosca-Harasim and Music Director Christopher Zimmerman bow after performing "The Lark Ascending" on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at the NDSU Festival Concert Hall in Fargo.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
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Isaac Kobrinsky, owner of Mind Virus Counter-Culture Books and Media, talks on Saturday, March 15, 2025, in his downtown Fargo store about a photo of Modern Man working in his studio.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
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Jaiden Pickett is seen in Cass County Court for a change of plea hearing on Monday, March 24, 2025, in Fargo.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
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Lyn Dockter-Pinnick of Moorhead protests on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, on the intersection of 8th St. S. and 24th Ave. S. in Moorhead, after comments were made about protesters by Rep. Michelle Fischbach.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
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East Central Judicial District Judge Ryan Younggren hugs former Cass County State's Attorney Birch Burdick during his investiture ceremony on March 7, 2025, at the Cass County Courthouse in Fargo.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
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Ariel Olson, a 10-year-old from Dilworth, asks the Dilworth City Council to allow backyard chickens on Monday, March 10, 2025, at Dilworth City Hall.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
Jen Vickers, a volunteer with 4 Luv of Dog Rescue with Sour Bill, a 4-month-old puppy she is fostering. Bill has been with Vickers for a month. They are sitting on a couch. Vickers has her arm around Sour Bill.
Jen Vickers, a volunteer with 4 Luv of Dog Rescue with Sour Bill, a 4-month-old puppy she is fostering. Bill has been with Vickers for a month.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Enderlin Library librarian Mattie Richardson shows the due date of the book "Rebecca" by author Daphne du Maurier on Tuesday, March 19, 2025, that a person checked out in 1973 and just returned it recenlty after more than 50 years. The due date was October 6, 1973.
Enderlin Library librarian Mattie Richardson said records might exist to track down who returned the book after 50 years. But they also might have been lost when the library was flooded in its old location.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Brothers Paul, left, and Mark Mehl, as seen on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, founded and operate Mehl's Gluten-Free Bakery in south Fargo.  Paul is older has glasses. They are inside their bakery smiling at the camera.
Brothers Paul, left, and Mark Mehl, as seen on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, founded and operate Mehl's Gluten-Free Bakery in south Fargo.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Hershey, a two-year-old shepherd mix as seen on Feb. 28, 2025, is currently in foster care through the Homeward Animal Shelter with volunteer Darian Slama. Close up of Hershey. He's looking directly into the camera
Hershey, a two-year-old shepherd mix as seen on Feb. 28, 2025, is currently in foster care through the Homeward Animal Shelter with volunteer Darian Slama.
Chris Flynn / The Forum

Anna Paige is a photojournalist, writer, poet and artist with a penchant for storytelling. She’s the Photo Editor at the Forum and moved to Fargo in 2024 after spending two decades in Montana where she worked as a journalist for several statewide outlets.
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