{"id":4056,"date":"2025-12-19T05:30:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T11:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=4056"},"modified":"2025-12-19T05:05:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T11:05:00","slug":"fargo-bar-owner-criticized-over-disability-slur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/fargo-bar-owner-criticized-over-disability-slur\/","title":{"rendered":"Fargo: Bar Owner Criticized Over Disability Slur"},"content":{"rendered":"

FARGO, Cass County<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 A Fargo business owner is facing criticism after resharing social media posts that included a disability slur.<\/p>\n

The posts were reshared by Chad Klimek, who is identified as the owner of Southtown Pourhouse. The posts targeted Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. They included the disability slur often called the \u201cR-word.\u201d<\/p>\n

TRF News has not independently verified the original posts. Community members and advocacy groups shared concerns after the reposts circulated online.<\/p>\n

Disability advocates respond<\/h2>\n

Several local disability advocates called the language harmful. They said the term is demeaning and outdated. They also said it can hurt people with disabilities and their families.<\/p>\n

Kira Knutson, executive director of GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, spoke about the impact. GiGi\u2019s Playhouse offers free programs for people with Down syndrome. The programs serve individuals from birth through adulthood.<\/p>\n

Knutson said the word was painful to hear. She said people with Down syndrome work hard every day. She said leaders should set a better example in public.<\/p>\n

GiGi\u2019s Playhouse information is posted at gigisplayhouse.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Fargo
Fargo business owner under fire for use of retard on social media<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Klimek\u2019s explanation<\/h2>\n

Klimek said the post was a cartoon meme. He said it was meant to criticize Walz as a governor. He used the words \u201cincompetent and corrupt\u201d in his explanation.<\/p>\n

Knutson said those words should not be tied to people with disabilities. She urged people to stop using the \u201cR-word.\u201d She said there are many other words to use.<\/p>\n

Calls for an apology<\/h2>\n

Advocates said they want a direct apology. They also want a commitment to stop using slurs. They said public figures and local businesses influence community culture.<\/p>\n

Groups that promote respectful language encourage alternatives. They also encourage learning about disability inclusion. One resource is Special Olympics \u201cSpread the Word,\u201d found at specialolympics.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What happens next<\/h2>\n

It was not clear Thursday night if Klimek planned a public apology. It was also not clear if any events were planned in response.<\/p>\n

TRF News will update this story if more information is confirmed. We will also add statements from involved parties when available.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FARGO, Cass County (trfnews.i234.me) \u2014 A Fargo business owner is facing criticism after resharing social media posts that included a disability slur. The posts were reshared by Chad Klimek, who is identified as the owner of Southtown Pourhouse. The posts targeted Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. They included the disability slur often called the \u201cR-word.\u201d TRF… Continue reading Fargo: Bar Owner Criticized Over Disability Slur<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[14],"tags":[4840,1181,4835,4841,4846,4845,4836,4839,769,4833,2932,4838,682,279,846,4837,4844,4842,4834,2847,790],"class_list":["post-4056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-usa-news","tag-apology-demand","tag-bar","tag-chad-klimek","tag-community-backlash","tag-criticized","tag-disability","tag-disability-slur","tag-down-syndrome","tag-fargo","tag-fargo-business-owner-under-fire-for-use-of-retard-on-social-media","tag-fargo-nd","tag-gigis-playhouse","tag-news","tag-over","tag-owner","tag-r-word","tag-slur","tag-social-media-posts","tag-southtown-pourhouse","tag-tim-walz","tag-usa","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4056"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4159,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4056\/revisions\/4159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}