Salem's hyperlocal news and statehouse watch.
Salem's hyperlocal news and statehouse watch.
Community
Salem Art Association debuts Indigenous Northwest Biennial
The Salem Art Association opens its inaugural Indigenous Northwest Biennial on Sept. 4 at the A.N. Bush Gallery, featuring 16 Pacific Northwest Native artists curated by Grand Ronde tribal member Steph Littlebird, with three free public talks through October.
Education
Salem-Keizer student advisors name mental health, technology as top priorities
South Salem senior Jolee McMahan and McKay junior Alex Diaz, Salem-Keizer's new student advisors, say mental health and technology are the top concerns they'll bring to the school board during a year of $23 million in budget cuts and looming school closures.
Salem, OR
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Community
Salem Art Association debuts Indigenous Northwest Biennial
The Salem Art Association opens its inaugural Indigenous Northwest Biennial on Sept. 4 at the A.N. Bush Gallery, featuring 16 Pacific Northwest Native artists curated by Grand Ronde tribal member Steph Littlebird, with three free public talks through October.
Salem, OR
84°F
Sunny
Feels like 83° · 0% rain
ThuSunny85°F1%
FriMostly Sunny85°F1%
SatMostly Sunny85°F0%
SunMostly Sunny86°F0%
MonPartly Sunny86°F0%
TueMostly Sunny82°F2%
WedMostly Sunny82°F4%
Community
Salem Art Association debuts Indigenous Northwest Biennial
The Salem Art Association opens its inaugural Indigenous Northwest Biennial on Sept. 4 at the A.N. Bush Gallery, featuring 16 Pacific Northwest Native artists curated by Grand Ronde tribal member Steph Littlebird, with three free public talks through October.
Salem, OR
84°F
Sunny
Feels like 83° · 0% rain
ThuSunny85°F1%
FriMostly Sunny85°F1%
SatMostly Sunny85°F0%
SunMostly Sunny86°F0%
MonPartly Sunny86°F0%
TueMostly Sunny82°F2%
WedMostly Sunny82°F4%
Statehouse and City Hall
Statehouse and City Hall
Statehouse and City Hall
Education
Willamette, Pacific merger to help Salem students move straight from undergrad to PhD
Willamette and Pacific university presidents published a joint op-ed on Sunday, July 26, detailing how the merger into the University of the Northwest will create accelerated degree pathways for Salem students, including a direct route from exercise science to a physical therapy doctorate.
Education
Board adopts $1.12 billion budget with cuts after Salem-Keizer graduates $123.73 million in scholarships
Salem-Keizer's Class of 2026 produced 3,094 graduates who collectively earned $123.73 million in scholarships and 462 Seal of Biliteracy designations, the district announced June 8 — one day before the school board adopted a $1.12 billion budget that includes staff reductions.
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Local Government
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Study: Measure 114 spurred 63,000 extra gun buys before taking effect
A peer-reviewed study finds Oregon's Measure 114 triggered a 157% surge in background checks after voters passed it in 2022, adding roughly 63,000 purchases that wouldn't have otherwise occurred. The law has never taken effect, and its fate now rests with the Oregon Supreme Court and a 2028 implementation deadline set by Salem lawmakers.
Local Government
Oregon AG sues to keep escrow interest for homeowners
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed a federal lawsuit Aug. 11 to block Trump administration rules that would let national banks keep escrow interest Oregon law requires them to pay homeowners, co-leading a 10-state coalition in U.S. District Court in Portland.
Education
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Salem-Keizer student advisors name mental health, technology as top priorities
South Salem senior Jolee McMahan and McKay junior Alex Diaz, Salem-Keizer's new student advisors, say mental health and technology are the top concerns they'll bring to the school board during a year of $23 million in budget cuts and looming school closures.
Education
Salem-Keizer bets $1M on summer reading to lift scores
Salem-Keizer Public Schools is using $1 million in state funding for an elementary summer school focused on reading, targeting a district where only one in four third graders reads at grade level.
Education
4 week CDL program prepares students for commercial driving
Chemeketa Community College's four-week CDL program trains Salem-area students to earn a commercial driver's license for $6,250, with classes running through December 2026 and Oregon truckers earning a median $61,980 annually.
Education
Sumpter Elementary families raising $300,000 for playground their classmate can use
Parents and neighbors are raising $300,000 to build an all-inclusive playground at Sumpter Elementary School in Salem after student Juniper Adkisson, a wheelchair user, was left unable to use any of the school's existing equipment despite it meeting ADA standards.
Education
Willamette, Pacific merger to help Salem students move straight from undergrad to PhD
Willamette and Pacific university presidents published a joint op-ed on Sunday, July 26, detailing how the merger into the University of the Northwest will create accelerated degree pathways for Salem students, including a direct route from exercise science to a physical therapy doctorate.
Education
Salem-Keizer outsources 1,200 substitute workers to private staffing firm
Salem-Keizer Public Schools shifted roughly 1,200 substitute teachers and support staff from direct district employment to Edustaff, a national private staffing firm, effective July 1, as the district grapples with a $23 million budget gap and chronic staffing shortages.
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Education
Salem-Keizer summer lunches still free, but grab-and-go is gone
Salem-Keizer's free summer lunch program now requires children and families to eat on site at 10 school locations through Friday, Aug. 28, after a federal policy change ended the grab-and-go format used since the pandemic.
Public Safety
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Public Safety
Man dies after falling 177 feet from South Falls while posing for photo
Zachary Nicholas Mertens, 20, of Burlington, Kentucky, died Monday, Aug. 10, after climbing over a safety barrier at the top of South Falls in Silver Falls State Park and falling 177 feet. Marion County Search and Rescue recovered his body from the base of the falls.
Community
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Salem Art Association debuts Indigenous Northwest Biennial
The Salem Art Association opens its inaugural Indigenous Northwest Biennial on Sept. 4 at the A.N. Bush Gallery, featuring 16 Pacific Northwest Native artists curated by Grand Ronde tribal member Steph Littlebird, with three free public talks through October.
Community
3,000 luminaria to honor cancer victims at Riverfront Park
Salem's annual Lights of Hope event will fill Riverfront Park's amphitheater with more than 3,000 glowing luminaria bags on Aug. 20, honoring people affected by cancer and raising money for treatment-access advocacy.
Community
Salem club hosts regional wheelchair tennis championship
The Level 3 Open Pacific Northwest Sectional Wheelchair Tennis Championship brought international competitors and a $3,000 prize pool to Salem Tennis & Swim Club Aug. 7–9, with the Lone Oak Road facility also offering weekly adaptive tennis sessions for residents of all skill levels.
Community
Englewood Forest Festival celebrates 100th birthday
Salem's Englewood Park hosted its eighth annual Forest Festival on Saturday, Aug. 8, doubling as a centennial celebration of the park designed by pioneering women landscape architects Lord & Schryver.
Community
Salem Cinema opens Kore-eda's "Sheep in the Box"
Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Sheep in the Box," a drama about a couple who replace their dead child with a humanoid robot, opens Friday, Aug. 7, at Salem Cinema for a weeklong run through Aug. 13.
Community
Volunteers still needed for Riverfront Family Fest
Family Building Blocks is recruiting volunteers for Saturday's free Riverfront Family Fest at Riverfront Park, which expects more than 4,000 guests, and has announced two fall fundraising events at the Salem Convention Center.
Community
Cherriots GM Allan Pollock retires after 19 years
Allan Pollock, who led Salem's public transit agency since 2007, has retired after 19 years. The Cherriots board appointed Deputy General Manager David Trimble as interim leader and launched a national search for a permanent replacement.
Business
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Medicaid insurers' profit return steadies Salem Health funding
Oregon's 16 Medicaid insurers earned $67 million collectively in 2025 after nearly breaking even the year before, buoyed by $149 million in emergency state and federal funding. The recovery stabilizes PacificSource Community Solutions, the CCO managing care for about 168,000 Medicaid enrollees in Marion and Polk counties who depend on Salem Health.
Business
Pentacle Theatre announces 7 show 2027 season
Pentacle Theatre has announced a seven-show 2027 season running from January through November, featuring productions ranging from the screwball comedy "The Man Who Came to Dinner" to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Pride and Prejudice."
Sports
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Sports
Oregon Hoopla unveils all-time 'Hater List' as tournament returns to Court Street
Oregon Hoopla XXVII concluded Sunday on the Capitol grounds with a new all-time leaderboard crowning South Salem alumna Katie McWilliams and longtime player Ryan Skinner as the tournament's top competitors, marking the event's first return to Court Street since 2022.
Sports
Hoopla XXVII brings 3-on-3 basketball back to the Capitol grounds
Oregon Hoopla, Salem's largest sporting event, returns to Court Street at the State Capitol for the first time since 2022 after three years displaced by a $598 million seismic retrofit, with more than 40 divisions competing Saturday and Sunday, July 25-26.
Sports
Ironman 70.3 Oregon brings road closures, free events to Salem this weekend
The sold-out Ironman 70.3 Oregon triathlon returns to Salem's Riverfront Park and Minto-Brown Island Park from Friday, July 17, through Sunday, July 19, bringing road closures, limited parking, and free community events including a new swim-run open to the public.
Sports
Blitz the Bearcat joins Salem's Riverfront Carousel herd
Willamette University's Class of 1978 is gifting a hand-carved Blitz the Bearcat figure to Salem's Riverfront Carousel, completing the "New Dream" lineup with a June 2029 unveiling planned for the class reunion.
About the Editor
About the Editor
About the Editor
Roveena Chand Jassal
Roveena Chand Jassal is the editor of the Cascadia Wire Network, producing community relevant news for residents living in the Portland and Seattle suburbs.
Roveena Chand Jassal
Roveena Chand Jassal is the editor of the Cascadia Wire Network, producing community relevant news for residents living in the Portland and Seattle suburbs.
Roveena Chand Jassal
Roveena Chand Jassal is the editor of the Cascadia Wire Network, producing community relevant news for residents living in the Portland and Seattle suburbs.
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