Salem Reporter

The Salem Reporter is an online news platform dedicated to covering stories in the Salem region. Owned and operated locally, it offers readers high-quality investigative journalism, straightforward reporting on local government matters, and a closer look at the influential figures within the Salem community.

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Marion County proposes spending less by trimming vacant jobs

3 days ago | salemreporter.com | Madeleine Moore

Marion County officials are planning to decrease county spending by almost $36 million in the coming year by cutting vacant jobs in its mental health and parole programs. The proposed $743 million budget, which would take effect July 1, cuts $35.7 million from county spending, a 4.6% decrease. The county’s general fund, which makes up a quarter of the budget, will decrease by about $3.7 million compared to the current budget. Next year’s general fund will be $148.7 million, a 2.4% decrease.
Morning house fire near Parrish Middle School quickly extinguished

1 week ago | salemreporter.com | Madeleine Moore

A residential fire closed down several street blocks by Parrish Middle School Friday morning. The fire was reported to the Salem Fire Department at 8:25 a.m., and firefighters arrived by 8:29 a.m., according to Assistant Chief Brian Carrara. They had the fire out within five minutes. The fire was reported at 1147 D St. N.E., according to dispatch records.
Your guide to Salem’s 10th Make Music Day on Saturday, June 21

1 week ago | salemreporter.com | Rachel Alexander

Free music performances will fill Salem from farms and gardens to street corners, on Saturday, June 21, as Make Music Day celebrates its 10th year. It’s the largest year yet for the free music celebration. Some 238 artists will give 274 performances at 68 venues. It’s the first time the annual June 21 event has fallen on a Saturday. Salem couple Mark and Karen Green have been among the organizers since the beginning. Make Music Day is an international event that started in France in 1982.
What to do in Salem from June 19-25: Make Music Day, Infinity Room's finale

1 week ago | salemreporter.com | Rachel Alexander

Summer begins this week with the solstice and longest day of the year on Friday. As of Wednesday, the forecast calls for cooler temperatures and light rain for much of the weekend. Still, there’s plenty to do around Salem to celebrate, including Make Music Day, which runs all day Saturday, June 21, at locations around town. For a more complete list of events, browse our calendar here. You can submit an upcoming event here. Here’s a roundup for the week from Thursday, June 19, to Wednesday, June 25.
White oaks, soil get a needed break at Bush’s Pasture Park

1 week ago | salemreporter.com | Abbey McDonald

For the first time in a very long time, the upper oak grove area of Bush’s Pasture Park is getting a break from lawn mowers. For weeks, park goers have jogged, walked and biked past taller and taller grass, the most visible sign of a newly implemented strategy to protect white oak trees in the area, encourage native plant growth and rehabilitate exhausted soil.
Kotek homeless shelter bill gets trimmed in wake of budget shortfall

1 week ago | salemreporter.com | Shaanth Nanguneri

Gov. Tina Kotek’s statewide homeless shelter support program advanced Tuesday out of a budgeting committee to the House floor, despite widespread dismay that Oregon’s latest attempt at combatting homelessness is falling short. Kotek’s shelter program, and much of the rest of her more than $800 million recommended homelessness budget, took a haircut amid decreasing revenue from economic uncertainty due in large part to trade wars and President Donald Trump’s ongoing tariffs.
Where to celebrate Juneteenth on Thursday in Salem

1 week ago | salemreporter.com | Madeleine Moore

On Thursday Salem has multiple events to celebrate Juneteenth, which recognizes the end of slavery in the U.S.It became a federal holiday in 2021 and a state holiday in 2022. The June 19 celebration is held to remember the day in 1865, when over 250,000 slaves in Texas were freed nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Summer dig zeroes in on Salem’s lost Indian Manual Labor Training School

1 week ago | salemreporter.com | Abbey McDonald

The lost, three-story Indian Manual Labor Training School can be seen in tauntingly plain sight in an 1868 photograph. After its completion in 1842, Methodist missionaries used the building and surrounding fields to educate Indigenous children in Christianity and obedience. Boys worked at the farm while girls were tasked with cooking and cleaning.
Ten outstanding coaches, officials, athletes named “Beacons”

1 week ago | salemreporter.com | Rachel Alexander

Ten pillars of Salem-area high school sports were named “Beacons” last week at a ceremony at the Elsinore Theatre. The annual event, put on by the Salem-Keizer High School Sports Booster Club, honors people who are pillars and guiding lights for local sports. They include outstanding athletes, officials, coaches and more. The club raises money through the event to help cover costs for athletic participation at local high schools for students who would otherwise face financial barriers.
Ethics commission votes to investigate Salem mayor, councilors over possibly unethical communications

2 weeks ago | salemreporter.com | Joe Siess

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted Friday to investigate Salem Mayor Julie Hoy and all seven Salem city councilors to determine if they participated in an illegal serial meeting leading up to former Salem City Manager Keith Stahley’s abrupt resignation in February. The commission voted 5-2 with one commissioner not voting due to a conflict of interest, to initiate a full investigation into a possible prohibited serial meeting between the mayor and city councilors.