After more than two decades, Oregon removes Highway 20′s ‘safety corridor’ designation

Your browser does not support the audio element. At the Intermountain Stockyard in La Grande, rancher Todd Nash watches the action as he works to sell four small cows to improve his breed stock and pay for feed. Some of the animals he’s selling today may end up in hamburgers. But in the stockyard’s canteen, he has no idea whether the burger on his plate comes from a local ranch or from New Zealand.

As the graduation rate for all Oregon students increased for the Class of 2022, it grew even more in some places among specific student groups. In some districts, the improvement outpaced the state. OPB spoke with officials in Salem-Keizer, Lincoln County and Portland Public Schools about efforts to improve graduation for students who are Black, Native American, experiencing homelessness, or part of a migrant education program.

Less competition has meant more business for small, independent pharmacies, but store owners say they’re still facing an existential crisis. In late January, the Oregon House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care held a hearing about a trio of bills meant to regulate a cog in the medication supply chain little known to most patients: pharmacy benefit managers.

There have been well over 3,500 firearm deaths in the U.S. so far in 2023, including the recent mass shootings in California. That’s according to a database by the Gun Violence Archive. William Brangham traveled to Oregon earlier this year to explore a voter-approved measure that aims to reduce gun violence. But as he discovered, the new law has sharply divided the state.

Idaho lawmakers consider ‘Greater Idaho’ movement. A committee is now considering the ‘Greater Idaho’ movement in the Idaho House of Representatives. House Joint Memorial 1 states the Idaho Legislature is ready to begin talks with the Oregon Legislature on the proposal, which would move Idaho’s border west and annex 15 Oregon counties. Greater Idaho now has support from 11 Oregon counties east of the Cascade Mountains. But several southwest Oregon counties were removed from the proposed map after voters in Douglas and Josephine counties rejected the measure last May. It would take an act of both state legislatures, and the approval of Congress, to shift the border. A full hearing before the Idaho House committee on state affairs is scheduled for later this month. (OPB Staff)

More than 200 people from across Oregon met with legislators and rallied outside the state capitol yesterday to demand better addiction treatment. Pam Connelly, from the tiny Columbia River town of Deer Island, held a sign with the name “Kyle” outlined in hearts, for her son who’d just reached 10 months of sobriety. “He’s my boy, he’s my purpose for being here. And he’s an amazing human being who has a disease,” she said. “I am so proud of him.”

There have been several shootings outside schools in the Portland area recently. There have also been traffic incidents leading to injury or death. Students, parents, school districts, and the city are talking about what they can do to keep kids safe. We hear from three high school students: Byronie McMahon, Danny Cage and Lana Rachielug. We also hear from two parents: Heidi Schultz and Leslie Kosoff.

A small coastal community in Southwest Washington might be a model for other places facing coastal erosion as the climate changes and sea levels rise. A group of people in North Cove, Washington, dumped a berm of rocks on the shoreline in an attempt to stop their beach from eroding — and it may be working. Sarah Trent wrote about the effort for High Country News, and she joins us to talk about her story.

Your browser does not support the audio element. Oregon lawmakers are exempt from the state law barring public officials from hiring family members. Now an influential Democratic lawmaker wants to change that. On this week’s show, OPB political reporters Lauren Dake and Dirk VanderHart explain why this proposal to ban...