Think Out Loud

 In 2021, the city of Portland officially legalized living in mobile dwelling units on private property. MDUs include recreational vehicles and tiny homes on wheels, which are different from accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. According to a recent survey reported in Sightline Institute, MDUs have been seeing an increase in popularity since 2020.   Kol Peterson conducted the survey, owns Accessory Dwelling Strategies and is an ADU and MDU expert. He joins us to explain more on MDUs and why they are growing in popularity.  

 Kimberly Lining remembers calling the information number on a flyer for a missing Indigenous woman and learning that the photo on the flyer didn’t even belong to the missing woman. The frustration born in that moment led Lining to launch the MMIW Search and Hope Alliance, a group of volunteers she mobilizes to help look for missing Indigenous women and girls. Lining partners with the Oregon State Police, families, tribes and others to help get the word out on social media and in-person searches. We talk to Lining about her work.

The largest known source of lead emissions is leaded aviation fuel, most commonly used for small aircraft in small, regional airports. A new study from Oregon State University has found that this fuel leads to more lead pollution in surrounding urban areas and neighborhoods, which can affect human health through poor air quality and soil contamination. The study looked at air quality surrounding regional airports near Hillsboro and Troutdale, two of the top three lead-emitters in Oregon.   Alyssa Shiel, an associate professor in the college of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at OSU, has been studying lead and heavy metal contaminates for nearly a decade. She joins us to share her findings and what concerns they raise.  

Oregon State University's master gardener program has been running for 50 years and provides advice for gardeners in all but nine counties in Oregon. It has evolved since its 1976 conception to include plant clinics, an internet helpline and counsel for gardening questions via phone by a master gardener who lives and gardens in your county.   But what is the evolving role and importance of this kind of guidance when information is so widely available online? To answer that, we’ll hear from Chris Rusch, president of the Oregon Master Gardener Association, and Pat Kolling, who’s been a master gardener volunteer for the last two decades, based in Bend.  

After more than a decade, a new facility that aims to spur the development of wave energy technology opened last week off the Oregon Coast. AP first reported the opening of PacWave, which features two sites in the open ocean near Newport where companies can test devices they’re building to convert energy from waves into electricity.     Oregon State University developed PacWave with $140 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. It’s the first such testing facility connected to the continental U.S. energy grid and is pre-permitted. Director Dan Hellin says that can save companies time and money since they don’t need to secure additional state and federal approval for testing, which he expects to start next summer. The Bonneville Power Administration has an exclusive agreement with OSU to buy all the electricity generated by PacWave.       But hurdles remain. As OPB’s “All Science, No Fiction” previously reported, companies trying to develop this technology have hit federal funding delays. The Trump administration has also cancelled offshore and solar wind projects, raising concerns about the future of renewables in the U.S.     Hellin joins us for a discussion.   

More than 2,500,000 acres have burned so far during Oregon’s record-breaking wildfire season. Earlier this summer, smoke from the wildfires led to air quality advisories being issued across most of the state, including in Southern Oregon.    John D. Sutter, an independent climate journalist and assistant professor of environmental media at the University of Oregon, traveled to the region in July for a reporting assignment for The Guardian. He headed to Josephine County, which was tied with Trinity County in California for the highest number of deaths linked to wildfire smoke during a 15-year period ending in 2020, according to a study published last year in the journal Nature.    Sutter spent a week hearing from dozens of residents in places like Cave Junction and Grants Pass, from frontline healthcare workers to medically vulnerable seniors and business owners. Sutter joins us to share some of those perspectives and the toll worsening wildfire smoke is taking on the tight-knit communities he visited and wrote about in his recently published story.   

Since 2015, almost every year a child in the faith-healing sect Followers of Christ in Idaho have died from a treatable condition. That’s according to new reporting from ProPublica.   In Oregon, where Followers of Christ are also present, lawmakers have previously removed faith-healing protections that Idaho has. Authorities in the state say this has led to a reduction of these kinds of incidents as parents are more likely to seek medical care for their children when needed. Audrey Dutton is a reporter for ProPublica. She joins us to share more on her reporting.  

How do climate-driven events like wildfires affect tourism in communities like Bend? That’s one of the questions the Oregon State University Sustainable Tourism Lab is trying to answer. A recent analysis examined how wildfire smoke impacted visitor demand. It found that while one or two smoky days may not affect travel plans, people are more likely to reschedule or cancel their trips during prolonged smoke events.    Todd Montgomery is a hospitality professor at OSU and director of the Sustainable Tourism Lab. Nate Wyeth is the chief of staff for Visit Bend. They both join us to talk more about how climate change is affecting communities that depend on tourism dollars.  

A recent study from Portland State University assessed the likelihood of environmental hazard risks, identifying many “multi-hazard hotspots” — areas that are at risk of overlapping climate hazards — along I-205. The study looked at four climate risks, including fire, urban heat, flooding and landslides. The researchers note that these hotspots for climate hazards are the same areas that have dealt with chronic underinvestment and that these areas are home to a higher proportion of lower median incomes.    Justin Huber is a doctoral student and research assistant at Portland State University, and he joins us to tell us more about this research and how identifying these high-risk areas can help cities approach more equitable emergency services and mitigation of these hazards.  

The band Orquestra Pacífico Tropical has had at least 19 different members over the years, and at any given time there are at least 10 people playing on stage. David (Papi) Fimbres, who founded the band with Carlos Segovia, has been a drummer in a number of Northwest bands over the years and an essential part of Portland’s music scene. We talk to Fimbres and hear band members perform cumbia music in our studio.

This weekend, Portlanders can enjoy food, music, dancing and more with ties to Jewish culture. The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is putting on its first Jewish cultural festival at Zidell Yards on Sunday. Marc Blattner is the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. He joins us to share more on what attendees can expect and why this event is important to have.

Oregon State University will play its first game of the new college football season next Saturday. The Beavers will also be competing this year in an expanded Pac-12 Conference that features six other football teams joining OSU and Washington State University. Gonzaga is also now a member of Pac-12, competing in basketball and other sports.     The Pac-12’s new roster brings some relief for the future of the 110-year-old athletic conference. OSU and WSU were the only teams left in the Pac-12 after the 2023 football season following the departure of the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies and eight other teams for other conferences.     Fans will be able to see all of the Pac-12 football games this season on broadcast TV or via streaming under media distribution deals the conference secured with CBS, The CW, CBS Sports and USA Network.    Kevin Griffin is vice president and director of athletics at OSU. He joins us to talk about the new Pac-12 and the team’s prospects this season under new head football coach JaMarcus Shephard. 

Oregon white oak is one of just three oak species native to Oregon and the primary type of oak found in the Willamette Valley. Today, 90% of white oak habitat has been lost because of development and decades of fire suppression that altered the prairies where oaks once dominated. Most of the remaining white oak habitat is on private land, so private landowners can play a vital role in restoring white oaks and the dozens of other plants and animals they support, from western meadowlarks to the endangered white rock larkspur.    Since 2010, the Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District has been working with private landowners to restore white oak habitat. That effort includes providing them with technical assistance and cost-sharing support from the district or the Natural Resources Conservation Service for restoration projects that can last several years and cost tens of thousands of dollars.    Brendan Addis is a conservation specialist at the Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District. He joins us along with Michael Hayes, a landowner he has been working with since 2024 to restore five acres on Hayes’ property south of Oregon City. They join us to share the changes they’ve seen on that project as it nears completion this fall.   

The rapid development and spread of AI has affected so many areas of our lives, from how we work to how we learn to the products we’re advertised and content we’re fed on social media. But as AI grows more powerful and pervasive, questions remain about how much trust we can or should place in this technology.   Kate Kaye is a Portland-based independent journalist who spent nearly a year researching and interviewing experts about trust in the age of AI. That work has culminated in “Trust Control,” a seven-part podcast series she created and hosts that explores concepts such as efforts to quantify and measure trust that go back to World War II and still reverberate today. The series also examines trust in the media and the limitations of trying to score or certify the trustworthiness of news content or images shared online. Meanwhile, the rise of AI agents, or bots assigned to do tasks human employees do, present new challenges around trust in the workplace.    Kaye joins us to share more details about “Trust Control.”   

When the parent advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens sent out a survey to local parents regarding their thoughts on the ways PPS utilizes educational technology and screens in classrooms, parents issued remarks that too many videos were used in classrooms, and video games and screens were being used as rewards. There were also concerns about the use of “learning apps,” and many parents called for more paper-based learning. Some raised concerns that classroom technology usage didn't align with the rules surrounding tech in their homes.   The organization took this feedback, what they learned from the district and their own experiences as parents to create a draft revised tech and AI policy for Portland Public Schools. We’ll hear from Miranda Rake and Holly Hofkamp, two of the co-founders of the Portland chapter of Schools Beyond Screens, about what the draft policy entails.  

Residents in the Washington County city of North Plains have been sharply divided for years over whether and how much to expand its urban growth boundary. City leaders passed a plan in 2024 that was overturned in a popular vote and in the same election ushered in a new anti-growth majority on the council. In less than 2 years, the majority of those councilors have resigned, along with the mayor and two subsequent replacement mayors.   North Plains also saw the departure of its city manager and had two interim city managers resign one after the other. The current interim has a contract that expires on Sept. 1.   In June we went to North Plains to talk to people inside and outside of the city limits to hear about their different ideas about growth and maintaining their rural identity — and the other issues fueling the turnover in local government.   Austin De Dios is a politics reporter focused on Washington and Clackamas counties for The Oregonian/Oregonlive, and he joins us to share the latest on the community and city government of North Plains.  

Earlier this month, the Spokane Complex Fires ripped through neighborhoods in the city, damaging more than 800 structures and forcing evacuations of more than 65,000 residents. One person died from medical complications she suffered while evacuating from a nursing home. Despite the loss of homes and other structures, the injury impacts of the fires were less severe, thanks in part to the city’s second-ever evacuation drill in April. Sarah Nuss is the Director of Emergency Management for Spokane. She joins us to share more details about the drill and its effectiveness in helping get tens of thousands of individuals out of danger safely.  

 In 1964, Oregon author Ken Kesey and a group of friends, known as the Merry Pranksters, embarked on a cross-country road trip from California to New York aboard a 1939 customized school bus. They painted the bus in psychedelic colors, added a rooftop platform and made other modifications. The bus known as Furthur became a symbol of the countercultural ethos of the ‘60s, from protesting the Vietnam War to ushering in the LSD-tinged anthems of the Grateful Dead in San Francisco.    And now, for the first time since 1969, Furthur has left its home at the Kesey family farm outside Eugene to open a new generation of hearts and minds. As first reported by the New York Times earlier this month, the bus is returning to San Francisco as the centerpiece of “Forever Grateful, Golden Gate Park,” a Grateful Dead-themed exhibition in San Francisco opening on Sep. 5. The Oregon nonprofit Furthur Down the Road Foundation has been working for years to raise funds to restore the bus, which it hopes to start after the exhibit ends in late October.    Ken Kesey’s son, Zane, joins us to discuss Furthur’s legacy, the plans for its restoration and what lessons he thinks this countercultural icon can offer us today.  

When a climber was trapped under a boulder on Mount Hood over Memorial Day weekend, the field surgical team at Oregon Health & Science University responded. The team is trained to operate on patients outside of the hospital to free them from collapsed buildings, crashed cars and other emergency situations.   Justin Regner is the trauma medical director and division head of trauma, critical care and acute care surgery at OHSU. He oversees the field surgical team and joins us to share more about its work.  

Oregon has given developers $1.4 billion to fund affordable housing as the cost of developing each subsidized apartment has nearly doubled. But thanks to a carve-out in its public records law, the state doesn’t have to provide the details of that spending. Rob Davis, an investigative reporter at ProPublica, joins us with the story.

Yesterday, in an emergency opinion, the Supreme Court decided that the Trump Administration can go forward with an executive order that would fundamentally change the way elections are conducted in the U.S.   Under the order, the Department of Homeland Security would create lists of U.S. citizens eligible to vote that it would send to states, and the U.S. Postal Service would decide who can get mail-in ballots. Though this isn’t the final legal word, the ruling creates a new level of uncertainty just ten weeks from the midterm elections.   Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read joins us for a discussion.

The  East County Library is the newest library in the Multnomah County system. It officially opened in May, and it’s the most recent renovation in a list of library building or retrofitting projects that the county has taken on since a major library bond project was passed in 2020. It’s the second largest library in the system — around 95,000 square feet. Annie Lewis, the Director of Libraries for Multnomah County, joins us to tell us more about it.

n 2015, Shantae Johnson and Arthur Shavers decided to embark on a major life shift and begin a career as farmers. In the past decade, their work has expanded immensely to include a nonprofit, two farms, a commercial kitchen, a food pantry in the Portland-metro area and a soon-to-be Black Community Food Hub opening in Gresham.   It’s all dedicated to their mission of empowering, educating and creating economic opportunity for Black, Indigenous and People of Color who want to work in food systems. This work is done under the nonprofit “The Feed’em Freedom Foundation.” Executive Director Shantae Johnson joins us to talk about their work.  

Last winter, Multnomah County and four cities in the area created the East Multnomah County Transportation Safety Action Plan. It was created based on survey data the county gathered from East Multnomah County residents to identify problem hotspots for transportation safety Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview and Wood Village.    Vince Jones-Dixon is the chair of the East Multnomah County Transportation Committee. We’ll check in with Jones-Dixon about the issues the county has identified, and the steps that are being taken to improve traffic safety in the area. 

Last spring, the city of Gresham changed its primary water source from the Bull Run Watershed to groundwater by expanding its current groundwater system. Before the switch, groundwater was primarily used as a backup resource during summer months. The choice to separate from Portland’s water systems stems from Portland’s 2017 decision to build a new water filtration plant after the Oregon Health Authority ordered the city to treat its drinking water for the parasite cryptosporidium.   But the change has been noticeable to some Gresham residents. Groundwater is harder than the water from the Bull Run Watershed due to higher mineral content, and the treatment method changed along with the source, which has left some Gresham residents tasting or smelling the shift.   We’ll speak with Steve Walker, Gresham's water operations manager, for more information on the switch and what Gresham residents can expect.

In the Hermiston and Boardman area, there are more than seven active data centers owned and operated by Amazon Web Services. Last year, the city of Hermiston annexed 800 acres of land to AWS, paving the way for more in the future. And while some have shared concerns about the environmental impact these data centers have, they have brought their communities millions of dollars. For the city of Hermiston, Amazon’s operations have funded renovations to the library, city hall and most recently, a water treatment facility for Umatilla County.

In Umatilla County, 39% of residents are on Medicaid. In Malheur County, that number jumps to almost 52%. Both of these counties and more in Eastern Oregon have higher than average rates of Medicaid enrollment compared to the rest of the state. Changes to Medicaid made by the Trump administration will mean major cuts to the program that provides healthcare for many in Oregon.   Ann Ford is the CEO of GOBHI, a mental healthcare provider for this side of the state. She's also the president of Eastern Oregon CCO, the organization that manages the Oregon Health Plan for much of the east side of the state. Ford joins us to share the challenges of providing care and what Medicaid cuts could mean for patients.  

Last week, a $6.2 million settlement was made between Madison Ranches and residents living in Morrow and Umatilla Counties whose wells were polluted with nitrates. The Lower Umatilla Basin has been grappling with high levels of nitrates for  decades, affecting drinking water in wells in various communities. Food processors and farms using fertilizers are regarded as the source of the problem.   J.R. Cook is the founder and director of the Northeast Oregon Water Association. He joins us to share irrigator's perspective on the issue and solutions they’d like to see.  

 Earlier this year, Amazon recently purchased more than 1,000 acres near Boardman, OR. As reported in the Oregonian/OregonLive.com, it could be the site for the state’s first “exscale” data center.    Kaleb Lay, director of policy and research at Oregon Rural Action, says that an uptick in data centers brings a number of concerns to the group, including water contamination, water use and growing demand for electricity. He shares more on their concerns.  

 The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation have seen lower fish returns this year. According to Jerimiah Bonifer, the program manager for the tribe’s fisheries program, there are a number of factors that could be influencing this, including ocean conditions and drought.   At the same time, the tribe has recently completed the Coonskin Creek Fish Passage Project, making it easier for fish to pass through. Bonifer joins us to discuss the low fish yields and more.  

The Blue Mountains — nearly 5 million acres that span the Malheur, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman national forests — is long overdue for a new management plan. The current plan was developed in 1990, but efforts to revise it have proved so contentious that they have failed twice. The management plan was supposed to be revised every 15 years to respond to changes in forest conditions.   The latest proposal was published in early July, and the period for public comment will wrap up at the end of September. The issue has remained controversial, as public lands stakeholders have conflicting priorities for the area. We’ll hear from three different stakeholders: Jamie Dawson, the conservation director with the Greater Hell’s Canyon Council; Andy Geissler; the Director of Forest Policy for the American Forest Resource Council; and Tyler Dungannon, the conservation director for the Oregon Hunters Association.  

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation recently launched a dashboard that looks at drought indicators on the reservation and how they impact First Foods. Community members can also submit their own observations and photos to illustrate the data collected by the tribes.   Lyndsi Lewis is the water quality coordinator for the CTUIR Water Resources Program. She joins us to talk more about the ecological — and cultural — impacts of drought.  

The nonprofit Stepping Stones Alliance formed in 2020 to provide a year-round shelter for people experiencing homelessness in and around Umatilla County. The organization partnered with several cities and the county to build a temporary housing project, which opened in 2023. The facility includes an overnight shelter, as well as individual shelter units where “members” can receive wraparound services while seeking more permanent housing.   We’ll hear more about how the project is going from Executive Director Jesalyn Cole, who took us on a tour of the site. We’ll also talk with member Sean Scanlon, who came to Stepping Stones last year.  

Two decades ago, there were roughly 10 indigenous plant nurseries in the country. Since then, that number has blossomed to around 100, including one operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The nursery only grows native plants, with its primary goal to grow vegetation to aid in restoration of natural habitats in Eastern Oregon. Gail Redberg is the CTUIR Nursery Manager. She gives us a tour of the facility, shares some of what they grow and why it’s important.

For decades, a wide array of groups have had representatives on the Hanford Advisory Board. They’ve provided input on a variety of issues around the cleanup of waste and contamination from the nuclear reservation in central-southeast Washington. Now, the Department of Energy under President Trump is curtailing the board. The advisory board is going from 70 members, including alternates, to 20. The new members will be selected by the government, and any group members or representatives of tribal nations will no longer speak for a constituency but only for themselves. Critics say these changes will reduce representation and accountability, while the DOE says the changes standardize the board and “enhance engagement with those that live closest to Hanford.”   We talk with Senior Correspondent for Northwest Public Broadcasting Anna King, who’s covered the Hanford Nuclear Reservation cleanup for the last 20 years, to learn more about the impact of this change.  

For three decades, many residents in Eastern Oregon's Umatilla basin have been drinking nitrate-polluted drinking water. Some residents blame nearby food-processors and farms that use nitrogen-rich fertilizers for the issue.   Last week, a $6.2 million settlement was reached between Madison Ranches and the people living in Morrow and Umatilla Counties who filed the suit. Kaleb Lay, director of policy and research at Oregon Rural Action, took OPB’s Think Out Loud on a tour of affected areas, along with Jim Doherty, a rancher and former Morrow County Commissioner. We’ll also hear from Paulo Lopez whose well is polluted.  

The Inland Northwest Musicians have been performing across nine counties in northeast Oregon and southeast Washington for nearly three decades.    The group formed in 1999 to bring classical music to communities that may otherwise not have access to it. It consists of three ensembles: the Inland Northwest Orchestra, the Inland Northwest Chorale and the Willow Creek Symphony, a preparatory ensemble for new musicians of all ages.    Lee Friese is the music director and conductor for all three ensembles. Alice Massey is a founding member of the group and serves as concert master of the orchestra. Payton Baxter has performed with the Willow Creek Symphony since she was 12 years old and now manages the group.   They all join us to talk more about bringing classical music to remote corners of the state.  

More than 2 million Oregonians live in drought stricken areas. Dry summers in the Pacific Northwest affect various industries including agriculture, water supply, fisheries and hydropower. But could science change that? Cloudseeding is an 80-year-old technology where tiny particles, often of silver iodide, are added to clouds via aircraft to help trigger rain or snow. Rainmaker, based in California, has been testing this technology using drones in areas across the country, including in Pendleton. Parker Cardwell is the chief operating officer for the company. He joins us to share more on what cloud seeding is and what the company has learned in Oregon.

 The Hagen Fire, which started a month ago, continues to burn on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The tribes have declared a public health emergency because of the poor air quality from wildfire smoke. On top of that, much of the area is in a severe drought.    Kimberly Hughes is the emergency management coordinator for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. She joins us to talk about how the tribes prepare for and manage these crises.  

Filin is a style of music that combines traditional Cuban bolero with American jazz and blues. Over the next few weeks, Portland vocalist Jessie Marquez will explore the genre in a series of performances and conversations at El Centro Milagro, the first of which will take place this Saturday, Aug. 15. The series will culminate in a full ensemble performance on Sept. 5 as part of the Montavilla Jazz Festival.   Marquez joins us to talk about her connection to Cuba and the musical relationship she sees between the island and the U.S.  

Data from the 2024-2025 school year shows that Oregon schools have the second-highest chronic absenteeism rate in the country. It breaks down to about a third of Oregon students being chronically absent — missing more than 10 days of school a year.   In Malheur County, though, things are different. A recent analysis of attendance data by the Oregon Journalism Project found that students in Malheur county are attending class more than any other county in Oregon. School districts in Malheur County have a tool in their back pocket: truancy citations, or fines issued as a last resort as a means of motivation for students to attend school regularly. Lawmakers banned the use of these fines in 2021, and school officials in Malheur County saw attendance slip. They brought truancy citations back in the 2023-2024 school year with a local ordinance, and attendance grew immensely, bolstered by wraparound services the district provides to support families struggling with school attendance.   Vale School District Superintendent Alisha McBride says the key to their success isn’t necessarily the fines themselves, of which they issued only one during the 2025-2026 school year, but the conversations that school districts, school boards and the community had to have around attendance in order to pass the local ordinance. We’ll hear from McBride about the ways Malheur County schools are battling chronic absenteeism and how those techniques can be applied to other counties in the state.  

In November 2022, Oregon voters narrowly passed a gun control measure that bans high-capacity gun magazines and requires safety training, completed background checks and permits for firearm purchases. Measure 114 awaits a decision by the Oregon Supreme Court and if it’s upheld, the soonest it could take effect is January 2028.   The prospect of gun control restrictions nonetheless fueled a sharp demand in gun purchases in Oregon leading up to and following the Measure 114 referendum. That’s according to a new study by researchers from Oregon State University, the University of Oregon and the National Bureau of Economic Research.    Using background checks as a proxy for firearm purchases, the researchers found that background checks spiked nearly 160% in the two months after the passage of Measure 114. The researchers said the measure led to 63,000 more background checks in Oregon between October 2022 and March 2024 than would have otherwise been expected during this time.    Katie Bollman, an assistant professor in economics at OSU, joins us for more details.