Fifty years later, skateboard pioneer returns to Lebanon where epic trip began
Fifty years after beginning a cross-country skateboard journey in Lebanon, Jack Smith is returning to retrace portions of the route for a documentary about his…
LATEST NEWS
Swimmer dies in Foster Lake at Lewis Creek
A Corvallis man died Sunday evening, Aug. 9, after he apparently drowned at Lewis Creek Park on Foster Lake. Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan reported that at 5:41 p.m. Sunday, the Linn…
Fast-moving Hilltop Drive fire forces evacuation, quick response
Firefighters from around the area converged to stop a fire that destroyed a mobile home and threatened other structures in the 40200 block of Hilltop Drive in Lebanon Saturday afternoon, Aug.…
Two fires in Narrows: Police arrest suspect in first, investigate second
Local firefighters responded twice over three days to fires in the area of The Narrows, west of Sweet Home. The larger of the two was Saturday morning, when Sweet Home and Oregon Department of…
Commissioners support medical merger they say will benefit north county
By Alex Paul Linn County Communications At their Aug. 4 meeting, Linn County Commissioners Roger Nyquist, Sherrie Sprenger and Will Tucker approved sending a letter to the Oregon Department…
Waterloo City Hall erects flag pole
Improvements to Waterloo’s City Hall have been made recently, as new railings were installed on the ramp and the porch has been fitted with a more solid flooring. A flag pole has also been…
First summer without the Oregon Jamboree costs school sports
After 34 years (with the exception of the COVID year), the Oregon Jamboree did not occur in Sweet Home on the first weekend of August this year. Organizers held the country music festival for…
SPORTS
OSAA Reclassification: big impacts for SH; changes for Lebanon, ELCA
By Ryker Burr For The New Era Sweet Home High School is about to experience a big change in its sports program starting this fall. That’s because, every four years, the Oregon School…
Fan Night puts fans in the spotlight at Willamette Speedway
On Saturday night, Aug. 1, kids climbed into race cars, collected autographs, and met their racing heroes as Willamette Speedway opened the pits for its annual Fan Night. Instead of a typical…
Alumni Roundup Addition: Lebanon’s Sadie Dannen
Editor’s note: We’re still trying to “round up” all of the local high school alumni who are competing at the college level. As you can see, we’ve discovered one more, below. If you know of any…
SH’s Landtroop takes All-American honors at wrestling nationals
Jesse Landtroop, who has won three state OSAA titles in wrestling, added All-American status to his resume last week with an eighth-place finish in the junior nationals at Fargo, N.D. …
COMMUNITY
Rodeo returns to SH, continuing old tradition
The Sweet Home Rodeo returns to town Saturday afternoon, Aug. 15, with a wide range of western and family activities at 4100 Long St. Rodeo isn’t new to Sweet Home – not by a long shot. Last…
Scene Around Town: Aug. 12, 2026
Summer Play at the Park Above, a staff member from King’s Chapel sprays down a team player under the gaze of a hot sun while church members played a version of flag football at Century Park on…
Linn County Fair reports record attendance year
By Alex Paul Linn County Communications A record 30,560 people attended the 2026 Linn County Fair, the most since the fair switched from four days to a three-day event in 2021, according to…
OPINION
Editorial: Getting better starts at home
A decade or two ago, I wouldn’t have devoted editorial opinion space to discussing the viability of newspapers. Not that I wasn’t concerned then, but we didn’t have conferences like…
Opinion: Mic dodge not what voters need
Back in 2018, then-Gov. Kate Brown set a new precedent: She declined to face her opponent in what had traditionally been the opening debate of the gubernatorial election campaign in…
FROM OUR FILES
From Our Files: Aug. 12, 2026
Aug. 16, 1951 A crowd attending the annual Frontier Days festivities got their first glimpse of the new community pool in use when swimmers entertained with choreographed performances and an…
From Our Files: Aug. 5, 2026
Aug. 9, 1951 Alice Cook was identified as the Frontier Days queen. The blonde is employed at Washburn’s 5 and 10, and has plans to attend the San Jose Bible college this fall. She will attend several…
OREGON JOURNALISM PROJECT (OJP)
Regular attendance at Oregon schools jumped by 7,000 students this past school year
The state still has far to climb just to reach the national average. By Khushboo Rathore Oregon Journalism Project New data shows that over 7,000 more students in grades K–12…
Sixteen Democratic lawmakers press state Treasurer Steiner for a full audit of retirement fund risks
They told Steiner, a fellow Democrat, they’re concerned about the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s overreliance on private equity to boost returns. By James Neff Oregon…
Updated: Splinter group of Multnomah County Democrats calls for U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum’s resignation
A faction within the party objects to her alleged support for ICE and preference for capitalism over socialism. Most of her district is outside the metro area. Editor’s note: Changes…