Category: Local News

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director John Huffman today announced that USDA is providing $6 million to expand high-speed broadband infrastructure that will provide e-Connectivity for nearly 650 new customers in rural Wheeler and Grant counties....

La Grande’s Liberty Theatre Foundation is a big step closer to opening the downtown performing arts center following the announcement this week that The Ford Family Foundation has awarded a $225,000 grant to the non-profit project. The grant will allow the foundation to forge...

The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) adjusted the “kicker” for the 2018 tax year from more than $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion earlier this month. That means an increase in the amount returned to taxpayers. The state hasn’t issued kicker checks since 2007. The surplus...

Merle Comfort, a member of both the La Grande School District and InterMountain ESD boards, has been named the 2019 Oregon School Board Member of the Year. Comfort was recognized Saturday at the Oregon School Boards Association’s 73rd Annual Convention in downtown...

Eastern Oregon University reported significant increases in online student headcount and credit hours this fall. Of the university’s 3,067 students, 1,246 are undergraduates studying off-campus. Online undergraduate student headcount rose 7 percent over fall 2018, and...

Blue Mountain Community College has hired Baker County native Ian Howarth as its new Regional Director of Baker & Union Counties, and to lead BMCC’s Baker County Center in Baker City. Howarth begins his role on Nov. 4. Howarth fills the role formerly held by Dr. Dan...

Umatilla National Forest officials ask hunters and forest visitors to use caution, plan ahead and know the weather and forest conditions before heading out into the woods. The Forest has already received snow in higher elevations this fall, and snow storms can often bring wind,...

The Blue Mountain Community College Veterans Resource Center invites the public to a free presentation regarding the transition back from military active duty to civilian life by actor and writer Vincent Vargas on Friday, October 25th. Vargas is known for his role in FX’s...

On Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 10AM – 2PM the La Grande Police Department, partnering with the Union County Safe Communities Coalition, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, will give the public its 18th opportunity in nine years to prevent pill abuse and...

Governor Kate Brown announced today that she is inviting applications for the position of Baker County District Attorney, to fill a vacancy created by her appointment of District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff to the Baker County Circuit Court. Governor Brown intends to fill the...

Colette S. Peters, Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC), announced the appointment of Tom McLay as the Superintendent of Powder River Correctional Facility (PRCF) in Baker City. The appointment was effective October 1, 2019. McLay has over 18 years of...

A coordinated, multi-agency law enforcement operation was conducted today to dismantle a vast international drug trafficking organization that conspired to distribute methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine manufactured in Mexico throughout the Portland Metropolitan Area, announced...