Oregon Business Matters

Just in time for Oregon's summer tourist season, Oregon Business Matters talks with Escape Lodging Chairman and co-founder Patrick Nofield. Escape Lodging owns and manages hotels and restaurants in Cannon Beach, The Dalles, Beaverton and elsewhere in Oregon. Nofield also serves as board chair for the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association.

Epic Aircraft's E1000 GX won the 2024 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest. Epic President and CEO Doug King joins the podcast to talk about the Bend-based company, the E1000 GX and the challenges of operating a business in Oregon.

An interview with Oregon state Sen. Mike McLane, a Powell Butte attorney with more than 20 years of military service who has served as a circuit court judge, as Oregon House Republican leader - and even written children's books.

This bonus episode is a recording of comments made by OBI President and CEO Angela Wilhelms at the organization's Annual Meeting June 4 in Salem. Wilhelms' comments describe the policy-driven challenges facing Oregon's businesses and the failure of Oregon's political leaders to acknowledge, much less correct, them.

Dr. Memo Diriker is a faculty member in Salisbury University's Franklin P. Perdue School of Business and the founder of the StratACUMEN Group, which OBI engaged to analyze Oregon's regulatory environment. Dr. Diriker joins the podcast to discuss his team's work, Oregon's regulatory burden and ways other states have found to eliminate excessive regulations.

Sarah Pope is executive director of Stand for Children Oregon, one of the state's most influential public education-advocacy organizations. She talks with Oregon Business Matters about Oregon's ongoing struggles with statewide standardized test scores, what might be causing the problems and what policymakers can do to address them.

State Sen. Kayse Jama and state Rep. Ben Bowman are two of the Legislature's highest-ranking Democrats. They talk to Oregon Business Matters about what spurred their interest in public service, what legislative leadership entails and more.

State Sen. Daniel Bonham and Rep. Christine Drazan are the two highest ranking Republicans in the Oregon Legislature. They talk to Oregon Business Matters about what spurred their interest in legislative service, what leading caucuses in the legislative minority entails and more.

About the Oregon Business Matters podcast, produced by Oregon Business & Industry, Oregon's statewide chamber of commerce.

Oregon Business Matters talks to John Horvick of DHM Research about how he got started in the public opinion research business, how polling has changed during his nearly two-decade career, how the views of Oregonians have changed and more.