Willamette Wake Up

Qingming is a Chinese festival that honors the ancestors.  It's celebrated in Salem & Keizer due to the Chinese influence in the area during the late 1800s / early 1900s.  Salem current-day resident Myron Lee and Russ Low, grandson of Hop Lee (a beloved early Salem citizen) share stories about Chinese influence in Salem and the meaning of Qingming.

Vanessa Nordyke, Executive Director of Marion CASA, talks about how the agency helps kids in foster care and how cuts in the federal budget affect their ability to advocate for kids in foster care.

Keeping Oregon Oregon talks with Mike McCarthy, Farmer Emeritus in the Hood River Valley, regarding the loss of Oregon farmland and the impacts on farmers and their ability to continue to farm.

Elephant in the Room talks with State Senator Jeff Golden about SB 1187, a bill to set up a Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program, financed by the fossil fuel industry, to help communities get protective upgrades for homes, businesses, and electrical transmission lines. 

Holla for Labor talks with Mamie Pratt, Chair of the Women's Committee, International Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, about women in labor.

The Center for Hope & Safety, providing assistance to survivors and victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, has a new executive director. Meet Ashley Carson Cottingham: hear her story and her vision as she takes the helm of this organization that has served the community for over 50 years. 

With the uncertainty of federal funding of Medicaid (Oregon Health Plan), Dr. Sara Kennedy, Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, explains what's at stake for reproductive & preventive healthcare services for the Mid Willamette Valley, if Planned Parenthood was no longer in Salem. Also discussed: crises pregnancy "clinics" and the increase of life threatening illness when abortion is not acc...

Hear about Salem’s Operations Levy on the May ballot and what services are at stake for the residents of Salem. Leaders of the Salem Livability Levy Coalition PAC - David Levy, Karen Bolliger and Carol Snyder - talk about how passage of the levy would affect the city library, Center 50+ and parks & recreation services & programs.

Meet Salem's new Fire Chief Dave Gerboth. Find out how the city plans to shift ambulance operations from a private company to the city, new collaborations to create better service for residents, and how he's responding to Salem's budget challenges.

Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, or PCUN, is Oregon's Farm Workers Union. Executive Director, Reyna Lopez, talks about the challenges farm workers face in growing our food, and a bill in the Oregon legislature to create a space to discuss them. HB 2548 would create an Agricultural Workforce Labor Standards Board to bring together farmers, workers and oversight agencies to identify issues...

Conservation Spotlight launches its new miniseries called Meet the Farmer where they hear from growers in the Willamette Valley who are implementing conservation practices and navigating the challenges of farming. Amanda Stevens with Nottinghamshire Farms grows organic produce and flowers in Saint Paul. Learn more about the daily lives and philosophies of the farmers that bring us our food and cro...

Independence Mayor Kate Schwarzler and City Manager Kenna West talk about the city's budget and how they're engaging the community in shaping it. They discuss the history of the $750,000 budget gap and options the city will share with residents to create a balanced budget. Current ideas include selling undeveloped park land and combining the local museum and library in one space.

Monmouth Monthly talks with Roxanne Beltz, Monmouth Business Association (MBA), about ways it's making Monmouth even more fun. The MBA offers a space for small businesses to talk with each other, and organizes community events to bring the community to the downtown businesses in Monmouth and Independence.  

Policy for the People talks with Ira Cuello-Martinez of PCUN, Oregon’s Farmworker Union, about the tough working conditions that farmworkers in Oregon endure, and why the creation of a Workforce Standards Board for farmworkers – something currently under discussion in the Oregon Legislature – could be a real game changer. Then, David Madland of the Center for American Progress explains the benefit...

Salem Area State Representative Tom Andersen gives a civics lesson on how a bill becomes a law, then talks about legislation he's sponsoring or following, including the public defender system, civil commitment process and a way for the City of Salem to be reimbursed by the state for city services it uses.

Keeping Oregon Oregon talks with Alice Morrison, Friends of Family Farmers, about the organization and their 2025 legislative priorities. Bills which would ensure the ability for Oregon farmers to have access to meat inspection, water availability and food distribution. 

Elephant in the Room talks with Pattie Sloan, Salem Environmental Faith Network, about the Ecumenical Earth Summit coming in March, which will explore disaster preparedness and climate resilience.

Holla for Labor celebrates Black History Month with a panel discussion on how the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists increased women and people of color in leadership positions in the labor movement.  And they discuss ways to increase power of unions through inclusion of young workers and collaboration with existing labor unions.

Dr. Sara Kennedy, Planned Parenthood of Columbia Willamette (PPCW), explores the ramifications for loss of health care in Oregon, if there are large cuts to the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid). She describes the many services provided by PPCW, and number of Oregonians who are served by this largest nonprofit provider of health care in the state.

Salem residents will be voting in May 2025 to fund the city library, Senior Center Plus, and parks and recreation services. In this episode, Salem City Librarian, Bridget Esqueda, discusses the importance of libraries to communities and the services and programs provided by Salem's library.

Braver Angels is a national organization with state & local alliances. Its mission is to get people with different political points of view to listen to one another, with the goal of finding common ground.  In this episode we talk with Oregon members, Laura Kramer and Darren McCormick, about the effort to find common ground on the issue of immigration and how Braver Angels hopes to use what th...

Salem Health Hospital & Clinics are using "virtual" nurses to enhance patient care and support their "on-the-ground" health teams. Sarah Horn and Theresa Johnson share how virtual nurses are currently being used and what they've learned about the impacts.

Conservation Spotlight talks with Kait Crowley, Farmer Training Program Manager for Rogue Farm Corps (RFC). Kait will share how RFC trains and equips the next generation of farmers and ranchers through hands-on educational programs and the preservation of farmland. Listen in to find out how you can engage with Rogue Farm Corps!

Monmouth Monthly welcomes Western Oregon University President (WOU), Jesse Peters and Executive Director of the WOU Foundation, Katie Wojke. They discuss what makes WOU special, and how you can impact the lives of WOU students.

RJ Hampton, Salem-Keizer NAACP President, responds to efforts by the federal government to dismantle Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) programs and how the local NAACP chapter is celebrating Black History Month.