Earlier this week, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration enacted regulations that’ll continue the masking, social distancing and sanitization requirements that have become common in workplaces. While business groups say the requirements are manageable, they say there should include a sunset date. Labor groups say the pandemic is ongoing, and the regulations have kept workers safe.

As more seniors stayed home during the pandemic, Salem's Meals on Wheels program grew from serving about 450 people daily to 750. To sustain a bigger program and ease the work of volunteer drivers, the program's leaders are now looking for more space.

Catch up with local news weekday mornings on community radio station KMWV (98.3 FM) with "In Case You Missed It - With Salem Reporter." One of our reporters joins radio station manager Lisa Walz to discuss a story of two of the day.

Executives from a Utah company, rPlus Hydro, recently briefed the Malheur County Court on a proposal to build a pumped storage facility. Matthew Shapiro, chief executive officer of rPlus Hydro, said the project could generate 300 new jobs and generate a significant amount of electricity.

A new Salem Reporter feature highlights local history. Historic preservation advocate Hazel Patton chronicles the move and restoration of one of Salem's historic buildings, a Mom and Pop grocery store that once served customers in central Salem.

All members of the committee agreed they want a unit, but are still uncertain where funding will come from. On Wednesday, the budget committee unanimously voted to set aside a quarter of the project’s anticipated costs for the first 16 months.

The Oregon Health Authority said Wednesday that 74 people had contracted Covid through an outbreak tied to the church after beginning an investigation in April. The church’s lead pastor, Scott Erickson, joined nine other Oregon churches in a 2020 lawsuit unsuccessfully seeking to overturn Gov. Kate Brown’s “Stay Home, Save Lives” order.

Oregon tribes are reintroducing a species that creates important habitat for First Foods. But the Beaver State’s laws don’t work in the animal’s favor.

In its first in-person event since the pandemic began, Willamette Valley Hospice invited music therapists to perform for guests at a reservation-only jewelry sale to benefit the program.

Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday surprised people across the state by announcing that 15 counties, including Marion and Polk, would move from the “extreme” to “high” risk categories of Covid restrictions. Salem area businesses and elected leaders were agitated by the sudden shift in restrictions and the explanation offered by the governor for it.

The union which represents Salem police officers failed in an effort to add 24 sergeants to its bargaining unit after an April ruling by the state’s employment board which found they were “supervisory” employees under state law. The union president said healthcare was one of the big reasons sergeants wanted to join.

Volunteers like Jeanette George have helped pick out clothing and assemble kits with basic hygiene items for thousands of students in Salem-Keizer schools this year through their Operation School Bell program.

Catch up with local news weekday mornings on community radio station KMWV (98.3 FM) with "In Case You Missed It - With Salem Reporter." One of our reporters joins radio station manager Lisa Walz to discuss a story of two of the day.

Each district high school would get a social worker and elementary schools would no longer share speech pathologists under a budget plan released Tuesday by Superintendent Christy Perry.

After the governor announced that 15 counties would be moving into the category of "extreme risk" for Covid last Friday, U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz released a statement criticizing the restrictions, which include a shutdown of indoor dining for eight of the 20 counties he represents. Malheur County is still in "moderate risk," with indoor dining allowed.

On Monday, lawyers representing people incarcerated in Oregon’s prisons filed a motion in federal court asking a judge to grant an ongoing lawsuit class-action status. Gaining the status could significantly expand the number of people who could seek compensation from the Oregon Department of Corrections for its response to the pandemic.

Be Bold Street Ministries gave a couple who had been living in hotels for the past seven months an RV and more recently a car that was donated to the Salem nonprofit.

If legislative aides vote to form a collective bargaining unit later this month, it will be the country’s first-ever legislative union. Getting to this point required clearing multiple legal hurdles. Supporters say it’ll create a better working environment for staff, which will improve how the Legislature functions.

The latest Census tally gives Oregon a new Congressional district. Oregon's current representatives say that will give the state added clout in decision-making on matters of national and state import, and also offers constituents one more place to get help.

A gun rights rally in Riverfront Park Saturday has riled the community as social media reports of intimidation and assault by Proud Boys have circulated. Salem police and city leaders say they need to protect First and Second Amendment rights and no one has pressed charges following Saturday’s event.

Catch up with local news weekday mornings on community radio station KMWV (98.3 FM) with "In Case You Missed It - With Salem Reporter." One of our reporters joins radio station manager Lisa Walz to discuss a story of two of the day.

In the weeks since Salem-Keizer middle and high schools resumed in-person classes, the district has recorded 26 cases of Covid among more than 18,000 secondary students who are back in school buildings. About 15% of students have remained in all-online classes.

Corban University, the private university in southeast Salem, is launching construction for a new complex for track and field. Officials gathered recently for a groundbreaking ceremony.

Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson has charged the Republican lawmaker with official misconduct and criminal trespass for allowing a group of violent demonstrators into the Capitol building in December. The charges come a day before Nearman, who has resisted calls to resign, was scheduled to speak at a rally in Salem.