Salem Reporter’s most-read stories of 2023
Our local newsroom is lucky to have a dedicated group of local readers who support our work and read us regularly.
Every so often, though, a story picks up a much wider audience – often when people are seeking information as breaking news unfolds.
Crime and mayhem always draw attention, but readers also gravitated toward stories about unique Salem events and projects, and to our investigative work about a cyclist killed in a collision involving an on-duty DEA agent.
Here are the 10 most-viewed stories of the year produced by your Salem Reporter team.
10. Salem’s holiday parade comes back
The second year of the revived holiday parade put on by the Salem Main Street Association was popular, and people wanted all the details. If you haven’t yet had your fill of Christmas lights, you can see our photo gallery here.
9. Downtown construction updates
There are hundreds of apartments being built across Salem, along with several other commercial and retail projects. We rounded up the major ones downtown. If you’re curious about where these projects stand, we’ll have an update on many of them later this week.
8. Teen boy shot in northeast Salem
Salem has seen an uptick in the past two years of shootings involving teenagers, both as perpetrators and victims. It’s an issue our team is dedicated to covering, both through day-to-day crime reports and, more importantly, deeper looks at root causes and solutions.
This report, a drive-by shooting injuring a 13-year-old boy, stood out for the victim’s young age.
7. Man arrested in St. Joseph fire
This was one of several stories our team put out after one of Salem’s most iconic churches caught fire in August. Police said a man started a dumpster fire which quickly spread to the church.
Reporter Abbey McDonald visited St. Joseph Catholic Church last week as Father Jeff Meeuwsen prepared for Christmas mass. The latest on the church’s rebuilding is here.
6. Digging deeper into a DEA agent’s fatal collision with a cyclist
Salem police initially released few details about a March collision between a cyclist commuting home from her state job and a pickup truck. Only after probing from Salem Reporter did police confirm the pickup truck’s driver was a DEA agent.
Reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian has followed the investigation since, producing several reports based on public records and witness interviews in the weeks and month following the crash.
After months of investigation and review, a Marion County grand jury indicted DEA agent Samuel Landis in September, charging him with criminally negligent homicide. The agent has since argued successfully to move the case to federal court so he can argue immunity from prosecution based on his law enforcement role – a defense not available in state court.
Salem Reporter continues to follow the case.
5. A whimsical art hunt in city parks
Salemites had an extra reason to visit a city park this year – the chance to find one of 120 unique glass birds.
The project ran from June to September, featuring four parks across the city.
4. Salem’s last minute fireworks ban
Every year, people across Salem and Oregon set off both legal and illegal fireworks on the 4th of July – and complain about their neighbors doing the same. A last minute decision by city leaders, and then county leaders, to ban all fireworks sparked frustration from people who had to belay their celebration plans.
Salem got through the holiday without major fires.
3. Live coverage of the Liberty Fire
A high risk grass fire in the hills south of Salem placed hundreds of people under evacuation orders on Aug. 23. Firefighters contained the blaze after it burned 25 acres and two structures.
2. Kotek says no to Siletz casino plans in Salem
Early in her tenure as governor, Tina Kotek threw cold water on the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians’ plans to build an off-reservation casino in northeast Salem. The project has been years in the making.
The tribe’s plans remain under federal review, though the governor’s approval would be required to move forward.
1. Shooting on Southeast Commercial
This story was the first of several updates our team put out during a chaotic day when a man died in a shootout with police. A fuller account of the day’s events following a grand jury review of the shooting is here.
What issues and stories do you want to see our newsroom cover in 2024? Contact Managing Editor Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
