Rachel Alexander
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 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.
The new Salem-Keizer School Board is younger, more diverse and ready to get to work
Newly elected members of the Salem-Keizer School Board for 2021, from top left: María Hinojos Pressey, Osvaldo Avila, Ashley Carson Cottingham and Karina Guzmán Ortiz. Salem’s educators face a daunting task in the fall: helping more than 40,000 local students…
Blending ministry with policy, Sen. Deb Patterson finishes 2021 session with wins on health care affordability
Oregon Senator Deb Patterson worked on her computer Jan. 22 following a brief session of theOregon Senate (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Deb Patterson in her role as a minister in early 2020 met with a parishioner who had just been diagnosed…
With solar installation, Salem’s Jewish temple wants to be a community hub during natural disasters
Temple Beth Sholom on Saturday, June 26, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) As Millie Estrin lay on her deathbed in her Salem home, she extracted a promise from her rabbi: Salem’s Temple Beth Sholom would complete the solar project she had…
Salem can once again browse library bookshelves
Lessie Foster, 8, looks at manga at the Salem Public Library’s first day open to the public on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) It wasn’t quite a sold-out concert or the midnight premiere of a new Star Wars…
Kids and parents will have a place to play, learn through new Salem Islamic Center summer program
Nagia Elzadi, right, and Valeria Atanacio sort through children’s toys purchased for an upcoming parent-child early learning program at the Salem Islamic Center on Saturday, June 26, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Nagia Elzadi beamed as she opened a cardboard box…
Willamette University inks merger with Pacific Northwest College of Art
Willamette University will soon have more options for students studying art after finalizing a merger with the Pacific Northwest College of Art on Wednesday. The college, which has a downtown Portland campus, will maintain its own admission process and be…
Cautious optimism in Salem as Oregon lifts pandemic restrictions
Signs on the door of The Book Bin in downtown Salem note continued mask-wearing is appreciated as Oregon lifted pandemic restrictions on June 30, 2021 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) As of Wednesday, residents of Salem and the rest of Oregon have…
Farmworker dies in Marion County amid historic heat wave
An irrigation system in an agricultural field in Marion County on Friday, March 12, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A Woodburn labor contractor and St. Paul nursery are under state investigation after a farmworker died following a Saturday shift in the…
Foundation leader reflects on 25 years of helping Salem churches practice what they preach
If you ask Sam Skillern to take his photo, he’ll suggest meeting you outside Salem First United Methodist Church. Skillern doesn’t have a particular tie to the congregation. But its location – at the intersection of Church and State streets…
HEAT WAVE FORECAST: Salem’s Saturday temperature sets record, another likely Sunday
People cool off in the Willamette River at Wallace Marine Park on Saturday, June 26. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Salem recorded triple digit temperatures Saturday afternoon, with local temperature peaking at a record 105 at 4:56 p.m., according to the National…