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.
Where and how to get a Covid vaccine in Salem
Sam Bereny, an EMT with Metro West Ambulance, holds a second dose of the Moderna vaccine at a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Centennial Park in Woodburn, Ore. on Thursday, April 1, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The number of Oregonians…
After years of work, North Salem High School will offer students a program that’ll give them a leg up with a global focus
North Salem High School students at a graduation ceremony on Thursday, August 6, 2020 (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) North Salem High School students will have a new slate of classes available in the fall that’ll offer more chances to earn college…
Chemeketa plans to resume classes in the fall, anxious if students will return
Chemeketa Community College on Thursday, April 16, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) One year ago, Chemeketa Community College instructors and staff moved more than 1,600 scheduled courses online with just two weeks’ notice. But about 2,000 students opted not to follow.…
Austrian music, absurdist poetry coming to Salem as Oregon Symphony plans October return
The Oregon Symphony performs at Smith Auditorium in Salem in November 2019 (Courtesy/Danielle Peterson, Oregon Symphony) Peter Frajola learned to play the violin as a child in Salem under the direction of his parents, both musicians. This fall, he’s eager…
After Marion County lands state money, walking to school will be safer in east Salem
Brenda Vollmar, an instructional assistant at Myers Elementary School, and teacher Tyler Lewis greet arriving students on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) By 2023, crossing busy streets will be a little safer for hundreds of students who walk…
Thousands more Covid vaccines coming to Salem as state speeds up timeline
Salem Health began a Covid vaccine clinic at the state fairgrounds on Jan. 7 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) It’s about to become a lot easier to get vaccinated against Covid in Salem. Gov. Kate Brown on Friday said Oregon would speed…
After helping write landmark laws and keeping Salem’s nonprofits humming, Ken Sherman retires
Ken Sherman Jr. holds out a treat for Max the cat in the library of his condo in downtown Salem on Wednesday, March 24. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Ken Sherman Jr. is the first to admit that the minutiae of Oregon’s…
Data shows more than 80% of Salem-Keizer elementary school students opted to return in-person
Giovanni Fajardo Perez, a student in Crystal Magee’s kindergarten and first grade classroom, uses colored pencils on the first day back to school at Richmond Elementary on Tuesday, March 2. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The vast majority of elementary school families…
A chaotic, gratifying first year for Salem’s new primary care clinic
Dr. Rashanda Brown, front right, poses with the other practitioners at South Salem Primary Care in February 2020. The clinic opened with physicians assistants Christine Rue, front left, and Alyssa Schmidt, back left, and Dr. Paula Spencer (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)…
Oregon will allow less space between students in class, but Salem-Keizer not planning changes
A student follows one-way arrows to get to her desk at Richmond Elementary on Tuesday, March 2. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Oregon Department of Education on Monday said schools can seat students closer together in classrooms – a change that…