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 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.
Crosswalk, pedestrian safety improvements planned near four Salem elementary schools
Students get off the bus for the first day of school at Bush Elementary in 2019. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Three Salem intersections are getting a facelift to make them safer for pedestrians – especially kids walking to school. The City…
Salem-Keizer administrators plan overhaul of school discipline, safety with goal of reducing racial disparities
Protestors rallied outside of the Salem-Keizer school district offices on Thursday, June 18 to urge the district to cancel their contract for police officers in schools. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Salem-Keizer School District leaders plan to overhaul the district’s discipline and…
A divided Salem-Keizer School Board votes to allow chair to cut off “derogatory, name-calling” comments
School board members discuss the comment policy during a Dec. 8 meeting (Screenshot from YouTube) After facing months of criticism over their handling of racial justice issues, the Salem-Keizer School Board narrowly voted to rein in public comment Tuesday night.…
Salem man digitizes thousands of historical records to help families find their history
Jim Moore looks at a historical marriage license on the FamilySearch website from his desk at home on Dec. 7 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Jim Moore peered at a scrawl on a scanned copy of a 1930 marriage license from St.…
Salem Hospital delays some elective surgeries as Covid hospitalizations rise
Salem Hospital (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) Salem residents scheduled for a hip or knee replacement may find their procedures delayed as the area’s largest hospital begins postponing some elective surgeries to keep staff and beds available for Covid patients.…
A year without school music ensembles means a long road to rebuilding
The West Salem High School band performs at the OSAA 6A State Band Championships in May 2019 with director Todd Zimbelman conducting (Courtesy/West Salem High School) Ten minutes in, West Salem High School’s ninth grade band class appeared strangely silent.…
Vaccine likely to hit Oregon this month, but worsening Covid spread is still expected
Gov. Kate Brown listens in during a phone call with Vice President Mike Pence and other governors on Monday, April 20. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Gov. Kate Brown said Friday that Oregon stands “on the brink of a full-blown crisis” with…
Rising Covid cases, tests leave Oregon’s public health database struggling to keep up
Nancy Ceja, field operations branch manager works at her desk in the Marion County Health and Human Services COVID-19 incident command on Monday, July 13. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Covid claimed another victim this week – the database that is crucial…
Salem food bank usage is up 30% over last year. Here’s how Marion Polk Food Share is keeping up.
John Hawkins, right, waves a car forward as Mitch Baysinger, left, and Rachel Peterson unload a pallet of food boxes at Chemeketa Community College for a food giveaway on Nov. 24 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) When Rachel Peterson arrived at the…
A $30,000 fire at Garten plant shows danger of “wishful recycling”
A burned conveyor belt at Garten Services recycling plant after a fire on Nov. 10 (Courtesy/Garten Services) Maybe it was a battery. Or a propane tank thoughtlessly recycled. Both are suspected of winding up in the recycling stream at Garten…