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.
In Salem, students no longer need to be expelled or fail classes to attend alternative school
Beyonce Ramirez wasn’t using drugs when a school counselor asked her if she was high during her freshman year at McNary High School. But Ramirez had been struggling for months, feeling overlooked and overwhelmed in a school with 2,000 students,…
Gilbert House raising money for redesigned outdoor play area to help kids connect with nature
Alicia Bay, executive director of Gilbert House Children’s Museum, in front of the outdoor play structure that’s scheduled to be replaced in 2022 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Kids who love to run and play tag can find plenty to do in…
Salem archeologists and historians plan to use radar to discover site of 1840s mission school
In the 1850s, the U.S. government forced many of western Oregon’s Indigenous residents from their ancestral homelands and onto the Grand Ronde Reservation, clearing the way for a wave of settlers coming to the Willamette Valley on the Oregon Trail.…
What an Oregon pediatric doctor wants parents to know about Covid as schools reopen
Maggie Rivera, community school outreach coordinator, greets students for the first day back to school at Richmond Elementary on Tuesday, March 2. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) NOTE: Salem Reporter is providing this free to the community as a public service to keep…
With Covid case surge comes a longer wait for tests in Salem
Andrea Davila, a nurse at the Kaiser Permanente North Lancaster clinic administers a test for COVID-19 at the clinic’s drive-thru testing site on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) NOTE: Salem Reporter is providing this free to the community as…
Here’s who’s covered under Oregon’s vaccination mandates for health care, K-12 education
Dr. Katherine Landen, emergency department medical director at Salem Hospital, displays her employee badge after receiving Salem’s first Covid vaccine on Dec. 17, 2020 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) NOTE: Salem Reporter is providing this free to the community as a public service…
An expanded child tax credit means more breathing room for Salem parents
Kay Ketchem sits with her children, Beatrix, 8 months, Leo, 7, and Ivy, 6, in their Salem home on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Kay Ketchem was browsing Facebook in late June when she stumbled on an article…
Inside Salem’s ICU, the “emotionally draining” work of caring for Covid patients marches on
A nurse cares for a Covid patient in the intensive care unit at Salem Hospital on Friday, Aug. 20, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) In the life-or-death world of Salem Hospital’s intensive care unit, few people coming and going have time…
UPDATED: Gov. Brown mandates Covid vaccines for Oregon educators, health care workers as Salem ICU beds nearly full
Gov. Kate Brown speaks with Woodburn School District acting superintendent Juan Larios in the library on the first day back to in-person learning at Lincoln Elementary School in Woodburn, Ore. on Thursday, April 1, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Oregon teachers,…
Pride returns to Salem Saturday with fun run, drag and comedy performances
Salem Capital Pride’s logo Zach Cardoso wants Salem’s LGBTQ residents to be proud of who they are all year long. Cardoso, who chairs the board of Salem’s Capital Pride, said that’s one reason the nonprofit has traditionally hosted its LGBTQ…