Your Thursday evening update on Salem news

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Good evening, Salem.

We’re sorry we missed you yesterday. Due to an error, Wednesday evening’s newsletter didn’t go out. The good news is we’ve included all those articles below and more, so you can get caught up.

Looking for weekend plans? There are still spots available for “The Groundbreaking Women of Salem Walking Tour” hosted by the Deepwood Museum & Gardens.

The tour, which takes place both Saturday and Sunday afternoon, will teach the history of remarkable women of prior centuries, including a landowner, a teacher and a suffragist. Saturday’s tour, starting at 2 p.m., will begin at Deepwood in Bush’s Pasture Park. The Sunday tour begins at Salem Pioneer Cemetery, 2:30 p.m.

Tickets are $30 each, and pre-registration is required. Learn more on the museum’s website.

Find more events on our newly-renovated events calendar, where you can search for local happenings by name, category or venue.

There’s still time to turn in your ballot ahead of the Tuesday, May 19, election. Drop off ballots at the Marion County Clerk’s Office downtown or a local drop box until the day of the election. Find a drop box near you here.

Here is the count of ballots returned as of about 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 14.

  • Marion County – 33,402 ballots; 233,757 registered voters; 14.3% return
  • Polk County – 10,004 ballots; 64,918 registered voters; 15.4% return
  • Oregon – 454,000 ballots; 3,103,717 registered voters: 14.6% return

Here’s some of today’s news. Head to our website anytime for the latest in Salem.

www.salemreporter.com

Starting in late July, people with driver’s license or insurance cases will be able to go to the Marion County Justice Court in the evening rather than taking time off…

www.salemreporter.com

The Tofte family hosted a memorial service for Roger Tofte, founder of Salem’s Enchanted Forest on Tuesday, March 12. See scenes from the evening here. To comment on this story,…

www.salemreporter.com

Keizer police have arrested two men in connection with a February shooting that injured a man driving his family home from Keizer Station. They are seeking to locate a third…

www.salemreporter.com

Events in Salem this week include a free downtown walking tour, the Awesome 3000 fun run race in Bush’s Pasture Park and a white elephant-style plant swap at a local…

www.salemreporter.com

There’s still time to cast votes in the Tuesday, May 19 election which will decide who leads the city of Salem. Here’s a roundup of who’s on the ballot. To…

www.salemreporter.com

Your guide to the 2026 city of Salem election Candidates listen to Ward 2 council candidate Manny Martinez answer a question at the Salem Reporteru0026rsquo;s city election Town Hall onu0026hellip;

READERS REACT: “Tears in my eyes. This is confirmation that a well thought-out partnership of compassionate, experienced adults with faith in the can change the trajectory of the community, individual by individual. I hope that other community leaders will be inspired by this story to initiate their own similar partnerships. Now, how about something for the girls?” -Jinglebell, on Madeleine Moore’s report on new violence intervention meetings starting with teens in Salem.

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