Starting class with a new do

Megan Cochran arrived for her back-to-school haircut with long locks. “I want it cut to here,” the third-grader said, her hand hovering just above her shoulder. Ready for her new do, she ...

Commentary

Johnny Cash nicknamed his drummer, W.S. Holland, “Fluke”; all his successes seemed to come by luck. However, Fluke’s luck nearly ran dry in San Francisco. With Johnny Cash and his wife, ...

On Aug. 11 of 2025, Donald Trump ordered the secretary of defense to mobilize the D.C. National Guard to combat what he claimed was “an epidemic of crime in our nation’s capital,” even though earlier that year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office had announced crime there had fallen to a 30-year low. In fact, according to the Metropolitan Police Department, violent crime had declined 26% the previous year alone.

About the writers: Mark Olalde covers environmental issues in the American Southwest for ProPublica. He previously held staff posts with The Desert Sun, Arizona Republic and Center for Public Integrity ...

Don’t look now, but we seem to have a moral panic on our hands.

Here’s another occasional episode of “News You Can Use” (NYCU) – snippets of information sprinkled with small bits of gratuitous comment, offered during this annual transition time ...

Editorials

When McMinnville completed its richly detailed and documented City Center Housing Strategy in March 2020, it assured us it knew exactly where it was going and how it intended to get there, in terms of ...

Willie Sutton, one of the most prolific and incorrigible bank robbers in American history, boosted more than $2 million from more than 100 banks during his colorful criminal career. Though it may well ...

In Act 2, Scene 2 of his play Romeo and Juliet, celebrated English bard William Shakespeare observes, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.” That ...

Oregonians — ninth among states with about 900 megawatts of commercial colocation data-center capacity — are taking action to slow the growth of massive data campuses. However, as demand for ...

What do fine art, wine and dining, street-vendor craft and food fare, vintage garage-sale finds, live local music, brewpub and taproom beer, custom street rods and local field and orchard bounty have in ...

Letters

The News-Register welcomes written opinions about issues of public interest and about the content of this newspaper. Letters from non-local writers are accepted only if they focus on local issues. This ...

Drain the swamp The MAGA/Make America Great Again movement has been nothing more than a marketing scam. It was a scheme to create a political base by pandering to a disaffected portion of our population, ...

Trampling on rights McMinnville, we feel your pain In sleepy little Monmouth, your neighbor 26 miles south, more than 150 people appeared before our city council in April to voice disapproval of plans ...

Affordable housing If McMinnville would like to stand out and create a self-sustainable model, it wouldn’t settle for apartment complexes owned by out-of-town corporations. Population growth has ...

Deja vu I was glad to see the McMinnville Historic Landmarks Committee was willing to work to restore the historic brick wall in City Park. Unfortunately, eight months after the first accident, another ...

News & Features

Missing out: With too many students absent, educators urge the community to help

Students should attend school every day unless they are ill, local educators say. But currently, about one-third of public school students in Yamhill County miss at least 10% of each school year. They ...

Second St. apartments clear likely final hurdle

The McMinnville City Council voted 4-1 to uphold the Planning Commission’s approval of a 72-unit affordable housing complex on Second Street Tuesday, citing state law aimed at spurring housing development ...

Law enforcement discusses plate-recognition cameras

Flock cameras have been making headlines nationwide and in Oregon, as the cameras using automatic license plate recognition, or ALPR, technology have sparked fears of a surveillance state. At least seven ...

Stopping By: On to the next stage

Active community member Charity Livingston is leaving McMinnville for new adventures — but she’ll be back

Amity man charged with sex abuse against relatives

Lloyd Earl Rosenbalm, 63, of Amity was arrested Wednesday afternoon at his residence on allegations of child sexual abuse of relatives. According to a probable cause statement by YCSO Detective Hugo Cerda, ...

Students hit the books next week

Students will return to classes throughout Yamhill County next week. Most will start Monday, Aug. 31, although some high school upperclassmen won’t return until Tuesday. Willamina students already ...

Veterans parade ready to go

Thanks to community donations and help from the Greater Yamhill County VFW Post 4015, organizers say they have secured funding for this year’s Yamhill County Veterans Parade. The event honoring ...

Quirk of the Week: McMinnville rocks

A collection of strange sights this week from around McMinnville: call them streetside distractions, starting with a rich collection of items seen in southeast McMinnville (and, full disclosure, in the ...

Considering the need for truancy citations

Oregon law requires all children between the ages of 6 and 18 who have not yet finished the 12th grade to attend full-time school on a regular basis. But there are no teeth to that law, local ...

Starting class with a new do

Megan Cochran arrived for her back-to-school haircut with long locks. “I want it cut to here,” the third-grader said, her hand hovering just above her shoulder. Ready for her new do, she ...

School board upholds superintendent decision

The McMinnville School Board on Monday voted to uphold the superintendent’s decision about the outcome of a complaint investigation. The six board members at the public business meeting voted in ...

Arrests & Citations: Aug. 28, 2026

Yamhill County Sheriff’s Department Heather Jayne Fawcett, 46, Lafayette, Aug. 20, first-degree forgery/two counts; booked into the Yamhill County Jail without bail. Mark Lee Melendez, 49, McMinnville, ...

Chatting over coffee

Carlton Police hosts conversations in the park every Friday

Sheridan man sentenced to more than 12 years

Frederick Lee Johnston, 69, of Sheridan on Friday, Aug. 21, was sentenced by a Polk County Circuit Court judge to 150 months — 12 1/2 years — in prison for sexually abusing two stepdaughters. Polk ...

Mac High grad visits family, market before semester in Cambridge

On her way from Washington, D.C., to London, Grace Mackay breezed into her hometown of McMinnville to visit family and stop by her former workplace, the McMinnville Farmers Market. Mackay spent three ...

Lafayette finalizes ballot language

The Lafayette City Council on Aug. 13 approved the explanatory statement for a ballot measure concerning an infrastructure project that is funded primarily by a state grant. The city charter requires ...

Driver life-flighted after rollover crash at McDougall Corner

On Wednesday morning, a single-vehicle rollover crash on Northeast McDougall Road near Dayton led to partial closure of the intersection of Highways 99W and 18. Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott confirmed ...

Caregiver support group forming in Sheridan

A Sheridan woman is seeking to form a monthly support group as a resource for fellow caregivers. “As a caregiver living in Sheridan, I know there are not a lot of resources,” said Julianna ...

Repeat property offender gets 90 months in prison

Before being sentenced Tuesday, Aug. 25, to 90 months with the Oregon Department of Corrections, Chase Chenea, 25, of McMinnville, asked Yamhill County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Cynthia Easterday to ...

Volunteers spruce up Carlton pocket park

Volunteers spent several hours Saturday clearing and trimming in Carlton’s pocket park on Seventh Street. The small open space is located below street level next to Hawn Creek. Accessible via a ...

Sports

3A/2A/1A Girls Soccer: Seniors at Amity, Dayton, YC forming strong bonds with incoming freshman to get best out of everyone

Amity broke the mold by winning the 3A/2A/1A girls soccer championship in 2025. They were the first public school to claim the title in 15 years of combined play between the three divisions, proving it ...

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