About the writer: Scott Gibson has practiced medicine in his hometown of McMinnville since 1989. He and his wife, Melody, raised their three children in McMinnville before moving to the Eola Hills in 2017 ...
Editorials
Neyssa Hays best choice for commission’s Position 3
In the race for Position 3 on the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners, being vacated by term-limited Mary Starrett, we reached a clear consensus in favor of outdoor enthusiast and science educator Neyssa ...
Narrow nod to Johnston for county's Position 1
Who should serve the next four years in Position 1 on the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners is a tough call for us. Incumbent Kit Johnston has, during the last two years, given us a large measure ...
Nods go to Stephenson, Merkley and Brock Smith
We have three races on today’s endorsement menu, and in our estimation, the vast majority of you should be able to join us in making easy calls on them. In the non-partisan race for commissioner ...
Primary would best serve us by returning Kotek, Drazan
There are no fewer than 27 candidates for the Oregon governorship out on the hustings so far this year — 10 Democrats and 14 Republicans seeking major party nominations, one unaffiliated candidate ...
Depleted highway coffers demand a new infusion
Property taxes, income taxes, sales taxes and most other governmental taxes have one crucial element in common. They are based on percentage rates applied to ever-rising dollar volumes. That serves to ...
Bee-friendly pollinator garden a cause we should all support
So many national and international threats hanging over the heard of humanity these days seem so complex and distant as to defy meaningful impact at the local level. Fortunately, though, there is at least ...
No time to change course on overdue downtown overhaul
By the turn of the 21st century, McMinnville realized its treasured downtown Third Street spine would need extensive below-ground renovation in the coming years. It also knew that would logically dictate ...
Bipartisanship has moment in most self-serving of ways
When newsroom e-mail boxes begin filling up with our-side congratulatory and their-side condemnatory press releases from Ashley Kuenzi, Jill Bakken, Mack Smith and Elizabeth Cronen, we never fail to offer ...
Oregon takes lead again on recycling/reuse front
Oregon broke new environmental ground 55 years ago with the bottle bill. It was the national pilot for a new generation of “extended producer responsibility” measures, designed to force producers ...
Short session shenanigans produce biggest stinker yet
One terrible bill being pushed through the 2026 Oregon Legislature would allow quorums of local government bodies to meet and discuss important public business in private. In opposing that bill, HB 4177, ...
Letters
News-Register Letters Policy
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 ...
Letters to the Editor: April 24, 2026
Fiscal conservatism As the May 19 election approaches, I again review my choices. I collected signatures to get Measure 120 on the ballot, and it is an easy NO on higher gas taxes and fees. We are already ...
Letters to the Editor: April 17, 2026
Open and respectful I am following the 2026 Commissioner races with interest. Having served Yamhill County for eight years as sheriff and six as undersheriff, I am aware of what it takes to make county ...
Letters to the Editor: April 10, 2026
Out of ammo We’re about a month into the war with Iran. In that short time, we’ve started to run out of the interceptor missiles we and our allies rely on to defend against missile and drone ...
Letters to the Editor: April 3, 2026
Proceed with care Yes, McMinnville’s downtown needs major infrastructure work — and sooner rather than later. However, government and civic leaders need to understand the potential consequences ...
Letters to the Editor: March 27, 2026
All talk, no action I was reading about Mayor Morris’ new program, “We care about kids.” I hope it will be a program of action, not just words. Beyond the staged photo op with the mayor ...
Letters to the Editor: March 20, 2026
So much to say There’s so much to talk about. First, a rare commendation to the News-Register for a most excellent editorial, “Bipartisanship has moment in most self-serving of ways.” ...
Letters to the Editor: March 13, 2026
Fiscal ruin Trump’s policies are cruel, immoral and fiscally suicidal. Last year, his Big Bad Bill added $2.23 trillion to our national debt, bringing it to $38.86 trillion. Our debt now equals ...
Letters to the Editor: March 6, 2026
Simply wrong As an octogenarian, I’ve had a lifetime to learn the difference between right and wrong and live by that understanding. I don’t claim to have lived a perfect life, but I have ...
Letters to the Editor: Feb. 27, 2026
Where’s my refund? It’s always a good idea to read the fine print. Knowing exactly where you stand is important. By now, most people know that the foreign countries who send goods to the ...
Commentary
Attention-magnets keep hiding important stories
It’s so easy to be distracted by attention-magnets while ignoring under-covered stories. Spectacle politics hides changes in structural governance; immigration drama shrouds realities of labor economics; ...
Jonah Goldberg: When violence erupts, blame game ensues
About the writer: Conservative D.C.-based commentator Jonah Goldberg serves as editor-in-chief of The Dispatch, hosts The Remnant podcast, authors a weekly Los Angeles Times column, holds a chair with ...
Gary Conkling: Immigrants helped found U.S. and sustain it from the outset
Immigration is intimately linked to American history. Thomas Jefferson listed obstruction of immigration among the grievances in the Declaration of Independence. Immigration was essential to populating the country.
Quirk of the Week: No waffling: Ice cream just got even more fun
“Ice cream never asks silly questions. Ice cream understands.” — Anonymous Don’t ask why Serendipity Ice Cream did the thing they did on Saturday. They just did it, and a lot of ...
Jeb Bladine: This week, too many stories, not enough space
It’s Spring Grab Bag week, with multiple stories that deserve at least passing commentary. Muted Earth Day: Earth Day — April 22, often extended to Earth Week — involves more than 150,000 ...
Investigating the Bible: More on salt
A lady stood at a city corner, handing out brochures promoting her church. Evidently, she was having a bad day and was in a foul mood, which unfortunately was obvious to one man. As she extended the folded ...
Quirk of the Week: Off-the-wall in Willamina
Ready to rock ‘n’ rail? Let’s head to Timbertown, USA. You’ll see what we mean … Sheridan and Dundee had, well, dan-dee, moments in this column in recent weeks. (Lafayette, ...
Quirk of the Week: Discoveries in every direction
On Tax Day, we can all use a little direction but also a bit of diversion. Here, then, is a McMinnville Quirk Compass, with something special in all four directions: North: Two Quirks of note, just outside ...
Scott Gibson: China leaving U.S. behind on renewable energy front
About the writer: Scott Gibson has practiced medicine in his hometown of McMinnville since 1989. He and his wife, Melody, raised their three children in McMinnville before moving to the Eola Hills in 2017 ...
Investigating the Bible: Living better
I once read that natives in African jungle villages captured monkeys by hollowing out a coconut through a hole and putting a pebble inside. The hole in the side of the coconut was so small that a monkey ...
Letter to Readers: On the other side of the interview
In March 2024, I wrote a story about a new podcast center at Duniway Middle School. In honor of the late student Ronan Godrey, the Traveling Light Foundation and Cruising McMinnville paid to decorate ...
Jeb Bladine: Kids caught more than crawdads in City Park
In the News-Register, our weekly “Vintage N-R” photo array is accompanied by “Memory Lane” morsels from 10, 25 and 50 past years. We reminisce about times when Hotel Oregon was ...
Cyrus Javadi: Assault on vote by mail has no grounding in fact
Not long after I announced for state representative in 2022, I found myself at Arnie’s, on Main Street in Warrenton, making my case to the Clatsop County Republican Party faithful.
Russell Mark: Hope is the healer that means the most
Hope is a curious thing. It is often hard-won, sometimes late in arriving, and rarely linear.
Jonah Goldberg: Trump creates new enemies at every turn
It is among the most familiar patterns of the Trump era.
Jeb Bladine: 'Ten pounds of confusion in a five-pound box'
Kudos to the city of McMinnville and McMinnville Industrial Promotions (MIP) for their Wednesday night performance of a civics lesson that cut tortuously close to what’s wrong with government in ...
Investigating the Bible: Keys to success
Comedian Carol Burnett should like the Willamette Valley. Throughout her long career, she believed rain always brought her success. Starting in grammar school, whenever she took a test and it was raining, ...
Quirk of the Week: Been there, Dundee that
Last week’s news story about folks in Dundee protesting a certain fast-food chain development in town came down to this: what qualities give Dundee its character? What makes it unique? And, yes, ...
