News & Features
UFO Fest invades McMinnville May 16-18
McMinnville will be filled with thousands of visitors Saturday, May 17, for the parade and other activities associated with the 25th annual UFO Festival. McMenamins Hotel Oregon launched the festival ...
Maintenance shop burns, equipment destroyed at The Nines golf course
A Wednesday evening fire ravaged the maintenance shop at The Preserve (formally The Bayou), destroying all the golf course’s mowers, equipment and tools used to maintain The Nines in the process. “It’s ...
PAC seeks Mac council commitment on rec bond
A group of McMinnville residents will ask the city council on Tuesday to commit to working toward placing a bond measure for a new recreation center on the November ballot. The Culture, Parks and Recreation ...
Defendants all plead guilty in Newberg hotel armed robbery
The trial for John Kyle Donnahoo, 30, of McMinnville, scheduled to begin Thursday, was canceled after a plea deal was negotiated. On Dec. 19, 2024, Donnahoo and three others were arrested after a man ...
Mac school budget proposal manages shortfall without cutting teachers
McMinnville schools, like those across the state and nation, will be short of funding to retain current services next year, district officials told the budget committee Wednesday. But they said they are ...
Longtime McMinnville City Manager Kent Taylor dies
Longtime McMinnville city manager Kent Taylor died Friday, May 2, in his home. He was 75.
Major cuts proposed for Dayton city budget
Closure of the Palmer Creek Lodge, cuts to parks maintenance and holiday celebrations, new fees and rate hikes and personnel changes are all on the table for the city of Dayton for fiscal year 2025-26. Dayton ...
Mac High to perform ‘Fools’
McMinnville High School students will perform a Neil Simon comedy, “Fools,” May 9 through 17. Shows in the school auditorium will start at 7 p.m. Friday, May 9, and Saturday, May 10, and Thursday, ...
Offbeat Oregon: Pioneer woman doctor was Oregon’s ‘Modern Prometheus’
In Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s classic novel “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus,” Shelley tells the story of a brilliant and gifted scientist-physician who reaches too far in ...
Plant events continue to pop up
Gardening events and plant sales are continuing, with many scheduled in time for Mother’s Day, May 11. The Edible Garden Festival, with seedling give-aways and numerous other activities, is Saturday. ...
Firm hired for Mac superintendent search
The McMinnville School Board on Wednesday hired McPherson & Jacobsen, LLC, Consultants to help it find an interim superintendent to lead McMinnville schools in the 2025-26 school year. Representatives ...
Sheridan City Council pauses resolution on basketball hoops
On Monday, the Sheridan City Council tabled a resolution to allow basketball hoops in the right-of-way until its May 19 meeting following advice of interim city manager Preston Polasck. Polasck is employed ...
County Assessor office moved to new building
The Yamhill County Assessment and Tax office has moved into its new offices on the second floor of the former Oregon Mutual Insurance building at 400 N.E. Baker St. Office hours remain 8:30 a.m. to 4 ...
Steffanie Frost to leave McMinnville School District
Steffanie Frost, human resources director and current acting superintendent of the McMinnville School District, plans to leave the district at the end of the school year. She has accepted a job as chief ...
Comics kindle kids’ creativity in Willamina
The Willamina library turned into a comic extravaganza on Saturday, May 3, for Free Comic Book Day. About 100 visitors attended for free comics, workshops and to meet with guest comic artists. Tyler ...
Story Night will feature Bethany Palacios
Bethany Palacios, who grew up in McMinnville and now holds the title of Ms. Black Oregon, will speak Thursday, May 15, during the May edition of the Story Night series featuring women’s stories. The ...
Committee OKs Yamhill fire budget
The Yamhill Fire Protection district budget committee approved the proposed $1,082,920 budget on Monday by a 7-3 vote. Expense actuals for the current budget were not available, Treasurer Randy Weston ...
YCAP receives grant for low-income home repair
The Yamhill Community Action Partnership expects to assist 150 older homes that need repairs with a three-year grant from the Oregon Health Authority. “This grant will make a big difference for ...
Dayton sees "large rise" in vandalism
Community news was a mixed bag at Dayton City Council Monday, with updates on two burgeoning youth programs and continued reports of vandalism to city property. For the second month in a row, Public Works ...
Sports
McMinnville softball team’s confidence high after challenging back-to-back
Domination and fatigue characterized back-to-back contests for the McMinnville varsity softball (15-6) team this week as the Grizzlies split two games against league opponents on Tuesday and Wednesday. ...
YC flag football qualifies for playoffs
The Yamhill Carlton flag football team has qualified for the 16-team state-wide playoffs, claiming second in league with a 9-5, 7-2 record. On Wednesday, the Tigers downed the 5A Hillsboro Spartans in ...
Findley takes conference girls golf crown
Mabel Findley secured the Pacific Conference individual title Monday with a 77 at Ghost Creek at Pumpkin Ridge. Findley needed a good round as her nearest competitor, Forest Grove’s Trinity Johnson, ...
3A softball roundup: Pirates hand Loggers first loss of season
Preparation triumphed over dominance on Monday as the OSAA 3A ranked No. 2 Dayton varsity softball team (18-2) handed No. 1 Scio (18-1) their first loss of the season in a tightly contested 3-1 victory ...
Grizzly bats get hot in wins over Falcons
The OSAA ranked No. 12 McMinnville varsity baseball team (14-6) took the first two games of a three-game series against No. 39 Liberty (5-15) with ease this week, scoring 28 runs and allowing five hits ...
YC rebounds, Dayton dominates in 3A play
Friday marked a Yamhill County softball eclipse as Yamhill-Carlton (11-7) shut out Willamina (14-4) 9-0 at home and Dayton (16-2) dismantled Sheridan (1-13) on the road 29-0. The Tigers were able to stop ...
School records tumble as Mac track and field nears districts
With a final competition Thursday before next week’s Pacific Conference Districts meet (May 16), the McMinnville track and field athletes continue to improve their times and marks with sights set ...
Aggressive Grizzlies blowout Tigers in Stephens’ standout performance
An aggravated McMinnville varsity softball team (14-5) blew the doors off Newberg (5-10) on Friday, run-ruling the Tigers 18-3 in four innings while improving to 4-2 in league play. The Grizzlies were ...
Grizzlies sweep Vikings in preparation for final stretch
The McMinnville Varsity baseball team (12-6) pulled off its first inter-conference series sweep of the season on Friday, defeating Forest Grove (9-10) 5-4 in a back-and-forth contest. The win marked the ...
Brewer claims All-American honors, Oregon wrestling triple crown
Willamina senior Zoe Brewer added to her Bulldog wrestling legacy this month by winning a national tournament and completed a “triple crown” as the state level On April 5, Brewer topped the ...
Mac girls golf swings a trip to state championship
At their first meeting of the season, McMinnville girls golf coach Ben Heuberger told his players they would be taking the whole team to state this year. “All of us kind of looked at each other ...
Panthers look to playoff rematch against Summit
Senior fullback Dakota King, of Yamhill Carlton High School, was sole scorer for the Valley Panthers, who fell to 36-5 to Summit on Saturday, April 26, at Duniway Middle School field. The Panthers ...
YC boys volleyball sees exceptional improvement
The Yamhill-Carlton boys volleyball team has improved immensely in a short span of time. The first-year team banded together in March with many never playing the sport before. The team started ...
Pirates topple Tigers in nail-biter
Twenty miles separate the high schools of Dayton and Yamhill-Carlton and on Wednesday one run separated the Dayton varsity softball team (15-2) from Yamhill-Carlton (10-7) as the schools battled for the ...
Mac baseball takes first two games in series over Forest Grove
The McMinnville varsity baseball team (11-6) scored 19 runs while allowing none through the first two of three games against Forest Grove (9-9) on Monday and Wednesday. On Monday the Grizzlies overwhelmed ...
Grizzly softball laid bare against Sherwood
The McMinnville varsity softball team (12-5) was, in the words of head coach Josh Terry, “flat out beat,” on Tuesday, falling 7-2 against OSAA 6A No. 2 ranked Sherwood (16-2). Since 2021 the ...
Local track and field athletes ranked top 10 in state
Midway through the season, several county track and field athletes are ranked in the top 10 across the state, with five McMinnville athletes posting top 10 rankings in 6A. In the triple jump, Grizzly ...
Mac softball shows offensive prowess in back-to-back wins
Two hard-fought contests went in favor of the McMinnville softball team (11-3) last week as the Grizzlies defeated 6A Southwest Conference powerhouse Roseburg (12-3) 10-4 and run-ruled Pacific Conference ...
Brummit holds Newberg bats at bay in rubber match
The McMinnville baseball team (7-5) secured a series win against 6A Pacific Conference rival Newberg (8-5) on Friday with a 3-1 victory as the sun shined down on the Grizzlies home turf. Left-handed junior ...
Mac girls golf unlocks new standard of success
Confidence and a commitment to success have been evident this season for the McMinnville girl’s golf team. The Grizzlies — led by Ben Heuberger in his 15th season as head coach — have ...
