America appears to be at an inflection point in its great experiment with self-governance — a system of, by, and for the people.
Editorials
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, ...
Government budgets grow alongside limits on taxes
In this semiquincentennial birthday year for America, history reminds us that opposition to taxation measures — Stamp Act, Townshend Duties, Tea Act — helped light the fuse that sparked the ...
Let us all come together to bridge the gaps that divide
The nonprofit Unidos Bridging Community, prominently featured in a story in last Friday’s News-Register, has been providing support services to Yamhill County’s large and diverse Latino population ...
Those who covet power must first earn out trust
For the first 150 years of its statehood, Oregon limited regular legislative sessions to odd-numbered years. As governance turned increasingly complex and contentious, it became one of only a handful of ...
Can we all join in standing for what we know is right?
During his first term, Donald Trump’s ravenous crusade to bend the world to his will was at least partially restrained by people holding key elective and appointive posts. Not so this time around, ...
Schools face crisis point; course correction needed
Public school enrollment has been declining for the last 10 years in McMinnville, punctuated by a precipitous plunge during the pandemic followed by a limited recovery in succeeding years that seems to ...
Let's lower our sights and cut deal on Alpine project
Palindrome’s $80.5 million proposal for redevelopment of Alpine Avenue’s former RB Rubber site stood out for one clear reason: It was the most audacious and ambitious of the eight submissions. ...
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: 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 ...
Letters to the Editor: Feb. 20, 2026
Damaging leasing practices I am writing as a concerned community member about the growing impact of excessive rent increases and profit-driven practices by some landlords in downtown McMinnville. Small ...
Letters to the Editor: Feb. 13, 2026
Get a real Republican This moderate Republican has praised the News-Register many times and still thinks we are lucky to have a newspaper, left-leaning though it may be. I have a criticism, though. It ...
Letters to the Editor: Feb. 6, 2026
Vote them out Under President Trump, the United States is inching closer and closer to becoming a tyranny, a totalitarian state where a lawless government’s power is exercised by one man, according ...
Letters to the Editor: Jan. 30, 2026
Where’s the leadership? Physical impotence can damage relationships and mental health, which is why billions are spent every year on treatments for erectile dysfunction. Lately, we’re seeing ...
Letters to the Editor: Jan. 23, 2026
Building bridges I was surprised to learn from the News-Register that at the last city council meeting, Councilor Chris Chenoweth criticized Unidos Bridging Community, saying “an organization that ...
Commentary
Phil Forve: What next for democracy: obituary or reeaffirmation
America appears to be at an inflection point in its great experiment with self-governance — a system of, by, and for the people.
Jeb Bladine: Downtown project paying the high cost of delay
Somehow, a half-century ago, McMinnville crafted and launched an extensive downtown development plan in what today would be considered record time. City leaders approved the investment while declining ...
Jonah Goldberg: Pessimism so pervasive that it defies even death
Biologist and author Paul Ehrlich, the most influential Chicken Little of the last century, died at the age of 93 this week.
Quirk of the Week: Sense of place seen in the out-of-place
Long balls and other baseball delights are back, so Quirk this week also will “Go yard.” Here we have a quintet of interesting, yet out of place, landscape adornments seen gracing four front ...
Investigating the Bible: With one mind, through prayer and fellowship
D.L. Moody is considered one the most influential evangelistic laymen America has produced. In the 1800s, before electricity powered public address systems, he preached to over 100 million people; Moody ...
Quirk of the Week: The Gs stand alone
Initial reaction is that these genius fonts are a G force Ah … Gs. Lotta G-eography in this week’s atlas of Quirk. Places such as Geraldi’s, Grieving Ink and George Fox. In McMinnville, ...
Jeb Bladine: Strong words indict short session Legislature
This week a respected, nonpartisan political observer called the Oregon Legislature a “corrupt organization,” with specific reference to the Democratic leadership. If intended to mean unethical, ...
Kirby Neumann-Rea: An insider's guide to plying Wine Country's back roads
Avidity first.
Such a sentiment is never wrong. However, in this case, Avidity is a winery just east of Newberg.
Michael Klein: War injects uncertainty into a weakening U.S. economy
The “fog of war” refers to confusion and uncertainty on the battlefield and the attendant possibility of fatal error. This principle has a parallel when it comes to the economic consequences of wars, especially when they explode in a region accounting for one-fifth of the world’s oil and one-third of its natural gas.
Jonah Goldberg: Trump on a short leash with an unpopular war
Let’s state the obvious: We’re at war with Iran.
My evidence? Turn on your TV. U.S. forces, working with Israel, killed the supreme leader of Iran and many of his top aides.
Investigating the Bible: Walking in the light
A little boy lost his tooth and had put it under his pillow. In the morning, his mother asked, “Did you see the good fairy when it took your tooth?” The child replied, “No, but I heard ...
Jeb Bladine: Huge cost of unfunded mandates falls to taxpayers
It’s annual budget time for state and local governments, and the numbers are staggering. There isn’t enough money for government to do what it wants, but the costs are beyond what taxpayers ...
Quirk of the Week: Punching out the center hole for some serious spin
As we March Fourth toward spring, Quirk of the Week yields one more “indoor delights” accounting, starting with several short takes before spinning our main feature: • Shoe rack sign ...
Rusty Rae: Saving Oregon newspapers one community at a time
You might be wondering what all the hubbub is here locally over the News-Register’s Community Partners program, and programs like it now springing up around the state.
Jonah Goldberg: One man's war has us all on blowback watch
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 ...
Mel Gurtov: A board like no other
Donald Trump has turned the presidency into a vanity project, campaigning for the Nobel Peace Prize, pimping for cybercurrency and putting his name and image all over Washington, most recently on a banner atop the Department of Justice. He’s every bit the rival of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin when it comes to a cult of personality.
Rufus Friday: Don' turn Stars and Stripes into mere message platform
Some news organizations have developed a set of values to guide their reporting journalistic values.
Most are just written down somewhere. Very few inscribe them on their walls.
Investigating the Bible: Fighting evil
These days, evil can be non-partisan. On one side of the political aisle, people say President Trump should be imprisoned for the things he has done or allegedly done. On the other side, some say New York ...
Mike Burr: Jackson was a man of faith who believed faith demanded action
I was saddened to learn of the death of Jesse Jackson at the age of 84.
I met Jesse 55 years ago. I was sent to Chicago by the Northern California Council of Churches to attend a training presented by the Urban Institute.
Jeb Bladine: Humiliating insults a staple of Trump presidency
This week’s State of the Union address by President Donald Trump was one for the ages. At 108 minutes, it was the longest in recent history. The speech featured typical Trump showmanship; promoted ...
