Clayton Franke

A game-winning slapshot sends a sold-out crowd into a frenzy. A dramatic performance captures an audience at the theater. A band’s rocking encore leaves fans wanting more.   Building new indoor venues to facilitate these types of events has been on the minds of visionaries in Bend for years, especially as the City’s growth has exploded. Now, a new effort exploring a multi-use indoor venue has public backing from the City and its tourism agency, Visit […]

After clearing a major funding milestone last year, Central Oregon’s first residential treatment facility for youth in acute mental health crisis is moving ahead with a new anticipated opening date of summer 2027.   Local health providers and advocates say the 15-bed child psychiatric facility planned for Redmond will be a lifeline for Central Oregon youth with acute mental health issues. That’s because they’ll no longer have to wait days or weeks […]

In its quest to add affordable housing, the City of Bend has made a habit of waiving costs like infrastructure fees or property taxes that might make development more expensive.   Yet when it comes to the City’s impending fee on new homes powered by natural gas, builders of lower-cost homes won’t be off the hook.   The Bend City Council made that decision on Wednesday following a lobbying effort that split developers […]

Bend is in the process of compiling five years of traffic crash data to help inform future safety plans and wants the public to help point out problem areas.   The City of Bend launched a new survey and an interactive comment map for people to say which areas they think need safety improvements and share challenges of traveling around Bend. More than 800 people have already […]

In March, Deschutes County and the City of Redmond completed construction on a 36-site campground for people transitioning out of homelessness, complete with new gravel roads, water and power infrastructure and a black slatted chain link fence.   More than a month later, the campground remains empty, a padlock and chain latching the gate shut.   Meanwhile, hundreds of […]

Elected leaders in central and southern Oregon are asking the legislature to help pay for tens of millions of dollars in safety improvements along U.S. Highway 97, one of the state’s most dangerous roads. But major uncertainties circling the future of state transportation funding are clouding the effort.   County commissioners from three counties — Jefferson, Deschutes and […]

Parents who expressed a growing concern over the use of iPads and Artificial Intelligence in Bend-La Pine Schools classrooms are celebrating a new policy creating sweeping checks on technology that was just passed.   In an April 14 resolution, the Bend-La Pine Schools Board of Directors addressed educational technology, or “ed tech.” The resolution directs the district to review the use of all technology, websites and apps, create […]

People who use Wilson Avenue for cross-town travel will soon have to find a new route.   The City of Bend announced Tuesday that an estimated three-month closure of the Wilson Avenue railroad crossing near 9th Street will begin April 27 to replace track and signal equipment. It’s the final phase of work on the Wilson Avenue corridor, where the City has piloted new protected designs for roundabouts and intersections.   The Burlington Northern […]

Rick Martinson can summon the Latin name for almost any High Desert plant on a whim.   Ask for the common name, and it may take him a few seconds to conjure up.   That’s because, in the world of native plants, common names are far less important.   Take genus Arcostaphylos, commonly known as manzanita. It’s the mid-sized tree or shrub with smooth, deep-red bark, brooked branches and […]

For patients in north Central Oregon, a new Redmond cancer center is making care closer to home.   The St. Charles Health System this week is opening a new $65 million, two-story, 53,000-square-foot cancer center in Redmond, offering nine times the space of its current facility. The new cancer center will offer radiation, chemotherapy, surgery and other services, matching the capabilities of St. Charles’ cancer center in Bend 17 miles to the south.   It’s a big step for […]