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Peter Madsen

Peter is a feature & investigative reporter supported by the Lay It Out Foundation. His work regularly appears in the Source. Peter's writing has appeared in Vice, Thrasher and The New York Times. Recently, Peter worked on the Canadian Screen Award-winning film “It’s Not Funny Anymore: From Vice Magazine to Proud Boys." He's also the author of Dealers, published by powerHouse Books.

peter@layitoutfoundation.org
Posted inNews

A New Bronze Plaque Will Honor the Life of Barry Washington, Jr.

The memorial for a man killed in 2021 will be permanently installed in downtown Bend
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A bronze memorial plaque for Barry Washington Jr., a man shot and killed in downtown Bend, will be unveiled in late September or early October. Washington was 22 when he was killed at the corner of NW Wall Street and NW Oregon Avenue, on Sept. 19, 2021. Hundreds of people attended a vigil to honor […]

Posted inLocal News

Trouble on the Road

Shortly after Memorial Day, a driver allegedly assaulted a road cyclist, and a rising star of racing, on Bend’s west side. The cyclist was a teen boy.
Avatar photo by Peter Madsen

By all indications, the threat of any potential attack should have long subsided.  On May 27, Jack Billowitz and a friend were cycling back into town from a group ride. The pair had just completed the Tuesday Night Hammer Fest, an unorganized bicycle ride which traces the Twin Bridges Scenic Bikeway. On the weekly ride, […]

Posted inNews

Central Oregon Wildfire Recap

The Flat Fire, northeast of Sisters, is 97% contained; the Marks Creek Fire, near Prineville, has 0% containment
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Until recently this year, Central Oregon had experienced a relatively mild wildfire season. That changed on Aug. 21 when the Flat Fire, of still-unknown causes, originated on private land in Jefferson County. Burning with zero-containment for about four days, the Flat Fire eventually destroyed five residences and 11 structures, burning within 2 miles of Sisters. […]

Posted inOutside

Mt. Bachelor’s Red Line Rally

The downhill mountain bike competition, Central Oregon’s biggest, showcases the best pros and up-and-comers on Aug. 30
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For any mountain biker who feels a little big in their bibs after flawlessly sending Lower Whoops in Phil’s Trail Complex, Mt. Bachelor’s Red Line Rally offers the chance to recalibrate one’s self-image — while gawking in awe of elite riders across age and gender. The Red Line Rally, which is an invite-only downhill mountain […]

Posted inCulture Features

Veo: a (Near) Crash Course in Responsible E-Bike Ridesharing

A new rideshare program dropped 227 class-2 e-bikes across Bend. In Veo’s debut month, 3,700 local riders have ridden 35,000 cumulative miles. We were among them.
Avatar photo by Peter Madsen

For a period in July, my relationship with two wheels turned upside down.  There, parked in the grass outside the Source office, I spied a new Cosmo-e, one of 227 e-bikes distributed by Veo throughout Bend’s streets since July 10. I was aware that Veo, a micromobility rideshare company, had contracted with the City of […]

Posted inNews

Tragedy at Lake Billy Chinook

A Prineville man succumbed to a cardiac event while swimming to save friend in drifting boat on Aug. 18
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A fishing trip on Lake Billy Chinook turned tragic Aug. 18, when a man experienced a cardiac event as he swam to retrieve his friend from their fishing boat as it drifted away into the lake. Vaughn Alan Waugaman and a friend had spent the evening fishing on a small aluminum boat in Lake Billy […]

Posted inGoods and Services

Best Tattoo Artist

Chase Tafoya
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Chase Tafoya lived all over California before making Bend his home in 2012. He’d visited his parents, who’d just moved here, loved it and relocated three weeks later. “Bend is such an artist town,” Tafoya says. “From the arts and entertainment, the entrepreneurial spirit, to the recreational sports; the people who live here are all […]

Posted inBest of People

Best Influencer/Best Indoor Plant Store

Fertile Liza/Somewhere That’s Green
Avatar photo by Peter Madsen

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Or, in this case, many, many crowns, as John Kish has now won six consecutive Best Indoor Plant Store awards for Somewhere That’s Green. (The shop is also the venue space for The Greenhouse Cabaret, which hosts theatric performances.) Additionally, this year, Kish has earned another accolade […]

Posted inArts & Culture

Bend Comedy Festival

Twenty-six comedians, from Bend and afar, round out a packed weekend
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Twenty-six comics in three days. That’s a lotta laughs. Spanning about eight venues during the Aug. 29-31 weekend, the Bend Comedy Festival is the brainchild of local comedian Skylar King, who flexed her organizational chops last year by putting on four comedy nights in Bend. By scaling to the festival format, King, 26, felt ready […]

Posted inDrink

Best Bloody Mary

Avatar photo by Peter Madsen

John Nolan loves to entertain. That much was clear when the Victorian Café owner/executive chef, took part in our photo shoot for Best Bloody Mary — an award that Nolan’s brunch destination has won, what, nearly 20 times in a row? Chatting with Source reporters, Nolan insisted that no conversation about Bloody Marys was appropriate […]

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