Peter Madsen

Bendites, we’ve got our outdoor sports dialed. The means by which we sweat and socialize is so often wrapped up in our identity, we might as well introduce ourselves not by what we do for money but what we do to stay happy, healthy and outside. But what happens when those roles feel limiting? I […]

We’re a quarter-way into the 21st Century and 2025 may have been the gnarliest year yet. Here in Central Oregon, our reporting reflected that whiplash, with reports on local houselessness, Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps and potential deregulation of the “American Dream.” Yet, along the way, we had some fun — gallows humor? — with investigations and first-person narratives about those dang fun Veo e-bikes and sketchy “magic […]

After the dramatic departure last September of Andrés Portela III, the City of Bend’s equity and inclusion director, City officials vowed to hire a third-party consultant to investigate the allegations Portela listed in his Sept. 12 resignation letter. The allegations include a racially hostile environment inside City Hall, mismanagement of racial incidents by City Manager Eric King and a DEI department stripped of staff and organization.  The results of that report, prepared by Amy Ahrendt, owner of Attorney-Conducted Workplace Investigations, suggest that the allegations of […]

It’s a new dawn in the Deschutes National Forest. After months of analysis and public comment, the Forest Service finalized its approval of Class 1 e-bikes along approximately 160 miles of system trails and paved paths throughout Phil’s Trail Complex, Peterson Ridge Trail, Wanoga and Sunriver locations. These soft-surface or paved trails, of which there […]

Shopping here is as guilt-free as can be.  Grace & Goods, a soon-to-open thrift boutique in Redmond, will offer shoppers an experience that goes beyond that of a typical thrift store. Folks can peruse its racks during the shop’s grand opening on Dec. 10.  The thrift boutique sits in a 350-square-foot building on NW Sixth […]

A former Summit High School valedictorian and Storm soccer player is $100,000 richer, thanks to his field goal-kicking chops.  Otto Haar, who graduated from Summit in 2023 and is currently a junior at the University of Oregon, attended ESPN’s campus-hopping “College GameDay” broadcast at the Memorial Quad in Eugene on Nov. 22. As part of […]

The Oregon Department of Public Transportation has launched an online open house to offer the public the latest updates — and to solicit feedback — on the long-anticipated Hawthorne Crossing that will connect east and west Bend above Highway 97 and the railroad tracks.  The online open house, which debuted on Nov. 19 and is […]

For better or for worse, shoulder season offers respite from the influxes of summer and winter tourists. Fewer vacation dollars might wisp in the wind, but downtown parking is a relative breeze.  Still, though, the shuttering of legacy establishments of 900 Wall, and the sale listing of The Lemon Tree, indicate that merchants in downtown […]