This week on the KLCC Conundrum, Oregon's most puzzling quiz, it's an add a letter round; each clue will require two answers, both using the same letters with the exception of one letter that changes.
For example, the fruit of an oak tree, and a strong feeling of disdain would be "acorn," and "scorn." Can John from Eugene puzzle his way through?
Play along with KLCC's Conundrum creator Forest Walker-Davis and KLCC's Jason Brown at KLCC.org/Conundrum.
That's also where you can sign up to play on the air with us, becuase afterall, we can't play a good game without good players!
PeaceHealth announced Thursday that Dr. James McGovern has been relieved of his duties and is no longer serving as chief executive for the Oregon region, effective immediately.
A spokesperson with the hospital system confirmed McGovern "no longer works for PeaceHealth."
The sacking comes five weeks after McGovern was placed on administrative leave for attempting to influence patient care, without an Oregon medical license. McGovern was also at the forefront of the failed effort to transition PeaceHealth Oregon’s emergency department staffing from a local physician’s group to an out-of-state management corporation.
PeaceHealth president and CEO Sarah Ness wrote in a statement that “a leadership change was in the best interest of the organization.”
Heather Wall will continue in her interim executive role while PeaceHealth moves forward with recruitment for the chief executive position in Oregon.
It's the latest in a tumultuous year for the health care organization that operates three Lane County hospitals.
Find a timeline of key events in the full article at KLCC.org.
Find this article and more listener-supported news at KLCC.org.
🖊 : Tiffany Ekert, KLCC News
📸 : Love Cross, KLCC News
Jeff Nelson has been with Springfield Utility Board for three decades, serving as its General Manager since 2012.
He was there two years ago when a devastating ice storm hit the region, leaving many without power.
Nelson now plans to retire at the end of June. He spoke to KLCC's Nathan Wilk about career and experience.
Hear their conversation at KLCC.org.
🖊🎙📸 : Nathan Wilk, KLCC News
An airport that supports firefighting efforts in the Oregon Cascades will be closed during June and July. But state officials say it will re-open before the peak of the wildfire season.
The Oakridge State Airport is a public facility located west of city limits. It sees around 1,800 general aviation flights each year, according to the Oregon Department of Aviation.
The airport is now scheduled for a $2.6 million reconstruction project, supported by state funding, including from Connect Oregon.
The plan is to rebuild the runway and taxiway, including new pavement, shoulder grading and windcones.
Tony Beach, Oregon’s State Airports Manager, said the upgrades are needed to handle future firefighting operations. He said the facility wasn’t originally built to withstand heavy equipment and Type 1 helicopters.
“It's taken excessive wear and a toll on the runway pavement to the point that in recent years, we've had to keep the runway closed after firefighting activity to conduct repairs,” said Beach. “And it's just been getting worse and worse.”
Oregon officials are bracing for a potentially severe wildfire season. This winter was the warmest in the state in recorded history.
Beach said construction is starting in June because the work requires good weather conditions.
He said if a fire breaks out while construction is underway, there are other sites that could support wildfire operations, including the Crescent Lake and Cottage Grove State Airports.
In an email to KLCC Thursday, Oakridge Mayor Bryan Cutchen said the city strongly supported the project, calling the airport “an important safety asset.”
“It provides a critical staging point for rotary-wing firefighting aircraft and serves as an access point for air ambulance operations,” said Cutchen. “The runway was nearing the end of its useful service life, so this reconstruction is an important investment in maintaining that capability for the future.”
Find this article and more listener-supported news at KLCC.org.
🖊🎙 : Nathan Wilk, KLCC News
📸 : Oregon Department of Aviation
PeaceHealth announced Thursday that Dr. Jim McGovern is no longer serving as chief executive for the Oregon region, effective immediately.
McGovern has been relieved of his duties as top executive and a spokesperson with the hospital system confirmed McGovern no longer works for PeaceHealth.
The sacking comes five weeks after McGovern was placed on administrative leave for attempting to influence patient care, without an Oregon medical license. On March 19, more than 300 pages of documentation were delivered to the PeaceHealth System Board of Directors by the RiverBend Medical Executive Committee. In the communications, dated from 2022 through 2025, McGovern allegedly exceeded his administrative authority and sought to influence clinical decision‑making.
The Medical Executive Committee issued a formal reprimand to McGovern for what it described as “actions that endangered patient safety” and indicated it intended to file a report with the Oregon Medical Board regarding his conduct.
McGovern has also been at the forefront of the failed effort to transition PeaceHealth Oregon’s emergency department staffing from a local physician’s group to an out-of-state management corporation.
PeaceHealth president and CEO Sarah Ness wrote in a statement that “a leadership change was in the best interest of the organization.”
Heather Wall will continue in her interim executive role while PeaceHealth moves forward with recruitment for the chief executive position in Oregon.
Find this article and more listener-supported news at KLCC.org.
🖊🎙📸 : Tiffany Eckert, KLCC News
Eugene’s Independent Police Auditor Craig Renetzky said his office received 412 complaints last year.
That was more than any other year in the office’s history, and a jump of more than 90 complaints from 2024, according to a new annual report.
Speaking at a Eugene City Council meeting Wednesday, Renetzky said current events and rising awareness of his office may have contributed to the increase.
“It's easy to say, ‘oh, the police are misbehaving more,''' he said. "I don't know that that necessarily correlates. That's very difficult to quantify at this point.”
Renetzky told City Council Wednesday that common community concerns included slow patrol responses, Flock cameras, and federal immigration enforcement.
He said in 2025, he did not see any cases where Eugene Police "were clearly crossing the line" in cooperating with ICE on immigration enforcement, which is against state law.
"Probably a good chunk of the complaints that we got related to the federal immigration was actions on behalf of federal law enforcement or federal authorities," said Renetzky, "and we have absolutely no control."
The report said Eugene Police used deadly force one time last year. In November, the department shot and injured a man they said was armed with a shotgun.
Meanwhile, the auditor recorded one fewer vehicle pursuit than in 2024, continuing the drop in use of the practice that started last year.
The complaints submitted to the police auditor resulted in one resignation and one termination of an employee.
According to Renetzky, multiple accounts of an incident are sometimes combined into a single complaint.
Find this article and more listener-supported news at KLCC.org.
On a recent evening, the performance space in the back of Eugene’s Tsunami Books was full of people singing along to the Beatles.
It’s standing room only for the Beatles sing-along.
It’s a project by Paul Safar, a Eugene musician, composer and teacher.
At the beginning of the evening, he’s dressed in a blue British-style military jacket like the one Paul McCartney wears on the cover of the Beatles’ iconic Sgt. Pepper’s album.
He said the sing-along stemmed out of a pandemic project.
“Like many musicians, I did sort of regular, piano recitals, concerts, live-streamed from my piano studio,” Safar said. “In which I would play classical music, and I’d play some original piano pieces and I’d maybe have a theme of something or other.”
He said the streamed concerts evolved to include a sing-along portion– often to a Beatles song. It felt like a way to connect. And now, the in-person sing-alongs serve a similar purpose and feed a need for community.
“The whole feeling of singing together in one voice is absolutely special and lovely, whether it’s a formal choir or informal like this,” he said. “And I think especially since the pandemic we’ve been craving togetherness and live music.”
And then, there’s the Beatles…Safar said it’s a large catalog of music that many generations seem to know and love.
“They’re poetic. They’re fun. They’re peace-loving, many of them. Beautiful lyrics,” he said. “And it’s fun to see the different generations get attracted to the music.”
On stage Safar sings and plays piano and guitar. He was joined by cellist Sophie Phillips-Meadow and Sandy Holder on vocals, accordion, and guitar.
The Beatles Sing-along usually happens once a year on the first Thursday in January.
This one is timed to be part of the Eugene Concert Choir’s Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio concert this month.
More details in the full article at KLCC.org.
🖊🎙📸 : Rachael McDonald, KLCC News
Georgia-based Augusta Sportswear will shut down its Coburg facility July 17, laying off most of its 83 employees.
A WARN notice from the company said a limited number of employees will be offered transfers, and the closing date is subject to change.
None of the affected employees are represented by a union.
The website of parent company, Momentec Brands, says its Pacific Headwear custom-embroidered hat line is produced in the facility, and most of the employees have position titles related to embroidery work.
It also shows that the other facility where Pacific Headwear products are made is in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
A Momentec Brands spokesperson declined to answer questions sent by KLCC, saying, “We are focused solely on employee communication at this point.”
Find this article and more listener-supported news at KLCC.org.
🖊🎙 : Zac Ziegler, KLCC News
📸 : Photo illustration by Tiffany Eckert, KLCC News
Environmental groups are seeking a temporary restraining order to protect an old-growth forest 37 miles southwest of Eugene that they say is being cut down illegally.
The plaintiffs on the lawsuit are Eugene’s Cascadia Wildlands and Portland-based Crag Law Center and Oregon Wild.
The suit claims that, during two recent visits to an area west of Yoncalla, volunteers from Cascadia Wildlands found multiple trees estimated to be more than 170 years old and more than 40 inches in diameter had been cut down.
Timber harvesting in the area, which the U.S. Bureau of Land Management dubbed the “Blue and Gold Project,” is supposed to be on hold as another lawsuit plays out.
That suit claims that BLM officials wrongly put the land up for timber auction because it contained old-growth forest that should be protected by the agency’s rules.
"I think BLM is the party that’s speaking out of both sides of its mouth,” said Cascadia Wildlands Legal Director Nick Cady. “On one hand, it’s selling people this timber. On the other hand, it’s promising the court that it won’t be logged. And so I think a series of misrepresentations are finally catching up with the agency."
BLM did not return a request for comment from KLCC.
The suit seeking the restraining order also claims that the area has been dubbed seasonal habitat for the spotted owl, which is currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
“We were under the impression that logging wouldn’t be allowed,” said Cady. “There’s usually seasonal restrictions in such areas until July-ish, and so we were caught very off-guard by the logging. We have ongoing concerns with that aspect of the project as well and we’re currently flagging those to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to see if there’s ongoing take of northern spotted owls.”
The suit’s other defendant, the American Forest Resource Council, told KLCC it does not represent the company that holds the timber rights to the area where trees were allegedly cut.
Find this article and more listener-supported news at KLCC.org.
🖊🎙 : Zac Ziegler, KLCC News
📸 : David Herasimtschuk, Cascadia Wildlands
Michael Dunne spoke to KLCC's Brian Bull about the ongoing story of an EPD officer caught using racist language on tape.
Dunne also spoke to U of O Superstar Kayvon Thibodeaux on his efforts to help college football players better understand the use of NIL.
Hear the full conversation on Oregon On The Record at KLCC.org, or find this episode in your podcast feed.
When Benton County Rodeo Committee Chairman Nicole Schrock pitched an all-girls rodeo, she wasn’t sure what the reaction would be.
She had recently competed in an all-girls rodeo in Yamhill and saw the community it created for female competitors. Taking inspiration from that event, she wanted to create an annual opportunity for female rodeo competitors to take center stage.
“For me, this was an opportunity to build a pipeline of women who had the opportunity to compete on an even playing field, and build that confidence,” said Schrock.
Schrock first launched the Larry Bell Memorial All Girls Rodeo at the Benton County Fair, and after its success she launched this event, the Spring Stampede.
“Ours is the only one of its kind, so we're the only two all-women's rodeos in the state of Oregon,” said Schrock.
Schrock said the response from the community, including competitors, event sponsors, and fans has been overwhelmingly positive.
“The all-girls rodeo has become a shining spark for our rodeo committee, and it's really been a rising star for us that's helped engage our community in a way that we just dreamed could happen,” said Schrock.
The 4th annual Spring Stampede is this Saturday, May 16, at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis. Spectators will see a variety of rodeo events including barrel racing, rough stock, and team roping.
Find this article and more listener-supported news at KLCC.org.
🖊🎙 : Macy Moore, KLCC News
📸 : Ladd Hulapa, Courtesy of Benton County Rodeo Committee
With one week remaining until the May 19 primary, Lane County voters are returning their ballots at almost exactly the same rate as the state's voters as a whole.
As of Tuesday, the Lane County turnout rate was 11.36%, according to the Oregon Secretary of State's office. That compares to an 11.5% return rate statewide.
Lane County voters have a variety of races on their ballots, depending on where they live. While Oregon's primaries are "closed," all registered voters have the chance to weigh in on nonpartisan races and ballot measures, including the Watersheds Bill of Rights initiative.
As of Tuesday, the Oregon county with the highest turnout rate was Wallowa County, with a 21.88% return rate. Multnomah County had the lowest return rate at 8.51%.
Elections officials say if you’re planning to return your ballot via the mail, the time to do so is now.
That’s because the Postal Service no longer guarantees same-day postmarks. A ballot must be postmarked by Election Day in order to be counted.
Drop-boxes remain an option to return your ballot until 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Find this article and more listener-supported news at KLCC.org.
🖊📸 : Chris Lehman, KLCC News
