A debate about a candidate for an open seat on the Seaside City Council has continued to rage online after leaders were split on who to appoint last week. Brandon Kraft, a regional manager for a hotel management company, is one of two candidates vying for a temporary appointment to the Ward 4 seat. That…
Local News
UPDATED 1/17/26: Since publication of this story, R.J. Marx has provided KMUN with a transcript of his interview with Brandon Kraft. Aspects of the Q&A-style interview Marx published on Substack were altered for publication — Marx appears to have consolidated some back and forth leading up to a question about a statement of support by…
A declaration of a local state of emergency in Manzanita will continue through early February because of a slope on city-owned property that was destabilized by erosion and wet conditions in mid-December. The Manzanita City Council has opted to continue the declaration through Feb.4 out of an abundance of caution. Mitigation work has been done…
At the end of a vigil in Astoria on Saturday held in part to remember people who died while being detained by federal immigration officers or while in their custody, someone accidentally knocked over a glass candle holder that had been placed at the center of the event space. It shattered loudly. “That actually feels…
Police have arrested a man in connection with an explosive device discovered at a public restroom on Oregon’s North Coast last September. Oregon State Police arrested James Mason Liggett, 52, of St. Helens in Grants Pass on Sunday. Liggett was wanted on charges of attempted murder, attempted assault in the first and second degree, first…
Two candidates are vying for an open seat on the Seaside City Council. City Councilor David Posalski resigned in November because he was moving outside of city limits and would no longer be eligible to serve on the council representing Ward 4. His resignation was effective Dec.20. At a candidates forum Wednesday night, Padraic Ansbro…
Crews are working to restore power across Oregon’s North Coast and Southwest Washington following a windstorm late Tuesday night and early Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning for the coast on Tuesday. That warning expired earlier Tuesday morning. In Clatsop County, Ore., power has been restored in parts of Astoria…
Federal immigration officers detained at least one person in Seaside and two people in downtown Astoria Friday morning. In Astoria, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers chased one man down 15th Street. Employees at Blue Scorcher Bakery on the corner of 15th and Duane Street witnessed his arrest. Videos and photos of the incident show officers…
Not too long ago, Mac McGoldrick, the director of Tongue Point Job Corps Center in Astoria, was figuring out where around 20 students and more than a dozen staff were going to live if the center closed. The center faced the threat of an immediate shutdown in May after the Trump administration abruptly announced it…
At least one person was detained by federal immigration officers in Warrenton Wednesday morning. No information has been released about the person or why they were detained. Officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested the person at the Home Depot in Warrenton. This comes after two other people in Clatsop County were detained on…
After six people were detained by federal immigration officers in Seaside on Oregon’s North Coast in early November, some city officials jumped to respond, looking to craft resolutions decrying what they saw as secretive and aggressive tactics. Others held back. A number of resolutions and statements ended up being released, finalized or passed just ahead…
Federal immigration officers detained two people outside of Walmart in Warrenton late Monday morning. The arrests come just weeks after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained at least six people in the Seaside area. Norma Hernandez with Consejo Hispano, an Astoria-based nonprofit that provides a variety of resources to the Latine community, said the people…
The eastern side of Astoria has a new representative. On Monday, the Astoria City Council unanimously appointed Joshua Conklin to take over the Ward 4 seat, which became vacant on Nov.1 following the resignation of former City Councilor Vance Lump. Lump announced in early October that he was resigning because he had to move from…
A low-barrier shelter in downtown Astoria is pushing back at how Clatsop County distributed state money meant to fund beds for unhoused people. LiFEBoat operates the lowest barrier shelter in Clatsop County. Guests can’t use drugs or alcohol while inside the 22-bed shelter, but LiFEBoat does not require them to commit to sobriety and does…
With the sudden closure of Rogue Ales and Spirits last week, workforce development groups, community partners and the state have activated a rapid response system to support affected workers. Rogue closed pubs and shut down operations in Newport, Astoria, Salem and Portland. According to the state, around 60 employees total have been impacted. Rogue has…
Law enforcement agencies on Oregon’s North Coast are changing their approach after federal immigration enforcement officers detained at least 6 people in Seaside earlier this month. Before, Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly said the stance adopted by police departments and the sheriff’s office in Clatsop County was that if officers saw ICE, they should go…
Last week, city officials in Newport told the community they had reason to believe the federal government hoped to site an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility at the Newport airport. The future of that facility is now in question after the defense contractor behind it withdrew a letter of intent. While Oregon Coast communities…
Oregon brewery Rogue Ales and Spirits abruptly ceased operations at all of its facilities Friday morning. Employees learned about the closure that same morning. The company operates pubs in Astoria, Newport, Portland and Salem. In Newport, Rogue maintained a large production brewery on land it leased from the Port of Newport. The Lincoln Chronicle reported…
At least six people were detained by federal immigration enforcement officers in Clatsop County over the weekend. One of those people has since been allowed to return home, but community members say they do not know the whereabouts of the other five people. It is the first major raid on Oregon’s North Coast since the…
At least five people have been detained by federal immigration enforcement officers in Seaside as of early Saturday afternoon. According to people familiar with the situation, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were reportedly running people’s license plates then pulling them over and taking them into custody. The stops started around 8 a.m. Saturday…
Judy Mattson was late because of peanut butter. In her defense, it was on sale at Fred Meyer and she was able to layer her senior discount on top of the sale price. Then there was cereal on a top shelf in the clearance aisle that she had to grab. “Everything I want is either…
Two people have officially applied to represent the eastern side of Astoria on the Astoria City Council. Joshua Conklin, who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2020, and retired Costco executive Mike Brosius are both looking to land the Ward 4 seat previously occupied by Vance Lump. Lump was elected in 2024. He campaigned on…
Incumbents faltered in key elections in Pacific County, Wash., Tuesday night. Preliminary unofficial results for the mayoral race in the small city of Ilwaco show 24-year-old challenger Eddie Hillard with more than 70 percent of the vote, well ahead of incumbent Mike Cassinelli, who was seeking a fourth term. Hillard is the owner and operator…
Thousands of people on Oregon’s North Coast are poised to lose access to food stamps beginning Nov.1 and local food banks say they won’t be able to fill the gap. The Trump administration has refused to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, during the ongoing government shutdown. If nothing changes, the program will…
Clatsop County has settled with two former employees from the district attorney’s office for more than $114,000 amid an ongoing investigation into workplace conduct issues. The county confirmed the settlements had happened, but declined to comment on them or on any aspects of the investigation. In the settlement documents, the county does not mention the…
ASTORIA, Ore. — Hundreds of people turned out for No Kings protests on Oregon’s North Coast, joining massive nationwide protests against the Trump administration and its policies on Saturday. In Astoria, an estimated 1,600 to 1,800 participants gathered along city blocks from 15th Street to 23rd Street, with clumps of protesters also near Safeway, on…
A new healthcare clinic in the small city of Wheeler increases capacity and services in northern Tillamook County at a time when local leaders expect to see a growing need for care under certain Trump administration policies. The Nehalem Bay Health Center & Pharmacy opened for patients this week. The new facility is nearly three…
A new program to help people in Astoria pay their utility bills is officially accepting applications. At a meeting this week, the Astoria City Council approved the six month pilot program which will be administered in partnership with Clatsop Community Action. Over the next six months, the city hopes to collect more information about who…
A wildfire in the Clatsop State Forest is still burning but partially contained as of Wednesday afternoon. The Knob Point fire began early Monday morning at a site about nine miles southeast of Knappa on private timberland. It has burned an estimated 100 acres. Ami Kreider, wildland fire supervisor with the Oregon Department of Forestry’s…
An Astoria city councilor who made housing his top priority says he will need to resign because he can’t afford to continue living in the district he represents. At a meeting on Monday, Vance Lump declined to reveal personal details about his situation but told the Astoria City Council he is in a situation where…