Willamette Wake Up

Pull Up a Chair, talks with Jerry Schierling, retired educator in the Salem Keizer School district, about book he wrote called "Bindle Stiffs".  A bindle stiff was a term from the late 19th century to describe someone who traveled the country carrying their belongings in a bundle or pack.

Jane Titchenal is the newest member of the KMUZ Willamette Wake Up team.  Find out how she got interested in local politics, what she hopes to accomplish with her segment, and why she named it "Girlypop Politics."

Oregon is one of the nation’s top destinations for data centers, attracted by the state’s cheap power and favorable climate. Despite the state being an ideal location for data centers, Oregon and communities like Hillsboro in Washington County have been doling out massive tax subsidies to the corporate owners of data centers. That has been a very foolish thing to do, says Dirk Knudsen, a real estate broker and editor of the Hillsboro Herald. Dirk has followed closely the rise of data centers in Hillsboro. In this episode of Policy for the People, Dirk shares what he’s learned about the data center boom.

Jimmy Jones and Ashley Hamilton, Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, talk about shifting the narrative on homelessness, coordination with other agencies to offer more than one path into shelter & housing, and what gives them hope to make "homelessness" a brief rather than long term experience. 

Girlypop Politics talks with Salem Keizer Schools' Superintendent Andrea Castañeda about what's behind proposed cuts in the district's Fiscal Year 26-27 budget; and, how & why the district plans to prioritize early childhood education in spite of budget challenges.

Women leaving incarceration face different challenges than men.  Find out how CREW - Connecting Resources to Empower Women - helps them re-enter the community safely and with more success.  Taryn VanderPyl, CREW director and Kyle Black, who was formerly incarcerated at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, tell us how the program works.

Willamette Block Party engages with Julie-Ray Joy, Movement Building Director for Partnership for Safety & Justice. They explore the complexities of the criminal justice system in Oregon, highlighting the significant financial and social costs of incarceration versus community-based solutions. 

Keeping Oregon Oregon Examines Senate Bill 1586 (2026) which, if passed, would rezone 1700 acres of prime farmland in Washington County Oregon. Nellie McAdams, 1000 Friends of Oregon and Araon Nichols of Stoneboat Farm discuss the impact for agriculture if the land was used for high technology manufacturing purposes as allowed for in the bill.  (Note: this bill will not move forward this session.)

February 27th hundreds of high school students in the Salem-Keizer School District walked out of the classroom and marched to the State Capitol to demonstrate against federal immigration enforcement. This report shares comments from a few students who talked about how federal immigration enforcement is affecting them and their families and what they want from policy makers.

March 1st the U.S. & Israel attacked Iran, killing the country's Supreme Leader. History professor Bill Smaldone talks with host Ken Adams about the implications and unanswered questions about what this means for democracy in the U.S. and international relations overall.