OPB’s First Look: Recruiting a grocery store

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Good morning, Northwest.

The city of Culver in Central Oregon is growing by a lot of measures — population, household income, amenities.

Now, residents are clamoring for a grocery store. Jen Baires reports for OPB on the city’s search for a supermarket to lead off today’s newsletter.

In other news, rain is on the way for Oregon and Southwest Washington. We have the latest forecast.

Here’s your First Look at Wednesday’s news.

— Bradley W. Parks

Top story

In a Central Oregon food desert, one town is on the hunt for a grocery store

Debbie Taylor is the executive director of the Madras-Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. She’s also a mom to three teenagers and lives in Culver — a small town about 10 miles southwest of her office in Madras.

She loves her community, but there are challenges. The nearest markets with fresh produce, dairy and meat are at least a 15-minute drive one way.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture considers Culver a food desert, one of many in Oregon.

Culver’s population has more than doubled in the last 20 years, as has tourism to the Cove Palisades park nearby. With that growth comes the need for more services nearby. At the top of the list: a place to buy fresh food. (Jen Baires)

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3 things to know

• A cold front moving in from Alaska is affecting all of Oregon and Southwest Washington. Rainfall will bring relief to fire-ravaged areas, while the National Weather Service has issued a frost advisory for parts of Southern Oregon. (Jireh Deng)
• A clarinet player whose arrest at a Portland ICE protest was caught on national television last October was sentenced to time served and a year of supervised release yesterday. (Troy Brynelson)
• Bend and Central Oregon are expected to be the top Labor Day weekend travel destinations in the state, according to the travel group AAA, even with rising travel costs and gas prices for the holiday weekend. (Kathryn Styer Martínez)

Northwest headlines

• Amid postal service uncertainty, Oregon election officials turn to ballot drop boxes (Dirk VanderHart)
• Oregon’s 2026 wildfire season brings record costs (OPB staff)
• Corvallis city employee union authorizes potential strike (Macy Moore, KLCC)
• Oregon universities brace for international enrollment drop following visa delays, Trump policies (Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Volunteers help search for missing Indigenous women
• Portlander explains mobile dwelling units, their rise in popularity
• Oregon State University study finds elevated lead levels near regional airports

One more look

Portland Indigenous Marketplace seeks funds for renovations to new permanent home

Lluvia Merello began making and selling jewelry in 2017 as Indigenous Come Up. It didn’t take long for her to realize there was a need for culturally centered marketplaces.

A year later, she founded the Portland Indigenous Marketplace, hosting dozens of events at various locations.

Now, thanks to an anonymous donor, the nonprofit organization soon begins work on a permanent home on Southeast Sandy Boulevard. The first step is building a new roof, but with more fundraising the aim is to build an indoor area and outdoor plaza for makers and events.

Says Merello, who is Quechua and Andean/Inca, ”We’re going to transform this empty, abandoned lot into a beautiful cultural center, vibrant with Indigenous art from all over the world all year round.” (Nika Bartoo-Smith, Underscore Native News/ICT)

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