Think Out Loud

Since our last conversation with Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, President Trump has enacted tariffs and mass layoffs that could significantly impact Oregon’s federal workforce and economy. The Oregon Legislature has also begun its biennial session, taking up issues around education, transportation and housing. Kotek joins us in the studio to talk about all of that and more.

Oregon archaeologists have found evidence of human occupation in the state that dates back more than 18,000 years. University of Oregon students and faculty working at the Rimrock Draw Rockshelter in Harney County found stone tools and fragments of camel and bison teeth beneath a 15,000-year-old layer of volcanic ash. Radiocarbon dating of the tooth enamel revealed that the fragments were 18,250 years old. Due to their position in the ash, the tools are thought to be even older — making them some of the oldest evidence of human civilization in North America.Joining us with more details about the discovery is Pat O’Grady, a staff archaeologist at the University of Oregon Museum of Cultural and Natural History.

Three of Oregon’s college basketball teams are set to compete in this year’s NCAA Tournaments, including the Oregon State women’s team. After losing some of their best players to the transfer portal during the collapse of the Pac-12 conference, the Beavers came back to win their first conference championship since 2016. They’re now the 14th seed in the women’s bracket and will take on third-ranked North Carolina on Saturday.   The University of Oregon men’s team is making its second consecutive appearance this year. The fifth-ranked men’s team is set to take on 12th-seed Liberty University on Friday. The 10th-ranked Oregon women’s team will make its first March Madness appearance since 2022 when it takes on seventh-seed Vanderbilt on Friday.  KOIN 6 sports anchor and reporter Brenna Greene joins us to talk about all of those contests and more

Last week, two federal judges ordered thousands of federal workers who were on probationary status when they were fired to be rehired at 18 federal agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Education. The rulings came a day after the Department of Education announced massive staff cuts, part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce.  Democratic Oregon US Senator Jeff Merkley joins us to discuss the mass firings of federal workers, as well as the vote on the stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown and possible cuts to Medicaid House Republicans are considering that could directly impact care for 1.4 million Oregonians.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, requires museums, universities and other institutions that receive federal funding to return Native American ancestral remains and cultural items to their original tribes. Though the law passed nearly 35 years ago, many institutions have failed to fulfill its requirements.   Oregon State University recently opened a new facility designed to advance its NAGPRA obligations. The two buildings house a records room, a laboratory and a space to consult with tribal members as they move through the repatriation process. The new buildings are also better equipped than the old facility to store cultural items and remains of tribal ancestors awaiting return.   Dawn Marie Alapisco is the director of the NAGPRA Office within OSU’s Office of Institutional Diversity. She joins us to share more about the new facility and how institutions should be approaching their NAGPRA requirements. 

From jams and ice cream to syrups and lotions, huckleberries are a fruit that can be found in all sorts of Pacific Northwest commodities. But these berries are incredibly difficult to grow, preferring high elevations and acidic soil, making them hard to cultivate. The U.S. Forest Service issues permits to commercially pick these berries, selling more than 900 permits last season. For tribes in the Pacific Northwest, these berries are a culturally important food that they say has become scarce over the years with growing competition from pickers, which they argue infringe on treaty rights.Josephine Woolington is a freelance journalist and author based in Portland who reported on this issue for High Country News. Elaine Harvey is a Ḱamíłpa band member, one of the 14 tribes and bands that comprise the Yakama Nation, and was featured in the story. They both join us to share more on the commercialization of huckleberries.

Before John Kitzhaber became Oregon governor for the first time, he practiced emergency medicine as an ER doctor. He brought that knowledge of the health care system to bear in the late 80s and early 90s, with the enacting of the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program. In 2012, he oversaw the expansion of the program and the creation of Coordinated Care Organizations. Today, about 1.4 million Oregonians get their health care from OHP.  Kitzhaber says Oregon’s unique model delivers high quality but efficient care to more Oregonians - and that could be a national model as Congressional Republicans look to make federal spending cuts widely expected to affect Medicaid. The former governor is among those advising Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz, who told “Think Out Loud” Feb. 26 he wants to “make the system still deliver the type of benefits that people need, while at the same time doing it better and in a way that saves money.” Kitzhaber joins us to tell us more about his ideas for bipartisan solutions to prevent people from losing Medicaid coverage.

The rainy gloom of winter will soon give way to the sunshine and flowers of spring. That means hiking trails are sure to get busier in the Columbia Gorge, Willamette Falls and other popular destinations near Portland. But even experienced hikers can lose their way or get stranded as a mild, sunny day turns to a cold, damp night outdoors.  That’s where the Green Hornets can help keep a bad situation from getting much worse. They’re a search and rescue team within the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office who are experienced backcountry athletes and sheriff’s deputies who can mobilize within minutes to find lost or injured hikers. According to Sergeant Aaron Sieczkowski, the Green Hornets perform about a dozen search and rescue missions a year, primarily in the western Columbia Gorge. He joins us to talk about their work, including a recent rescue on Larch Mountain, and how to stay safe on hikes. 

About 120,000 immigrants lacking permanent legal status live in Oregon, according to a 2022 estimate from the Pew Research Center. The state has sanctuary laws in place, meaning that state and local resources are not used for federal immigration enforcement. Law enforcement officials in places including Marion, Polk and Jackson counties have told local media outlets they will continue to follow state laws on immigration enforcement.  Still, immigrant communities face uncertainty as policies change at the federal level. Kathy Keesee is a program coordinator for Unete, a nonprofit in Jackson County that advocates for agricultural workers and immigrants. She joins us with details. 

The Beaverton Sobriety Opportunity for Beginning Recovery treatment court is open to Beaverton or Washington County residents who have at least one prior Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants conviction and who agree to the program’s strict requirements. About 200 people have graduated from B-SOBR since its launch in 2011.  Participants must agree to wear an ankle monitor and submit to biweekly testing to ensure their sobriety during the first few months. They must also attend regular meetings with their case manager and the presiding judge to monitor their progress for the 20 months or so it typically takes to complete the program. Beaverton police officers also make monthly visits to participants’ homes, which can help reframe negative interactions they may have had previously with law enforcement, and engage family members or others in the home to support the participant’s recovery.  In January, the All Rise Treatment Court Institute selected the B-SOBR program as one of 10 treatment courts to serve as a national model for new treatment courts for the next two years. Joining us for more details are B-SOBR case manager David Finke, police liaison Officer Michel Wilson and Mauricio Molina, a recent graduate of the program.