Northwest News

A prominent outspoken Oregon anti-tax tax activist has died of a suspected heart attack. 74-year-old Don McIntire was found Friday morning in his Gresham home.

A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit by a high-level whistleblower against a contractor at the Hanford nuclear site. A former manager there had voiced safety concerns about the design of a plant meant to treat millions of gallons of radioactive waste.

Improvisational theater isn’t just for aspiring comedians and performers anymore. Improv classes and workshops are popping up in Seattle, Portland, Boise, Spokane and Eugene. Companies and business schools are taking notice. Reporter Julia Flucht is in one of these classes and reports on how the improv mindset can produce creative results beyond the stage.

Oregon is not considered a battleground in the Presidential election. President Obama is strongly favored to win the state’s seven electoral votes. What’s more, Democrats also hold every single statewide office in Oregon and far outnumber Republicans in terms of voter registration. But there’s an exception to the one-party dominance: The Oregon House is evenly divided. 30 Democrats to 30 Republicans. And both parties are hard at work in legislative battlegrounds to swing the majority in their direction. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman reports.