Think Out Loud

Washington craft flour company partners with Umatilla Tribes to open mill in Eastern Oregon

Sparked by pandemic-era baking trends, interest in small-batch, locally-milled flour is growing [https://www.salon.com/2021/06/21/could-the-pandemic-mark-a-turning-point-for-consumers-demand-for-local-flour_partner/] among commercial and home bakers. Operations like Camas Country Mill [https://lookouteugene-springfield.com/story/food-dining/2025/08/29/junction-citys-camas-country-mill-bakery-serves-the-cadillac-of-flour/] in Oregon and Cairnspring Mills [https://cairnspring.com/pages/about-us] in Washington supply restaurants, bakeries and amateur bakers with high-quality flour sourced from local farmers who use regenerative growing practices.     A new partnership [https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/26/how-the-craft-flour-movement-could-be-a-boon-to-farmers-and-indian-country/] between Cairnspring and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will bring a flour mill to the reservation in Eastern Oregon. The new facility is expected to expand Cairnspring’s production capacity twelvefold and create 20-25 new jobs.  Kevin Morse is the co-founder and CEO of Cairnspring Mills. Bill Tovey is the director of the CTUIR Department of Economic & Community Development. [https://ctuir.org/departments/economic-community-development/] They both join us to talk about the partnership.

Washington craft flour company partners with Umatilla Tribes to open mill in Eastern Oregon

Sparked by pandemic-era baking trends, interest in small-batch, locally-milled flour is growing [https://www.salon.com/2021/06/21/could-the-pandemic-mark-a-turning-point-for-consumers-demand-for-local-flour_partner/] among commercial and home bakers. Operations like Camas Country Mill [https://lookouteugene-springfield.com/story/food-dining/2025/08/29/junction-citys-camas-country-mill-bakery-serves-the-cadillac-of-flour/] in Oregon and Cairnspring Mills [https://cairnspring.com/pages/about-us] in Washington supply restaurants, bakeries and amateur bakers with high-quality flour sourced from local farmers who use regenerative growing practices.     A new partnership [https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/26/how-the-craft-flour-movement-could-be-a-boon-to-farmers-and-indian-country/] between Cairnspring and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will bring a flour mill to the reservation in Eastern Oregon. The new facility is expected to expand Cairnspring’s production capacity twelvefold and create 20-25 new jobs.  Kevin Morse is the co-founder and CEO of Cairnspring Mills. Bill Tovey is the director of the CTUIR Department of Economic & Community Development. [https://ctuir.org/departments/economic-community-development/] They both join us to talk about the partnership.

How changes to the federal student loan program will impact borrowers in Oregon

Big changes are in store [https://www.npr.org/2025/12/09/nx-s1-5638567/save-plan-student-loan-settlement] for the federal student loan program. President Trump’s tax and spending bill, which was signed into law last summer, ends a supplemental loan [https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/plus/grad] for graduate students and caps  the amount they can borrow from the government. It also allows students in professional programs, such as law and medicine, to borrow more than students in other graduate programs, such as nursing [https://stateline.org/2025/12/08/new-student-loan-rule-could-dissuade-people-from-advanced-nursing-degrees/] or social work.   The bill reduces students’ loan repayment options from seven to two. It also phases out the Biden-era SAVE plan [https://www.npr.org/2025/12/09/nx-s1-5638567/save-plan-student-loan-settlement], which was the most flexible income-driven repayment option.         Jennifer Bell is the director of financial aid at Portland State University. Susan Bakewell-Sachs is the vice president of nursing affairs and dean of the School of Nursing at Oregon Health & Science University. They join us to discuss what the changes could mean for students who rely on loans, particularly to get advanced degrees.

What Portland’s new government looked like for the city administrator

After months of searching, Portland has officially named Raymond Lee as the first long-term city administrator. The position, which was created with the city’s new form of government, oversees thousands of city employees and the day-to-day public services including public safety, public works and city operations to name a few. But Lee isn’t the first city administrator. Michael Jordan has filled the role in the interim since 2024. In this time in the position, he has responded to federal actions [https://www.portland.gov/hello/news/2025/7/9/city-administrator-addresses-federal-compliance-and-equity-funding-impacts], made recommendations for the city’s budget [https://www.portland.gov/hello/news/2025/2/28/portland-city-administrator-releases-draft-budget-recommendations] and more. Jordan joins us to share more on what his time was like as Portland’s first city administrator, advice for his successor and what the city’s transition to a new form of government has been like.

Why a Washington program for Indigenous homeownership hasn’t worked

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit’s Eventual Tenant Ownership program is meant to give people the chance to buy the home they're renting. It works by providing developers with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for building homes that would qualify for this program in exchange. But new reporting from Underscore Native News and ICT highlights how the Washington program, which mainly serves tribal lands and governments, has failed to convert a single home to ownership. Luna Reyna is the Northwest Bureau Chief for the publication. She joins us to share more.