CTUIR emergency management coordinator on managing drought, wildfires and smoky air

Regional orchestra has brought classical music to northeast Oregon and southeast Washington for nearly 30 years

The Inland Northwest Musicians [https://inlandnorthwestmusicians.com/] have been performing across nine counties in northeast Oregon and southeast Washington for nearly three decades.    The group formed in 1999 to bring classical music to communities that may otherwise not have access to it. It consists of three ensembles [https://inlandnorthwestmusicians.com/ensembles]: the Inland Northwest Orchestra, the Inland Northwest Chorale and the Willow Creek Symphony, a preparatory ensemble for new musicians of all ages.    Lee Friese is the music director and conductor for all three ensembles. Alice Massey is a founding member of the group and serves as concert master of the orchestra. Payton Baxter has performed with the Willow Creek Symphony since she was 12 years old and now manages the group.   They all join us to talk more about bringing classical music to remote corners of the state.

California company tests cloudseeding in Pendleton, Oregon

More than 2 million Oregonians [https://www.drought.gov/states/oregon]live in drought stricken areas. Dry summers in the Pacific Northwest affect various industries including agriculture, water supply, fisheries and hydropower. But could science change that? Cloudseeding is an 80-year-old technology where tiny particles, often of silver iodide, are added to clouds via aircraft to help trigger rain or snow. Rainmaker [https://www.rainmaker.com/], based in California, has been testing this technology using drones in areas across the country, including in Pendleton. Parker Cardwell is the chief operating officer for the company. He joins us to share more on what cloud seeding is and what the company has learned in Oregon.

CTUIR emergency management coordinator on managing drought, wildfires and smoky air

The Hagen Fire, which started a month ago, continues to burn [https://www.underscore.news/land/wildfire/hagen-fire-grows-paradise-fire-remains-uncontained-on-umatilla-reservation/] on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The tribes have declared a public health emergency [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/07/23/hagen-fire-tribes-state-emergency/] because of the poor air quality from wildfire smoke. On top of that, much of the area is in a severe drought [https://www.drought.gov/states/oregon/county/Umatilla].    Kimberly Hughes is the emergency management coordinator [https://ctuir.org/departments/public-safety/emergency-management/] for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. She joins us to talk about how the tribes prepare for and manage these crises.

Portland performance series explores Cuban filin music

FILIN [https://latinomusiccafe.com/2013/03/13/bolero-filin-a-musical-revolution-part-1/] IS A STYLE OF MUSIC THAT COMBINES TRADITIONAL CUBAN BOLERO WITH AMERICAN JAZZ AND BLUES. OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, PORTLAND VOCALIST JESSIE MARQUEZ [https://marquezmusic.online/] WILL EXPLORE THE GENRE IN A SERIES [https://montavillajazz.org/cuban?fbclid=IwY2xjawTq6_pwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMWJwdlluUm1SeDhQNU0zbkRzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeDpG7OffhO14fBYh1EB47T7feCfyilQWTvnFyeolX-zyg5Egypoa-X1s0JXY_aem_cY_TRpKdXkOifxkYLMvKmw] OF PERFORMANCES AND CONVERSATIONS AT EL CENTRO MILAGRO [https://milagro.org/], THE FIRST OF WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE THIS SATURDAY, AUG. 15. THE SERIES WILL CULMINATE IN A FULL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE ON SEPT. 5 AS PART OF THE MONTAVILLA JAZZ FESTIVAL.   MARQUEZ JOINS US TO TALK ABOUT HER CONNECTION TO CUBA AND THE MUSICAL RELATIONSHIP SHE SEES BETWEEN THE ISLAND AND THE U.S.

Malheur County schools find new ways to battle chronic absenteeism

Data from the 2024-2025 school year shows that Oregon schools have the second-highest chronic absenteeism rate [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/15/oregon-chronic-absenteeism-university-of-oregon-research-solution/] in the country. It breaks down to about a third of Oregon students being chronically absent — missing more than 10 days of school a year. [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/29/low-attendance-instructional-time-oregon-student-success/]   In Malheur County, though, things are different. A recent analysis of attendance data [https://www.oregonjournalismproject.org/oregon-attendance-malheur-truancy-citations] by the Oregon Journalism Project found that students in Malheur county are attending class more than any other county in Oregon. School districts in Malheur County have a tool in their back pocket: truancy citations, or fines issued as a last resort as a means of motivation for students to attend school regularly. Lawmakers banned the use of these fines in 2021, and school officials in Malheur County saw attendance slip. They brought truancy citations back in the 2023-2024 school year with a local ordinance, and attendance grew immensely, bolstered by wraparound services the district provides to support families struggling with school attendance.   Vale School District Superintendent Alisha McBride says the key to their success isn’t necessarily the fines themselves, of which they issued only one during the 2025-2026 school year, but the conversations that school districts, school boards and the community had to have around attendance in order to pass the local ordinance. We’ll hear from McBride about the ways Malheur County schools are battling chronic absenteeism and how those techniques can be applied to other counties in the state.