As 2025 comes to a close, The Next Door Inc. (TNDI) is thrilled to announce our Philanthropists of the Year! With so many people stepping up to support and care for others, we’ve decided to award not one, not two, but three recipients this year: Molly Fauth in Hood River County, Pray Electric of Wasco County, and donors who wish to remain anonymous from Klickitat County.

When I wrote a column on big institutions, government, utilities, and trillion-dollar corporations, I owed readers two things at once: a clear point of view and clean, verifiable facts.

In my recent column about data centers and public costs, I oversimplified a few details, and while they remain true, it’s not the whole picture. This is the clarification: what was missed, and why the core community question still stands.

Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC), in partnership with Mid-Columbia Center for Living (MCCFL), is pleased to announce the conversion of 21 units at The Annex into permanent supportive housing (PSH).

Affordable Housing is a complicated topic, especially in a region like the Columbia River Gorge, where development opportunities are limited.

The Holiday Giggin’ Guide is Here with a Huge Supply of Music and Live Performances. Check out our Calendar listings for all the music, movies and Holiday Parades, Bazaars, Markets, Last Minute Shopping Events and More!

At The Next Door, we believe that caring for others is a form of self-care. When we show up for our community, we strengthen our own sense of purpose, resilience, and belonging. That belief comes to life through the people who pour their hearts into this work.  

Matthew’s support of The Next Door (TNDI) comes from one simple belief: that we’re always better off when we work together. In that work, he’s discovered that caring for others can nurture your own sense of purpose, community, and connection.

Caroling by local students, take-and-make STEAM kits, teen gaming, and holiday closures highlight a full slate of late December events at The Dalles Public Library, with programs for children, teens, and families.

For many people, FFA is easy to misunderstand. Some still think it’s just about farming or kids who plan to stay in agriculture. That view misses the point — especially here in our county, where we see firsthand what FFA really does.

On Dec. 19th, the county is shifting into the recovery phase following last night’s heavy rainfall. There are several road closures due to water and debris hazards and officials are asking the public to avoid county recreation areas. Crews are working to clear roads and assess flood damage.

Jury finds former Wasco County man guilty of abuse to six year old who suffered a broken femur. DA requesting 8-year prison sentence.

Several medical clinics displaced by storm damage at the Water’s Edge building are expected to resume services starting Monday, Dec. 22, as Adventist Health Columbia Gorge relocates staff and equipment to temporary locations across the Gorge.

A large boulder broke loose from a hillside above The Dalles’ Wick’s Water Treatment Facility during a freak windstorm Wednesday morning, rolling between two buildings before crashing into a concrete settling basin.

Hood River County is offering free sand and sandbags to residents and business owners preparing for potential flooding, with supplies available at two locations while materials last.

Clinics at the Water’s Edge medical building in The Dalles will remain closed through the weekend as Adventist Health Columbia Gorge works toward a modified reopening following extensive damage caused by a violent windstorm early Wednesday morning.

Emergency early school releases, flooding concerns and damaging winds prompted a local emergency declaration as storm conditions disrupted healthcare, utilities and travel across Hood River County, Wasco County and the Columbia Gorge on Thursday.

For years, we’ve been told this is the deal: give the biggest corporation in the room a break, and the rest of us will come out ahead.

But at some point, “incentive” turns into “subsidy,” and “partnership” starts to feel like permission. Permission to take more than you give, to grow faster than a community can support, and to call it success as long as the buildings look ‘beautficationed’ from the highway.

The Dalles deserves better than being a bargain-priced host. We’re not anti-business. We’re pro-fairness. Pay what you owe, tell the truth about what you use, and invest in the schools and systems that keep this town alive.

A freak windstorm tore through The Dalles, heavily damaging the Water’s Edge medical building and forcing Adventist Health Columbia Gorge to relocate vital outpatient services.

Discounts Plus, which opened in downtown The Dalles in 2019 inside the former JC Penney building, announced it will close both its The Dalles and Gresham locations.

The Columbia Gorge STEM Hub, a department of the Columbia Gorge Education Service District, is launching a new Little Free Libraries project designed to increase equitable access to literacy resources while providing hands-on, career-connected learning opportunities for local students.