Chris M Lehman

News Reporter
  • Chris Lehman, Reporter
    Chris Lehman, Reporter

Chris Lehman has been reporting on Oregon issues since 2006. He joined the KLCC news department in December, 2018. Chris was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism. His public broadcasting career includes stops in Louisiana and Illinois. Chris has filed for national programs including “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”

Chris has been to all 50 states and every Canadian province. He’s also traveled abroad extensively. He lives in Keizer with his wife, three children, and a handful of backyard chickens. 

Ways to Connect

OSU’s Coronavirus Prevalence Study Will Return To Newport

By • 14 hours ago
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Oregon State University will send its research teams back to Newport to conduct another round of coronavirus testing this weekend.

OSU Receives Grant To Aid In Environmental Health Research

By • Jul 5, 2020
Oregon State University

Oregon State University has received a grant that it says will help researchers across the Pacific Northwest to study how environmental exposure to chemicals affects human health.

Oregon DOJ To Hold Online Listening Sessions In July

By • Jul 3, 2020
jessica45 from Pixabay

The Oregon Department Of Justice is holding a month-long series of online listening sessions in July to hear from people in marginalized communities.

OSP Superintendent Criticizes Officers Who Refused To Wear Masks In Coffee Shop

By • Jul 2, 2020
Oregon State Police

The Superintendent of the Oregon State Police is criticizing the actions of several troopers who refused to wear face coverings at a Corvallis coffee shop.

Remote Online Notarizations Now Allowed In Oregon

By • Jul 1, 2020
Image by Brett Hondow from Pixabay

People in Oregon can now have things notarized through the internet. That’s due to a bill approved by lawmakers during the special session in June. It's now been signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown.

OSU Study Indicates Coronavirus Is ‘Relatively Prevalent’ In Newport

By • Jun 30, 2020
Oregon State University

Oregon State University says the results of a study to test for COVID-19 in Newport indicates the disease is still active in that community.

Newport Water Restrictions Could Last At Least One More Week

By • Jun 30, 2020
Screenshot from Newport City Council meeting

Water restrictions in the city of Newport are expected to last at least one more week, as officials are still trying to figure out what is causing the problem with the city’s water filtration system.

OSU President Ed Ray Retires This Week After 17 Years On The Job

By • Jun 29, 2020
Oregon State University

Ed Ray’s last day as Oregon State University President is Tuesday.

Lincoln County Reduces Limit On Private Social Gatherings

By • Jun 29, 2020
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Lincoln County is reducing the cap on the number of people who can be present in private social gatherings.

Benton County ‘Strongly Recommends’ Face Coverings But Does Not Require Them

By • Jun 26, 2020

Benton County isn’t in the part of Oregon affected by Governor Kate Brown’s face covering mandate. But county leaders are still strongly encouraging residents to wear them anyway.

Salem’s Riverfront Carousel Springs To Life After Three Months

By • Jun 25, 2020
Chris Lehman / KLCC

An iconic downtown attraction in Salem has re-opened after a three month closure due to the coronavirus.

Lincoln County Amends Face Covering Directive Amid Threats

By • Jun 24, 2020
Rachael McDonald / KLCC

Lincoln County has changed its face covering directive to remove a portion that exempts people of color. County commissioners announced the change Wednesday after saying they received threats from people who claimed the policy was racist.

Lincoln County Contact Tracers Reach Out To Non-English Speakers

By • Jun 24, 2020
Lincoln County

A key element in curbing the spread of COVID-19 is contacting people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus. That includes Oregonians who don’t speak English as their first language.

Lincoln County Announces Second COVID-19 Death

By • Jun 23, 2020
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Lincoln County has reported its second COVID-19 related death, as the effort to slow the spread of the virus there continues.

Face Coverings Now Required On Both OSU And UO Campuses

By • Jun 18, 2020
Rachael McDonald / KLCC

As the University of Oregon and Oregon State University welcome more people back onto campus, both schools are now requiring face coverings to be worn in all campus buildings.

Amtrak Cuts Would Reduce Service On Two Oregon Trains

By • Jun 17, 2020
Chris Lehman / KLCC

Train passengers in Oregon and Washington will have fewer options this fall under a service reduction plan announced by Amtrak this week.

Lincoln County To Require Face Coverings In Public Places

By • Jun 16, 2020
Rachael McDonald / KLCC

Lincoln County is set to become the first jurisdiction in Oregon to require the use of face coverings in all indoor public places.

Oregon Sees Minor Job Gains In May

By • Jun 16, 2020
Image by Nenad Maric from Pixabay

Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped slightly in May to 14-point-3 percent, according to the Oregon Employment Department. That’s still near the record high rate of 14-point-9 percent set in April.

In Response To COVID-19 Outbreak, OSU Prevalence Study Expands To Newport

By • Jun 15, 2020
Karl Massdam / Oregon State University

Oregon State University says it plans to expand its door-to-door coronavirus testing project to a community on the Oregon coast that’s been hard-hit by COVID-19.

Hundreds Of Protesters Denounce Racism In Lebanon, Oregon

By • Jun 14, 2020
Chris Lehman / KLCC

Several hundred people marched in Lebanon, Oregon on Sunday to denounce racism and promote unity.

Minimum Wage Set To Increase In Oregon

By • Jun 11, 2020
Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash

Oregon’s minimum wage is set to increase on July 1. How much it goes up depends on where you work.

Prevalence Testing In Bend Yields No Positive Cases Of COVID-19

By • Jun 10, 2020
Oregon State University

Researchers from Oregon State University say a weekend of door-to-door testing for the coronavirus in Bend shows that community has a very low rate of COVID-19.

City Of Albany To Resume Utility Disconnects

By • Jun 9, 2020
Image by Couleur from Pixabay

Next month, the City of Albany will resume utility disconnects for customers who can’t pay their bills. Water and sewer shutoffs were suspended in late March as a way to support community health during the spread of the coronavirus. Frequent hand-washing is one of the recommended ways to slow the spread of the virus.

Officials Try To Contain Outbreak At Newport Seafood Processing Plant

By • Jun 8, 2020
City of Newport

Officials on the Oregon coast are trying to contain an outbreak of COVID-19 that’s affected dozens of people associated with a seafood processing plant.

‘Car Parade’ Celebrates High School Grads In Corvallis

By • Jun 4, 2020
Chris Lehman / KLCC

With traditional graduation ceremonies postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus this year, some Oregon school districts are honoring their graduates in other ways.

Most Oregon Counties Submit Applications For Phase Two Reopening

By • Jun 3, 2020
Chris Lehman / KLCC

Most Oregon counties have applied to enter Phase Two of Gov. Kate Brown’s re-opening plan.

Universities And Colleges Plan For Fall Term Amid Uncertainty

By • Jun 2, 2020
Oregon State University

Colleges and universities in Oregon are still unsure what their fall terms will look like amid the ongoing uncertainties caused by the coronavirus.

Oregon OSHA Still Taking In Far More Complaints Than Normal

By • Jun 1, 2020

The agency that regulates workplace safety in Oregon is still taking in far more complaints than normal, more than two months after the coronavirus started spreading through the state.

Corvallis and Albany Re-Open Offices To Public

By • Jun 1, 2020
Corvallis City Club

The cities of Corvallis and Albany re-opened many of their offices to the public Monday for the first time since late March.

Commercial Fishing Industry Tells Oregon Lawmakers Of Economic Hardships

By • Jun 1, 2020
Hugh Link / Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission

The coronavirus has hit Oregon’s commercial fishing industry hard. That was the message to state lawmakers during a recent meeting of the House Interim Committee on Natural Resources.

Anthony Dal Ponte is with Pacific Seafood, which is based in Clackamas and has several facilities on the Oregon coast. He said the company had to lay off more than 500 employees after their restaurant and hospitality industry markets dried up virtually overnight.

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