Dirk VanderHart
Dirk VanderHart covers Oregon politics and government for OPB. Before barging onto the radio in 2018, he spent more than a decade as a newspaper reporter—much of that time reporting on city government for the Portland Mercury. He’s also had stints covering chicanery in Southwest Missouri, the wilds of Ohio in Ohio, and all things Texas on Capitol Hill.
Dirk’s byline has appeared in USA Today, The New York Times, The Houston Chronicle, The Columbus Dispatch, The Oregonian, and more. He’s got a journalism degree from Michigan State University.
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For the first time in three decades, Oregon will place limits on political donations beginning in January. But months before that change, the next tussle over Oregon campaign finance laws is already getting underway. -
An Oregonian with deep ties to state politics is slated to be the head of the federal Indian Health Service. -
Most voters support a temporary ban on the facilities and strongly oppose offering tax breaks. -
Initiative petition 28 did not have enough valid signatures, elections officials determined. -
A trio of business groups argue the 2026 bill raises taxes and needed supermajority support. -
A 25-year-old patient who died at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem last year was subjected to years of indifferent, substandard care and long stretches of solitary confinement that were tantamount to torture, according to a new lawsuit filed by the man’s sister. -
Political analysts have softened their bullishness on Gov. Tina Kotek, and one candidate’s polling suggests a tight margin. -
With the power-hungry facilities already facing higher utility rates, Gov. Tina Kotek suggested more changes are coming. -
The Supreme Court ruled nothing in federal law prohibits Washington, Oregon and other states from accepting ballots that arrive via mail after Election Day. -
The business-dominated group’s newly unveiled recommendations to boost Oregon’s economy will inspire fierce debate.
