Pollution violations, maternity deserts and billing barriers for doulas — a year of investigative reporting on Oregon

In 2025, InvestigateWest reporters uncovered issues impacting Oregonians across the state, from stories about how regulators failed to stop pollution at a historic wood treatment facility to a look at how federal Medicaid cuts could threaten access to maternity care, especially in rural areas.  

Check out some of our best reporting about Oregon from the last year: 

Regulators slapped wood treater with violations but let polluted stormwater keep flowing

In the town of Sheridan, historic groundwater pollution beneath a wood treatment plant has long been on the radar of federal and state environmental regulators. But for years, residents of the former timber town didn’t know that the current operator of the plant, Stella-Jones, has for years spilled chemicals and continued to release stormwater contaminated with a toxic wood preservative. Reporters Kaylee Tornay and Aspen Ford exposed years of pollution violations at the facility and how Oregon regulators, despite calling Stella-Jones a “significant noncomplier,” kept the problems hidden from the public and allowed the company to keep releasing tainted stormwater, even after it had been hit with violation after violation. After the story, the state fined Stella-Jones $1 million over the violations, which the company has appealed. 

Medicaid cuts raise fears of expanding maternity deserts

In Eastern Oregon, the closure of Baker City’s only labor and delivery unit in 2023 left expecting mothers with limited options for care — and offers a window into problems more parents could face if Medicaid cuts exacerbate already stressed Oregon hospital budgets. One Baker City woman gave birth during the hour-long car ride to another hospital, while other women told InvestigateWest’s Danielle Dawson that they temporarily relocated to Idaho to be near a labor and delivery unit, in case they went into labor early and had complications. Some providers, like Providence Seaside Hospital and Optum-owned Oregon Medical Group, have already cut back maternity care this year, citing the rising cost of care and staffing problems. 

Substance use is driving maternal deaths, and Medicaid pay problems dampen progress

Mental health issues and substance use are driving more maternal deaths in Oregon than any other cause, but efforts to alleviate that maternal mental health crisis still face big hurdles. Reporter Kaylee Tornay told the story of one Oregon woman, Sarah Bovee, who works to guide people through addiction and pregnancy after experiencing stigmatizing health care during her own pregnancy. While Oregon has invested in doulas and workers like Bovee, provider burnout and funding problems limit who can get support. The state’s efforts to expand doula access for Medicaid patients has also been mired in reimbursement problems, which many birth workers said have made their work unsustainable. 

Army Corps drags feet on solutions for endangered salmon 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has flouted a congressional deadline to study how dams in the Willamette River Basin are affecting endangered fish. As Melanie Henshaw reported, tribal nations and others are concerned the agency’s bureaucratic delays will have potentially catastrophic consequences on endangered salmon populations.