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Big Ten power rankings after Week 3: Tons of shuffling behind top-tier

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Big Ten power rankings after Week 3: Tons of shuffling behind top-tier


It wasn’t the most exciting week of college football, but the highlights came with the two former Pac-12 teams taking on their historical rivals who remain in the conference.

Oregon took awhile but it finally looked like Oregon as it upended Oregon State in stunning fashion. Washington, however, fell to Wazzu, unable to convert on the goal line with a minute to go, down one score. Wisconsin had its big showdown with Alabama and learned just how far away they are from being a championship contender in Luke Fickell’s second year. Michigan looked better against an overmatched opponent — for a half. But it still looks completely unready for the schedule that lies ahead. Indiana under Curt Cignetti continues to impress, MSU looked competent and functional against an FCS opponent, and Purdue got blown out by an angry Notre Dame team.

Ohio State, Penn State, USC, and Rutgers all had early bye weeks.

With all of that said, here is how we’d rank the Big Ten now that Week 3 is in the books.

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Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 1-1

Hi/Lo: 16/18

Change: -1

Last game: Loss vs. Notre Dame, 7-66

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Biggest win: vs. Indiana State, 49-0

The Boilermakers didn’t even come close to doing what NIU was able to do a week ago, showing just how overmatched they are against a team with a pulse. The whole of the run and pass game were bad, and the whole of the defense was bad. Perhaps they’ll fare better next week against a rebuilding Oregon State team that was just as overmatched on Saturday..

Marco Garcia-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 1-1

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Hi/Lo: 17/18

Change: +1

Last game: Loss vs. Indiana, BLANK

Biggest win: at Hawaii, 16-13

It’s amazing how quickly UCLA fell off the map. Last year, there were stretches where the Bruins were ranked under the tutelage of Chip Kelly. But this team is not that. Indiana looked dominant against this Bruins team and it looks like what Indiana used to.

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Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 12/16

Change: 

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Last game: Win vs. Eastern Illinois, 31-7

Biggest win: vs. Miami (Ohio), 13-6

It was exactly what Northwestern needed after the first two weeks, a ho-hum victory over an FCS team. Jack Lausch was excellent at QB and he found former Michigan WR A.J. Henning early and often for 117 yards. The run game was very good as was the defense.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

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Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 9/15

Change: -2

Last game: Win at Virginia, 27-13

Biggest win: vs. UConn, 50-7

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Virginia is no joke of a team, but Maryland envisions a future when it can take down a middling ACC team with ease. However, it wasn’t easy. Still, the Terps got it done in a back-and-forth game. It. wasa good bounce-back after the inexplicable loss to MSU.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 14/15

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Change: +1

Last game: Win vs. Nevada, 27-0

Biggest win: vs. Rhode Island, 48-0

Nevada is a bad Mountain West team but Minnesota looked functional moving back up from the FCS win last week. The run game and the defense reigned supreme which is the formula for PJ Fleck’s team. Not sure what the ceiling is here, but the Gophers are a tough team that could get some momentum in Big Ten play.

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Record: 3-0

Hi/Lo: 13/16

Change: +1

Last game: Win vs. UCLA, 42-13

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Biggest win: vs. Western Illinois, 77-3

The Curt Cignetti effect is real. This is a fun team that is still figuring things out, but winning the first in-conference game is a sign of real improvement. Not to mention, when was the last time Indiana won a conference game by 29 points? The defense played very well and it will be interesting to see what the Hoosiers do against better Big Ten teams. That will wait another week as Charlotte is on deck next.

Nick King-Lansing State Journal

Record: 3-0

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Hi/Lo: 13/16

Change: 

Last game: Win vs. Prairie View A&M, 40-0

Biggest win: vs. Maryland, 27-24

MSU was impressive, albeit against a bad FCS team. Though it was very good in all phases of the game, it’s difficult to really ascertain what this team is given the past three games. The only team with a pulse it’s faced has been Maryland, and that’s a team that appears to be on a downswing. But the Spartans did what they were supposed to and we’ll know more when they face a resurgent Boston College team next week.

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Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 10/11

Change: -1

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Last game: Loss vs. Alabama, 10-42

Biggest win: vs. Western Michigan, 28-14

Wisconsin tried to beat Alabama, and it failed miserably! So the lesson here is never try. Joking aside, it’s difficult to take on a historically dominant team when your quarterback gets knocked out early in the game. The offense was OK considering, but couldn’t find the end zone. But the defense was overmatched by Jalen Milroe and what ended up being a stellar rushing attack by the Crimson Tide. Next week is the bye before hosting USC.

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

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Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 9/10

Change: -1

Last game: Loss vs. Washington State, 19-24

Biggest win: vs. Weber State, 35-3

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What a heartbreaker. Jedd Fisch literally had his team on the precipice only to call an ill-advised fourth down play on the goal line which could have given the Huskies the lead and likely the win. This was going to be a rebuilding year, but now we just know it for certain.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 3-0

Hi/Lo: 9/13

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Change: +2

Last game: Win vs. Central Michigan, 30-9

Biggest win: vs. Kansas, 23-17

Illinois was impressive yet again, with the most important thing being that quarterback Luke Altmeyer still took care of the football. The run game needs some work and so might the run defense, but this is starting to more and more resemble that of Bret Bielema’s 2022 team rather than last year’s disappointing outfit.

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Record: 2-1

Hi/Lo: 4/7

Change: -3

Last game: Win vs. Troy, 38-21

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Biggest win: vs. Illinois State, 40-0

The good news is that the offense is functional. The bad news is the defense and special teams showed some uncharacteristic lapses. And that was all it took to make it a game. Iowa eventually ran away with it, but Troy kept the game interesting much longer than you’d expect. A road trip to Minnesota will be next.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-1

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Hi/Lo: 3/7

Change: -1

Last game: Win vs. Arkansas State, 28-18

Biggest win: vs. Fresno State, 30-10

It was a tale of two halves, with Michigan looking like it was going to run away with this one, but with three interceptions by Davis Warren, Arkansas State disallowed the expected bludgeoning. The score is a bit of a paper tiger as Michigan was never in any danger and 15 points were scored on the third and fourth-string defense, but some of the same issues from the last two weeks continued to pop up. This team is undisciplined and we won’t really know what this team is capable of until it hosts USC next week. If Alex Orji starts, that could set the team on a different trajectory.

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Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-0

Hi/Lo: 7/8

Change: +2

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Last game: Win vs. Akron, 49-17

Biggest win: vs. Howard, 44-7

Rutgers was on bye this week but we moved them ahead of Michigan and Iowa due to both teams struggling with lesser teams. The Scarlet Knights at least look like they have a strong identity and ability within that.

Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

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Record: 3-0

Hi/Lo: 3/7

Change: -2

Last game: Win vs. Northern Iowa, 34-3

Biggest win: vs. Colorado, 28-10

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Nebraska moves down, not because it deserves to, but because another team ahead of it deserved to move up. Beating up on Northern Iowa is expected, and the Huskers did what they were supposed to. But we don’t see them beating any of the teams ahead of it — and it’s not even clear if it would beat some of the ones below it.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-0

Hi/Lo: 2/4

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Change: 

Last game: Win vs. Bowling Green, 34-27

Biggest win: at West Virginia, 34-12

Despite being on bye, we moved Nebraska beneath the Nittany Lions, because we think that Penn State had a bit of an aberration week last week. Kent State is up next.

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Record: 3-0

Hi/Lo: 1/6

Change: +2

Last game: Win vs. Oregon State, 49-14

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Biggest win: vs. Oregon State, 49-14

Now that’s what we were expecting from Oregon all along! The offense was humming in both the run and the pass and the defense was stellar against the rival Beavers. If Oregon continues to play like it did against Oregon State and not how it did against the Idaho teams, it may live up to the lofty preseason expectations

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 2-0

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Hi/Lo: 2/8

Change: 

Last game: Win vs. Utah State, 48-0

Biggest win: vs. LSU, 27-20

USC was on bye but has a big showdown with Michigan football in Ann Arbor next week.

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Photo: Isaiah Hole

Record: 2-0

Hi/Lo: 1/2

Change: 

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Last game: Win vs. Western Michigan, 56-0

Biggest win: vs. Western Michigan, 56-0

Ohio State was on bye this week but faces off against Marshall in Week 4.

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John Day, Oregon: Camel population — 2 – East Oregonian

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John Day, Oregon: Camel population — 2 – East Oregonian


JOHN DAY — Grant County’s camel population doubled on March 20.

That’s when Hilde, the county’s famous 1,700-pound Bactrian camel, gave birth to Cora.

Talyn and Tabitha Elliott brought Hilde to the county about a year ago. The Elliotts didn’t know it at the time, but Hilde was beginning her 13-month-long gestation period with Cora before she arrived in John Day from Oklahoma.

“What happened is, Hilde was in a field with other female camels and a bull, and she wasn’t supposed to have her first heat until spring,” Talyn said. “She went into heat a year early, and the camel rancher knew she’d gone into heat but wasn’t sure if she’d actually been bred.”

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Talyn said it became apparent to Tabitha last summer that Hilde was pregnant, but he was skeptical. In the end, Tabitha was proven correct.

What followed was a gestation period that stretched through the summer, winter and into the springtime, ending with Cora’s birth March 20 on the hill behind the Elliots’ home up West Bench Road.

Talyn said Cora was between 65 and 105 pounds when she was born.

Proud mom

Hilde conducted a sort of official introduction of Cora on March 22 to drivers along West Bench Road, Talyn said, bringing her into the front yard to “show her off” to passersby. Hilde attracted attention from passing cars along the same road, and Cora was no different.

“She’s already getting a lot of socialization for sure,” Talyn said.

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Interacting with Cora behind the Elliots’ fence makes one thing apparent — Hilde is never far away.

She’s not threatening or intimidating, and she’ll let people get close to pet the baby — if Cora doesn’t eagerly approach the visitors first.

Talyn said as Cora gets older and larger, Hilde likely will be less protective. For now, Hilde and the occasional grunt she unleashes to remind people that she’s a watchful mom can be expected.

Hilde will nurse Cora for about a year. After that, Cora will move on to the alfalfa, grass hay, rose bushes, thistles and other plants that make up Hilde’s diet.

Hilde is 75% Bactrian, the two-humped camel variety, and Cora’s dad is 100% Bactrian, meaning Cora will have two prominent humps, just like her parents. Her coat will remain white, but its silver patches and streaks will become more prominent as she grows.

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Future plans

Talyn called Cora’s birth a welcome surprise and was ecstatic the calf was white instead of Hilde’s traditional brown.

Talyn and Tabitha’s two children, ages 14 and 12, were excited as well.

“They were just kind of in awe of the baby; it was cool,” Talyn said. “They didn’t know what to think at first, and then they just started loving on her, and it was cute.”

Talyn said he hopes to get Cora “excellently trained.” He’s already been picking up the calf’s feet to help her walk better.

The goal is to have Hilde and Cora walk in a line behind Talyn while he makes one of his famous walks through town.

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There may be interest to breed Hilde again, but Talyn said that can’t be done for at least two years, so he doesn’t have any plans to do so yet.

“I probably will want to have a little herd of camels,” he said, “but I’m not in any hurry to breed her again.”

For now, Talyn welcomes anybody who wants to make the trip up West Bench Road in John Day to stop by and catch a glimpse of Cora. He asks that visitors stay outside the fence to interact with young camel.

Those who want to keep up with Hilde and Cora can follow hildethecamel on Instagram.

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How did a small Oregon town become a hub for industrial development?

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How did a small Oregon town become a hub for industrial development?


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  • Several large companies are investing over $500 million to build new industrial facilities in Millersburg.
  • The city has become a mecca for new or expanded industrial growth due to its low property taxes, available industrial land and pro-development attitude.
  • The city of 3,000 people has become an attraction to businesses due to its proximity to Interstate 5 and railroads.

Ball Corporation, Timberlab, ATI and Gordon Truck Centers are pouring a combined $500 million, at least, to build manufacturing plants and other businesses in Millersburg.

That’s the kind of economic development any city would love. Large employers bring jobs and an expanded tax base, among other benefits.

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In a city of 3,000 like Millersburg, just south of Salem, those numbers make a major impact.

While some governments get “caught up in red tape and rule books” that make development difficult, Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist said, Millersburg city leaders welcome businesses.

“How can we get to yes for you on this?” Nyquist said.

When Millersburg uses the slogan “We Are Open for Business” on its website, it’s not just a line.

Millersburg’s low taxes, large tracts of developable land and easy access to Interstate 5 and rail service have made it popular for businesses. Few cities along Oregon’s predominant north-south arterial highway have experienced the city’s level of industrial growth, and certainly none of its size.

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“What the difference is that attitude is from our council,” former City Manager Kevin Krietman said. “I will tell you that historically Millersburg has always had a council that understands the value of the industrial base and protecting that industrial base and growing that base for the benefit of the community.”

Millersburg was incorporated in 1974 to keep taxes low

The town was established as Millers Station in 1871 when a rail station was built for the Southern Pacific Railroad. It became a large shipping point for cattle in the 1880s and renamed Millersburg around 1900.

The U.S. Bureau of Mines established a facility to produce zirconium there in the 1940s. That plant was sold to Wah Chang and the company produced metals including hafnium, tantalum and niobium. The company was later renamed Teledyne Wah Chang and it became a Superfund site.

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The environmental clean-up took 20 years.

The Willamette Kraft Corporation built a paper mill along one of the two rail lines that cut through it in 1952 to process wood chips into kraft paper. When it was owned by Weyerhaeuser, the plant was known for a smell reminiscent of rotting cabbage that greeted people driving by it on I-5.

“That was the smell of money, man,” Nyquist said.

Millersburg incorporated as a city in 1974, partially so businesses and residents could avoid being annexed into Albany and pay that city’s higher property taxes.

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About a third of the city’s land was designated for residential development, which left lots of room for industrial and commercial growth.

International Paper created new urgency in attracting industry

The paper mill closed for good in 2009 and cost 270 workers their jobs. It was then owned by International Paper and torn down by 2012.

At the time of its closure, the mill was paying about $2.6 million per year in property taxes, the most in Linn County.

“We lost a lot of jobs,” Millersburg Mayor Scott Cowan said. “And so that was a big impact, and then of course as that sort of was the immediate situation once that news got out was of course the financial impact to the city was by the franchise fees and taxes from the IP property, we felt that.”

The loss of that revenue was significant to the taxing districts officials had to find ways to replace the revenue to pay for city services and road repair, for example.

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Millersburg didn’t levy a property tax for its first 40 years because the city earned enough money from franchise fees to pay for basic city services. It now charges the maximum $3.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. Most of that goes to contracted fire and sheriff’s services.

The city long tried to attract businesses to fill the gap left by International Paper.

In 2008, Peak Sun Silicon broke ground on a 10,000-square-foot building where it would employ 500 people to product an ingredient in solar cells.

The state foreclosed on the property when Peak Sun defaulted on a $14 million loan in 2012.

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In 2019, the state gave $25 million to Linn County to build an intermodal facility on a portion of the former International Paper property.

That project cost $35 million, but has never operated.

Why companies are building in Millersburg now

When Timberlab was looking to build a new facility to manufacture mass timber, the company considered locations around the Willamette Valley including Independence and Corvallis, President Chris Evans said.

Then Timberlab found a 33.5-acre site in Millersburg. The location had challenges. It had a fish bearing stream, needed an entry road and the main connecting road to Old Salem Highway was under construction.

Still, Timberlab purchased the land from the city and expects to complete its first building this year. That project will bring an estimated 100 jobs to Millersburg.

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Gov. Tina Kotek, who attended the March 2025 groundbreaking, said Oregon is “leading the way” in mass timber and pointed to the new roof at the Portland International Airport terminal.

“The city really facilitated taking a lot of the issues out of the sites here, so they could invite somebody into the community and have a quicker turnaround to have something rezoned from agricultural to industrial,” Evans said at the facility’s groundbreaking.

That will include a 185,000 square foot manufacturing facility and it has plans for 85,000 and 126,000 square foot buildings in the future.

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Companies that build in Millersburg reap the same tax rewards as its citizens.

Property owners in Millersburg pay a combined tax rate of $15.61 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, one of the lowest rates in the state for a city that offers the services that Millersburg does.

A company building a $100 million facility can save over $1 million per year on property taxes compared to other cities if it builds in Millersburg.

The money brought in from taxes and fees also means residents don’t have to worry about being barraged with bonds and levies from the city.

“But don’t worry, our residents still complain about our taxes,” city manager Janelle Booth said.

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Companies like Timberlab also get a tax break by building in enterprise zones, areas designated for large-scale industrial development by the state.

Enterprise zone projects have to meet requirements including a minimum investment cost, employee count and must pay workers between 130% and 150% of the county’s average wage.

Businesses are also exempt from paying property taxes on capital improvements for three to five years. In a rural enterprise zone, such as the one in Millersburg, businesses could be exempt from paying taxes on those improvements for up to 15 years.

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In the meantime, the city will still benefit from the Timberlab development as it collects franchise fees from the company. Millersburg received nearly $1.2 million per year from Pacific Power last year, and that will go up with more power being used by Timberlab and Ball Corporation.

That money pays for basic city services like roads, parks and city administration.

“We’re looking at it for that long-term benefit, too,” Booth said.

Infrastructure investments make economic development possible

Millersburg has invested heavily in infrastructure that benefits residents and businesses. The city shares water filtration and wastewater treatment facilities with Albany.

Pacific Power owns and runs a regional operations center in the southern part of the city.

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Millersburg city leaders convinced Pacific Power to build a new substation on Conser Road across the street from the Jefferson Fire Department station in 2024. That provides large industrial users with plenty of electricity for whatever they plan to build.

Several large parcels inside the city limits were zoned industrial and never developed. Over the years, Millersburg acquired several of those parcels for free or close to it.

To spur economic development, the city took an active approach in marketing the industrial properties.

The city updated its comprehensive plan in 2020, which essentially served as a sales brochure for prospective development.

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“That’s an incentive that we can have with the industries to encourage them to come in,” Kreitman said. “We went through and we put together a presentation and the state asked us to come and talk about it for other communities to look at. It’s really helped us.”

The city council opted to be selective which companies it would sell properties to. For example, they chose not to sell land for warehouses that employ few people.

“As the property owner, the price of the property is one of our tools to get what we want in here,” Booth said.

The city still owns about 70 acres of flat, undeveloped land that is zoned industrial.

Ball Corporation development leads to interest from others

Cowan said Ball Corporation’s plans to build a plant helped spur much of the new economic development in the city.

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“We heard about another company that was interested, but it was a lot of this loose interest and no one really serious until Ball came along,” Cowan said. “That really was a big one.”

Ball Corporation’s facility could be larger than 500,000 square feet when it’s finished, according to city planning documents, but will be smaller to start, Kreitman said.

It is unclear how many jobs the Ball facility will provide once it’s finished. The company did not respond to requests for comment from the Statesman Journal.

Center Market is planning a new 5,200 square foot building for its store and offices. Pure Energy is build a 7,480 square foot building.

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Several businesses have announced plans for the former International Paper property.

Aymium, formerly known as National Carbon Technologies, signed a 16-year lease on 22 acres in 2022 to build a plant that uses carbon products to produce things like filters. Linn County approved a pause in that lease in 2025.

“And if they don’t go forward, we’ve got, guess what, flat land available at a reasonable price in close proximity to I-5 and rail,” Nyquist said.

In 2024, Omni Energy agreed to lease the site to transfer biodiesel from train to trucks. That still hasn’t happened.

“It’s going to take some infrastructure investment,” Nyquist said. “The operators want to work out a longer-term lease to justify that investment, and so that’s what we’re working on today.”

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Corvallis-based Samaritan hospitals owns a 2.3-acre plot of land in the north part of the city at the intersection of Old Salem Highway and the I-5 interchange.

The hospital system planned to build a regional medical center when it purchased the property for $1 million, according to city documents.

“While we do not have definitive plans for that property at this time, we do consider it a very important asset that can help us meet community health needs as Millersburg and surrounding areas continue to grow,” Larissa Balzer, vice president of strategy and planning at Samaritan Health Services, said in a statement.

Millersburg still lacking in commercial, residential development

While Millersburg has a lot of industrial development, it lacks commercial businesses.

Humpty’s Dump Bar & Grill and Oregon Barbecue Company are among the few commercial properties in town.

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The Love’s Travel Stop just off the North Millersburg exit, which opened in 2018, is the city’s most recent commercial development.

The city owns about 8 acres along Old Salem Highway between the new fire station, which the city built for $5 million in 2023, and Center Market. It has designated that for commercial development.

Unlike many small Oregon cities, Millersburg doesn’t have a downtown.

“We’re hoping to create one,” Booth said.

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The city also lacks affordable housing. The only houses for sale in Millersburg are advertised for over $500,000. There are no apartments or multi-family housing.

“That is the constant feedback we hear from our community and our council and our planning commission, 10,000 square foot lots is the hill to die on for our folks,” Booth said.

There are a couple large parcels of undeveloped property zoned for residential development in the city limits. The city had significant housing growth until 2023, when the last parcel of developable land in the city limits was built on.

City leaders say they can’t expand the urban growth boundary to the north or west because of the prime farmland in those areas.

The city is looking to expand to the east side of I-5 at a long-hoped-for new interchange for more commercial and high-density residential growth.

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Millersburg also owns land it intends to use for a YMCA building and a school, something the city hasn’t had since the last one closed in 1983.

“Last we knew, they are very interested in getting something in here,” Booth said.

Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com



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PHOTOS: No Kings protests begin in Portland

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PHOTOS: No Kings protests begin in Portland


PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — No Kings protests are underway in Portland, with crowds already gathering in opposition to the Trump administration.

Event organizers said they are expecting tens of thousands of protesters to take to the streets today.

See photos from the March 28 No Kings protests below:

  • Large crowds march during a No Kings Rally against President Donald Trump in downtown Portland.
  • Large crowds march during a No Kings Rally against President Donald Trump in downtown Portland.
  • Crowds march along Potland's South Watefront during a No Kings Rally.



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