EUGENE – While fans of numerous high-powered passing attacks like those of Ohio State, LSU, and USC like to claim that their school is the best at churning out National Football League wide receivers, the Oregon Ducks are working hard to put themselves in the conversation for “Wide Receiver University” with a few big commits in the 2025 recruiting class.
Three of the top 10 wide receivers in the class who are committed are currently committed to Oregon, giving them the strongest recruiting presence at that position in the country as things stand today. Four-star commits Cooper Perry and Isaiah Mozee form the basis of this year’s receiver class while five-star Dallas Wilson provides the flash and top-end upside.
After losing last year’s leading receiver Troy Franklin the the NFL Draft and the Denver Broncos, the Ducks appear eager to reload at one of the most important positions on offense. Despite having the position settled for this year with Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart and Bo Nix’s brother Tez Johnson, both seem primed to hit the NFL Draft after this season.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning runs during practice with the Ducks Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA
The Ducks have recruited wide receiver well in Dan Lanning’s time as head coach, bringing in five-star Jurrion Dickey in the 2023 cycle along with Jeremiah McClellan and Dillon Gresham in 2024 but we know coach Lanning is never satisfied with what’s already been done.
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As Oregon moves into the Big Ten Conference, it will be more important than ever to have top-end talent at wide receiver to compete with the likes of USC, Ohio State, and Washington to name a few. While the Ducks are more well-rounded as a roster than USC and Washington, having an edge on Ohio State at wide receiver would go a long way towards getting over the hump and winning a conference title.
Watch the sights and sounds from past Oregon State Fairs
The 160th Oregon State Fair runs from Friday, Aug. 22, through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1.
The Oregon State Fair has added more big names to its 2026 Columbia Bank Concert Series lineup.
The newly announced performers include country singer Nate Smith on Aug. 28, legendary surf rock group The Beach Boys on Aug. 29 and country artist Jo Dee Messina on Sept. 4.
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The lineup joins other acts previously announced, including BigXThaPlug, who performs Aug. 31, and R&B singer Black, who performs on Sept. 1.
The 2026 headliner will be comedy musician “Weird Al” Yankovic, who will close out the concert series Sept. 7 as part of his “Bigger & Weirder” 2026 tour.
Most concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Weird Al’s Labor Day performance is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Oregon State Fair said additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks that will take place during this year’s 11-day event in Salem.
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How can Oregonians purchase concert tickets?
Concert tickets are available only through the official state fair website via FunCard at https://oregon.funcardapp.com/. Fair organizers warned visitors to avoid unauthorized sellers and scam ticket websites.
Officials also reminded fairgoers that concerts are held rain or shine. Umbrellas are not allowed inside the L.B. Day Amphitheater, though ponchos and blankets are permitted.
The fair runs from Friday, Aug. 28, through Labor Day, Sept. 7, at the Oregon State Fairgrounds.
Ginnie Sandoval is the Oregon Connect reporter for the Statesman Journal. Sandoval is a lifelong Oregonian who covers trending news, entertainment, food and outdoors. She can be reached at GSandoval@statesmanjournal.com or on X at @GinnieSandoval.
May 20, 2026 5:59 a.m. Updated: May 20, 2026 6:04 a.m.
Nordyke took a notable lead, particularly in Marion County, in the race to run Oregon’s capital city Tuesday.
Julie Hoy, left, has served as Salem’s mayor since 2024. Hoy is challenged by Vanessa Nordyke, a Salem city councilor and lawyer who previously worked for the Oregon Department of Justice.
Courtesy of the candidates
Salem voters are deciding who they want to lead Oregon’s capital and second-largest city.
Early returns Tuesday night show Vanessa Nordyke, a current city councilor and former lawyer at the Oregon Department of Justice, in the lead, roughly 14 percentage points ahead in Marion County and seven points ahead across the Willamette River in Polk County.
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She’s competing against incumbent Julie Hoy, a restaurant owner who previously served on the Salem City Council.
Hoy’s campaign team, after the 8 p.m. returns, told OPB “the night isn’t over,” as they waited to see where things would land.
Following the 10 p.m. updates, Nordyke said, “This campaign is proof that grassroots candidates can beat big money.”
Hoy promised voters safer neighborhoods, cleaner public spaces, more housing and homelessness services, and no new taxes without voter approval, among her campaign priorities.
Meanwhile, Nordyke promised to expand mental health services, open a sobering center, push for affordable housing options, and support library funding and youth-friendly programs.
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That’s just one race in a busy election night in the capital.
Four of Salem’s eight city council positions are up for election.
Preliminary results showed two incumbents leading, including Linda Nishioka with the largest lead of any of the council races — about 30 percentage points — against Manny Martinez for Ward 2 in central Salem.
Micki Varney was narrowly ahead, holding on against challenger Chris Cummings for Ward 8 in West Salem.
Incumbents were losing in races for two other council seats. Dave Inbody was leading against incumbent Deanna Gwyn for Ward 4 in South Salem. And for Northeast Salem’s Ward 6, Betsy Vega took a roughly six-point lead against incumbent Mai Vang.
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As for Marion County commissioners, incumbent Republican Kevin Cameron and Democrat Sara Duncan are the two candidates for Position 1.
Incumbent Republican Colm Willis and Democrat Maria Hinojos Pressey are running for Position 2.
Each ran unopposed in their party for the May primary. As reported by the Statesman Journal, a Democrat hasn’t won an election to the Marion County board since 1979.
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Oregon secretary of state, AG say election system is safe and secure
Oregon’s secretary of state and attorney general spoke on Election Day, assuring voters that the state’s election system is secure.
Oregon’s secretary of state and attorney general said on Election Day the state’s election system remains secure and accurate.
Secretary of State Tobias Read said Oregon’s landmark vote-by-mail system remains the gold standard for election security and accessibility despite cuts to federal funding and operational changes that have affected support for elections.
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“Your voice matters, your vote matters,” Read said. “I want to reassure you that Oregon’s elections are secure, Oregon’s elections are accurate, Oregon’s elections are fair and you should feel confident that our system is the gold standard for elections.”
He pointed to steps the state takes to keep elections safe, accurate and secure like tracking ballots with a unique barcode system and verifying signatures. The state’s ballot-counting machines are never connected to the internet and undergo public testing before and after elections, Read added.
Read criticized President Donald Trump and the federal administration’s actions that he said have weakened election security infrastructure. He specifically highlighted cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which Read has repeatedly expressed concerns about.
He said Oregon has worked to offset losses by forming partnerships with the Oregon Titan Fusion Center, the Oregon Military Department and county election officials to strengthen cybersecurity protections and emergency preparedness.
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And Read said the state is working to add more drop boxes in the future (there are currently 321 across the state) in response to delays in mail processing.
Rayfield also spoke, saying Oregonians should remain confident in the state’s election integrity despite misinformation surrounding election administration.
“The amount of misinformation that is being spewed across our country within this state is at an all-time high,” Rayfield said. “We have attacks on the integrity and the administration of our elections from elected officials going all the way up to the President of the United States.”
Rayfield said his Department of Justice is “pushing back” and has filed multiple legal challenges in the past year to stop “unconstitutional actions” by Trump. On May 19, a panel of Ninth Circuit judges in Pasadena, California heard oral arguments in one case related to the administration’s efforts to collect voter roll information from Oregon and California.
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Voters have until 8 p.m. May 19 to return their ballot. Election officials encouraged Oregonians to use drop boxes to return their ballots on time.
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.comon X @DianneLugo or Bluesky @diannelugo.bsky.social
