Author: KTVZ

Barney Lerten

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — One chart jumps off the page in October’s Central Oregon home sales report from Beacon Appraisal Group – a noteworthy spike in how long it took to sell a Bend home.

“I was kind of shocked by that,” appraiser Donnie Montagner told KTVZ News when asked about the 66-day median days on market for sold Bend homes.

That’s up three weeks in a single month – and the longest time to sell a house in the Bend market since the pandemic hit in March of 2020, Montagner said.

By contrast, the number of Bend home sales in October declined, but in far less dramatic fashion, down 16 homes to 162 – a not-unusual start to the slower fall real estate season.

Bend’s median home sales price continued its zig-zag in a relatively narrow range, for Bend anyway — up $63,000 last month, to $778,000.

Bend’s home building permits tally actually rose by 11 to 56 last month and the inventory of homes up for sale dipped by a half-month, to 3 1/2 months.

A much different picture emerges in Redmond, where the days on market for sold properties dropped by a similar 23 days, from 47 to 24 days, while the median home sale price was pretty stable, slipping $15,000 to $515,000.

A little of Bend’s slower market could be seasonal, but looking at Redmond, “we’ve had some drawdown in interest rates,” Montagner pointed out.

“It’s pretty hard to decipher” why two nearby cities would see such a contrast in their numbers, Montagner said. But the resorts and higher-end neighborhoods within Bend’s city limits also make for a different home sales picture, segment-wise, than in Redmond. Montagner pointed out that 29% of Bend’s home sales last month were over $1 million.

And going even farther back, before the pandemic, Bend’s median days on market for sold homes in 2019 was 103 days. And back in 2009, coming out of what was called the Great Recession, Bend’s median days on market was even longer, at 153 days, Montagner said.

“The median home price (in Bend) back then was $200,000,” the appraiser said – a different time, indeed.

Click here to follow the original article.

KTVZ

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Sisters City Council will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 19, as it considers new building hardening rules to make new homes more resistant to wildfires.

If adopted, the standards under Oregon Residential Specialty Code Section R327 – Wildfire Hazard Mitigation. would apply to new dwellings and their accessory structures within the city limits, enhancing local wildfire resiliency through building hardening measures.

The City Council identified wildfire mitigation and community resiliency as a key goal for the 2025–26 fiscal year, including the adoption of building hardening standards through the Sisters Municipal Code (SMC).

These standards are designed to make new homes more resistant to wildfire damage by using ignition-resistant materials and construction techniques that reduce the spread of fire.

Together with defensible space practices, these improvements reduce the likelihood that nearby wildfires will ignite structures and help protect both life and property, city officials said Friday.

“This action is part of an ongoing commitment by the city to mitigate the impacts of wildfire and build a more resilient community.,” they said in a news release.

Community members are encouraged to attend and provide public testimony regarding the proposed adoption of ORSC Section R327 – Wildfire Hazard Mitigation.

Meeting information is available at www.ci.sisters.or.us/meetings 

Click here to follow the original article.

KTVZ

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) — The City of Sisters is inviting the community to a ribbon-cutting celebration for the new Sisters Gateway Park and Mobility Hub on Monday, Nov. 17 at 10 a.m at the new park, located at 460 U.S. Highway 20.

“The Sisters Gateway Park and Mobility Hub represents a major step forward in the city’s commitment to sustainable transportation, outdoor recreation, and community gathering spaces,” the city said in a news release Friday that continues below:

The project integrates regional transportation options and amenities such as bathrooms, RV dump, and fill stations, as well as a community labyrinth and planned dog park, all designed to welcome residents and visitors alike.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will feature remarks from Mayor Jennifer Letz, City Manager Jordan Wheeler and project partners, followed by a tour of the new facilities.

“The Sisters Gateway Park and Mobility Hub is more than just a transportation center,” said Mayor Letz. “It’s a welcoming entry point to our community and a model for how small cities can build for the future; connecting people, recreation, and sustainable mobility.”

The public is encouraged to attend and celebrate this milestone for the Sisters community.

For information on Sisters Gateway Park and Mobility Hub please go to:  www.ci.sisters.or.us/publicworks/page/gateway-park-mobility-hub 

Click here to follow the original article.

Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video)

POWELL BUTTE, Ore. (KTVZ) — A Prineville man was hospitalized and cited for DUII after a crash on the Powell Butte Highway Thursday evening.

Crook County sheriff’s deputies responded around 5:25 p.m. to the reported crash on the highway near milepost 6, Sergeant Javier Sanchez said.

An investigation found that a 36-year-old Prineville man was heading east on the highway at the wheel of a pickup truck when it left the north side of the road, crashed through a fence and came to rest in a field, Sanchez said.

The injured driver was treated on the scene by Crook County and Redmond Fire and Rescue. He was then flown by Life Flight helicopter to St. Charles Bend, where the sergeant said he was in stable condition Friday.

The crash closed the highway in both directions for about a half-hour.

“Based on the investigation, alcohol and speed are believed to be contributing factors to the crash,” Sanchez said in a news release.

The driver was cited in lieu of custody for driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII).

The sheriff’s office thanked Crook County and Redmond Fire & Rescue, Life Flight, and STAR Towing for their assistance.  

Click here to follow the original article.

Kelsey Merison

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregonians can plan to receive a kicker credit on their tax returns next year for 2025.

According to the Oregon Department of Revenue, a more than $1.41 billion revenue surplus in the 2023-2025 biennium will trigger a kicker credit for the 2025 tax year.

The credit will either increase your tax refund or decrease the amount of state taxes you owe.

Read the full press release from the Oregon Department of Revenue below:

“The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) has confirmed a more than $1.41 billion revenue surplus in the 2023-2025 biennium, triggering a tax surplus credit, or “kicker,” for the 2025 tax year.

The surplus will be returned to taxpayers through a credit on their 2025 state personal income tax returns filed in 2026. It is not sent to taxpayers in a check. The kicker credit will either increase a taxpayer’s Oregon state income tax refund or decrease the amount of state taxes they owe.

Only taxpayers who filed a tax year 2024 return and also file a tax year 2025 return can receive a kicker. The credit is a percentage of Oregon personal income tax liability for the 2024 tax year. Taxpayers who have not yet filed a 2024 tax return, should file now. That will allow them to claim their kicker credit when they file their 2025 tax return next year.

To calculate the amount of their credit, taxpayers can multiply their 2024 personal income tax liability before any credits—line 24 on the 2024 Form OR-40 filed earlier this year—by 9.863 percent. This percentage is determined and certified by OEA. Taxpayers who claimed a credit for tax paid to another state would need to subtract the credit amount from their liability before calculating the credit.

Personal income taxpayers can also determine the amount of their kicker using a “What’s My Kicker? calculator available on Revenue Online. To use the calculator, taxpayers will need to enter their name, Social Security Number, and filing status for 2024 and 2025.

Taxpayers who don’t have a filing obligation for 2025, still must file a 2025 tax return to claim their credit.

The 2025 Oregon personal income tax return instructions will include detailed information on how to claim the credit. Full-year Oregon residents will use Form OR-40. Part-year residents will use Form OR-40-P. Non-residents will use Form OR-40-N. Composite and fiduciary-income tax return filers are also eligible.

Taxpayers should keep in mind that the state may use all or part of their kicker to pay any state debt they owe. These debts can include taxes due for other years, child support, court fines, or school loans.

Taxpayers can donate their kicker to the Oregon State School Fund for K-12 public education, but they must donate the entire amount. The donation is permanent and cannot be taken back.

Taxpayers also have the option of donating part or all their refund to any or all the 29 charities approved by the Charitable Checkoff Commission. Taxpayers use Form OR-DONATE to designate their donation to charity.

For more information, go to the Oregon surplus “kicker” credit page of the Department of Revenue website.

Taxpayers that haven’t filed their 2024 Oregon tax return can still file electronically using tax preparation software or Direct File Oregon. Free tax preparation services are available for both federal and Oregon tax returns. Some companies offer free software use and e-filing for eligible taxpayers. Links to the software and free offers can be found on the Department of Revenue website. Information about free tax preparation services is also available on the website.

The Department of Revenue plans to announce the date taxpayers can start filing 2025 Oregon tax returns in January. The department will continue to offer Direct File Oregon as an option for taxpayers to electronically file their 2025 returns for free. The fastest way for taxpayers to claim and receive their kicker will be to file electronically and use direct deposit to receive their refund.

Visit www.oregon.gov/dor to get tax forms, check the status of your refund, or make tax payments; call 800-356-4222 toll-free from an Oregon prefix (English or Spanish); 503-378-4988 in Salem and outside Oregon; or email questions.dor@oregon.gov.

Fact Sheet: Oregon Revenue Surplus “Kicker” Credit 

How did Oregon get the kicker?

The 1979 Oregon Legislative Assembly passed the “Two percent kicker” law as a way to control state spending. The law requires the state to compare the revenue forecast for each two-year biennium to the amount actually received and return any surplus to taxpayers.

Voters approved a ballot measure adding the kicker to the Oregon Constitution in 2000 and provided taxpayers with the option to donate their kicker to the State School Fund to help fund K-12 schools in Oregon.

When do we have a kicker?

After the biennium ends, if actual revenue collected exceeds the forecast amount by more than 2 percent, the revenue surplus is refunded to taxpayers as a tax credit claimed on their personal income tax returns in the even-numbered year of the next biennium.

On November 1, 2025 the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) certified that revenue collected for 2023-2025 biennium (July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025) had exceeded the OEA forecast by $1.41 billion, the fourth largest surplus revenue amount in state history.

OEA further certified that Oregon taxpayers can receive a kicker credit on their tax year 2025 returns filed in 2026 equal to 9.863 percent of their Oregon personal income tax liability for tax year 2024.

The kicker is returned to taxpayers as a tax credit.

The kicker is returned to taxpayers as a refundable tax credit, either reducing the amount of tax they owe or increasing their refund.

While there was a time when the kicker was returned to taxpayers in the form of a check, the 2011 Legislature changed the method of payment back to a tax credit claimed on returns filed in the even-numbered year of the biennium.

How much will my kicker be?

Taxpayers can use the Department of Revenue’s “What’s My Kicker?” calculator to determine the amount of their kicker.

Taxpayers can claim a kicker credit equal to 9.863 percent of their Oregon personal income tax liability for tax year 2024. A taxpayer with a $5,000 Oregon personal income tax liability for tax year 2024 would be able to claim a kicker credit on their tax year 2025 return of $493 ($5,000 x 0.09863). Only Oregon personal income tax liability for tax year 2024 will count toward the kicker. Taxes paid in previous years and federal income taxes are not part of the kicker calculation.

Where can I find more information about the kicker?

You can find more information about the kicker and a link to the “What’s My Kicker?” calculator on the Oregon Department of Revenue website, including a list of frequently asked questions, and historic data listing the years of past kickers and their amounts.”

Click here to follow the original article.

Kelsey Merison

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Hayden Homes Amphitheater announced Jack Johnson will return to Bend September 27th, 2026 for the ‘Surfilmusic Tour’ with special guest G. Love.

Online-only venue presale will begin Thursday, November 13th at 10 a.m. and general sales will begin Friday, November 14th at 10 a.m. online or in-person at the Old Mill District Ticket Mill.

Johnson last came to Bend in 2022 and before that in 2017.

Below is from Hayden Homes Amphitheater’s website on the announcement:

“The sitting, waiting and wishing is over as the one and only Jack Johnson returns Sunday, Sept. 27! This is your cue to turn a late summer evening into easy going surf-bliss.  Prepare to feel the tide in his rhythms, the hush between notes, and smiles that form long before they’re visible.

Jack Johnson has released seven studio albums and two live albums that have sold over 25 million copies worldwide. His Brushfire Records label and touring crew continue to be leaders in the greening of the music industry and his All At Once social action network connects fans with local non-profits at each tour stop. Jack, with his wife Kim, founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation to support environmental education in Hawaii’s schools and communities, as well as the Johnson Ohana Foundation to support environmental, art and music education worldwide.

The latest album from Jack Johnson, “Meet The Moonlight” (produced by Blake Mills) opens on a question about the strange complexities of human nature, and never lets up on its heartfelt push for deeper understanding. Over the course of ten captivating and endlessly unpredictable tracks, the multi-platinum-selling singer/songwriter examines a whole spectrum of existential concerns, like the impermanence of life and fragility of human connection, and the struggle for community and presence in an ever-fragmenting world. He infuses each inquiry with the profound warmth and poetic grace that have always permeated his music. “Meet The Moonlight” ultimately affirms Johnson as an essential voice in elevating our perspective and subtly guiding us toward a more expansive state of mind.”

Click here to follow the original article.

KTVZ – News Team

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Happening Saturday, November 8th, the 10th annual Central Oregon Fill Your Pantry event is taking place at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond. This event is a community bulk b uying farmers market created to fill your pantry and freezers with local products for the winter.

You can use your SNAP benefits card at the Bend Farmers Market Booth. They’ll exchange benefits for tokens. Through an Oregon Department o Agriculture Grant, a $100 matching grant will be offered for each participant on SNAP, as well as $20 Protein Perks matching grant. That means if you have just $1 you can still receive the matching grant and protein perk.

If you do not have any benefits left on your card, you can still receive $20 in the matching grant and $20 in protein perks. They’ll also have a ‘Fill All Pantries’ free food bin.

The event is happening 11am to 3pm at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds.

For more information click here.

From the Central Oregon Fill Your Pantry website:

If you would like to use EBT/SNAP at the Fill Your Pantry event, please bring your SNAP benefits card to the Bend Farmers Market booth at the Fill Your Pantry event. The Bend Farmers Market will be exchanging SNAP benefits for tokens. These tokens can be taken to any of our vendors to use just like you would your SNAP benefits. If you would like to use your FDNP vouchers, please take these vouchers directly to the vendors. Vendors that can take FDNP include: Boundless Farmstead, Canyon Moon Farm, Cultivate Farm, Deschutes Canyon Garlic, The Farmer in Odell, Rainshadow Organics, Rooper Ranch, Sungrounded Farm, Upriver Organics, and Zajac Farms.

We were just awarded a grant from the Oregon Department of Agriculture to offer a $100 Double Up Food Bucks matching grant for each participant. We are also able to offer a $20 Protein Perks matching grant for each participant this year as well.

So that means if you ring up your EBT/SNAP card for $120, you will receive $240 total in benefits to use at Fill Your Pantry!

Click here to follow the original article.

Kelsey Merison

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — At KTVZ News, we focus our resources on bolstering the health and well-being of Central Oregon’s youth through our 21 Cares for Kids partnerships. 

We have six incredible community partnerships that we’re highlighting through a monthly segment called ‘Making a Difference’.  This month we’re spotlighting Bethlehem Inn—a community-supported, high barrier emergency shelter nonprofit in Bend and Redmond. 

“Our mission is transforming lives together through shelter, help, and hope. And the really most important part of that line is the together,” said Michael Hancock, the executive director of Bethlehem Inn. 

Executive Director Michael Hancock

Bethlehem Inn has been making a difference in our community since 1999. 

“We serve just under 200 people a night. But I don’t want anybody to believe that all we do here is provide a warm place to stay and food and hygiene supplies,” Hancock said. 

It provides a warm, safe place to sleep, nourishing meals, and case management services for adults and children experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon. 

“We have a work experience program where we’re helping people gain skills. We bring on-site, vendors who come in and do financial education, employment education, just a variety of things to bring about skills,” said Hancock. “So that when people do get out of this shelter, we’re helping them break out of the cycle of homelessness, rather than just spiraling back.” 

Bend Campus-Credit: Bethlehem Inn

The work couldn’t be done without support from the community. 

“It really does take a village for this mission,” Hancock said. “And we’re so fortunate to be in this village.” 

Bethlehem Inn is getting ready to open a thrift boutique in Redmond so it can bolster its work experience program, hire past participants, and earn additional funds for operations.  

We’ll keep you updated on the opening date but it should be in the coming weeks. 

Click here to learn more about Bethlehem Inn. 

Click here to follow the original article.

Triton Notary

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– A Bend nonprofit is giving young artists a chance to shine, and heal, through art and music.

Hearts Unknown Education, or HUE, is hosting its ‘Art from the Heart’ showcase Friday at its studio on Franklin Avenue and 2nd Street. The event runs from 5p.m. to 9 p.m. and features live music, food, and artwork created by students in HUE’s after-school program.

The program helps young people use creativity as an outlet for emotional struggles, combining art, music, and mental wellness practices to support self-expression and confidence.

Founder Nico Carpinelli calls HUE “an artist Disneyland,” saying the organization provides a wide range of creative experiences for its students.

Carpinelli told KTVZ news “We’re basically an artist Disneyland, kids are painting, doing photography, playing instruments, working with clay, all kinds of art forms to express what’s going on inside them. These kids are struggling and they need a way to get what’s (in their heart) and put it (on a canvas).”

Mental Health Director Maya Heck says that the creative process often gives children a voice when words fall short telling KTVZ news “For young children and adolescents, expressing difficult emotions verbally can be very challenging, art allows a channel for those emotions that might otherwise stay bottled up.”

Visitors can explore the studio, meet the young artists, and see firsthand how creativity can support mental well-being. Prints made by HUE participants will be available for $20 apiece. Tickets are also $20, available online or at the door.

Click here to follow the original article.

Cami Porter

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — With temperatures dropping and winter winds sweeping through Central Oregon, Shepherd’s House Ministries is launching its annual Cold Weather Clothing Drive to help those facing the elements without proper gear.

This week’s chilly weather has highlighted a growing need in the community. Many individuals are spending nights outdoors, exposed to freezing temperatures without the protection of warm clothing or blankets. The nonprofit, Shepherd’s House, is urging residents to donate not just coats, but all types of cold weather gear — including gloves, sweaters, hats, and blankets.

Jerry Kaping, Director of Development at Shepherd’s House Ministries, emphasized the urgency: “A lot of people face very cold temperatures at night, and just a coat, a blanket, or a sleeping bag can keep them alive. We’re seeing more and more people in need, and we’re trying to meet that need.”

Donations can include gently used outerwear, but items worn directly against the skin—such as socks and underwear—must be new. The organization is especially seeking blankets this year, as they provide critical warmth for those sleeping outside.

The drive will take place this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Donations are accepted at two locations: The Men’s Shelter on Division Street in Bend, and the Redmond Shelter off Highway 97.

Community members are encouraged to participate and help ensure that no one faces the winter cold without protection.

Click here to follow the original article.