Category: ktvz-local-news

Gregory Deffenbaugh

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ — A bald eagle recently spotlighted in a Problem Solvers report on the dangers of lead poisoning in wildlife has made a return to the wild after weeks of rehabilitation.

The majestic bird was rescued earlier this year after suffering from severe lead poisoning, likely from ingesting fragments of lead bullets in animal remains left behind by hunters. The toxin can be deadly to birds of prey, causing neurological damage, weakness, and even death if untreated.

After he was examined, veterinarians determined he had lead poisoning. However, it was not because the eagle was shot. It likely ate something that still had bullet fragments left in it. This incident has think wild spreading the word, don’t shoot animals with lead bullets.

“We often treat raptors that have some level of lead in their system, sometimes high enough that it does end up being fatal for them,” said Molly Honea, Communications Director for the non-profit.

She added, “We encourage people who are hunting for subsistence or shooting at marmots and ground squirrels to choose lead free alternatives. They’re effective and they’re out there and they aren’t going to cause, lead to get into our wildlife”.

Think Wild knows hunters have a great interest in wildlife conservation, and they hope stories like this will encourage them to make the switch.

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KTVZ News Partners

REDMOND, OR – June 5, 2025 — Overland Expo Pacific Northwest, the premier overland event series in the United States, returns June 27–29, 2025, to the Deschutes County Expo Center in Redmond, Oregon. This three-day event is a must-attend for adventure travelers of all skill levels, offering more than 300 exhibitors, 175+ hands-on classes and workshops, training and driving courses, and a chance to connect with the passionate overlanding community.

“Overland Expo PNW is a celebration of adventure, education and community in one of the most beautiful regions of the country,” said Jessica Kirchner, Vice President of Consumer Events for Emerald. “Whether you’re attending inspiring classes and hands-on experiences, meeting our incredible exhibitors and checking out the latest gear, or swapping stories around the campfire…there’s something here for every type of explorer.”

Set against the stunning backdrop of Central Oregon, Overland Expo PNW is the ultimate destination to Get Outfitted, Get Trained, Get Inspired, and Get Going. With an unmatched lineup of world-class instructors, top brands in the automotive and adventure travel gear spaces, and a packed schedule of workshops, happy hours, film screenings, and community events, there’s something for everyone, whether you’re new to overlanding or a seasoned vet. 

Vehicle Experiences:

Overland Expo Training (Sold Out): The popular Thursday-only Overland Expo Training program offers intensive, full-day instruction with a low trainee-to-trainer ratio and covers essential skills like driving techniques, vehicle recovery, preparedness and maintenance. 

Trail Course Driving Experience (NEW for 2025), Sponsored by COMEUP Winch: In response to attendee requests, the new Trail Course Driving Experience offers an affordable, high-impact opportunity for day pass and camping pass holders to bring their own vehicles and tackle a custom-built overland course with guidance from expert trainers. 

Demo Rides: JackRabbit Mobility will be on-site, offering live demo rides of their latest electric machines.

Event Highlights:

Happy Hours: There will be an exclusive happy hour for campers and exhibitors sponsored by Toyo Tires (Thursday, June 26, 5–7 p.m.) and happy hours open to all pass holders sponsored by MAXXIS (Friday, June 27, 5–7 p.m.) and Pelican Products (Saturday, June 28, 5–7 p.m.). These are excellent opportunities to grab a drink and a bite to eat and network with fellow enthusiasts.

Women Who Wander Fireside Chat & Networking (Friday, June 27, 6-8 p.m.): A dedicated space to connect, learn, and share experiences with fellow women travelers.

Overland Expo Film Festival (Friday, June 27, 7–9 p.m.): A celebration of global adventures and untold stories, featuring Emmy-winner Grace Schuessler’s Where the Wild Things Are and Latitude 70 by world travelers and filmmakers Roy Rudnick and Michelle Francine Weiss.

Toyota Game Night (Friday, June 27, 7–9 p.m.): Enjoy free food, drinks and prizes.

Camp Subaru Live! (Saturday, June 28, 6–8 p.m.): Kick back with light bites, wine and beer, and live music. 

Overland Expo Foundation Charity Raffle (Saturday, June 28, 7–9 p.m.): Give back to the community while winning top gear from premium overland brands.

Camping and Tickets:

Overland Expo PNW offers on-site camping at the Deschutes County Expo Center, providing easy access to classes, exhibitors, and evening events. Overland Expo PNW offers day passes, weekend passes, and premium camping packages. Attendees are encouraged to secure tickets early as camping spots are expected to sell out. Buy tickets and camping passes here. 

Upcoming 2025 Overland Expo Events:

Overland Expo Mountain West – August 22-24, 2025 | Loveland, CO

Overland Expo East – October 3-5, 2025 | Arrington, VA

For event updates, schedules, and the latest announcements, download the Overland Expo mobile app (available two weeks before the event), follow Overland Expo on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, or visit overlandexpo.com.

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KTVZ News Partners

SALEM, Ore. – With fireworks sales beginning today, the Oregon State Fire Marshal is reminding people to celebrate the Fourth of July responsibly and legally. The 2025 fireworks retail sales season in Oregon runs from June 23 through July 6, and the agency’s message is clear: “Keep it legal. Keep it safe.” 

As Oregonians make plans for the holiday, they’re urged to check local rules and restrictions on both the sale and use of fireworks—whether celebrating at home or traveling.

“Before lighting any fireworks, make sure you know what’s allowed where you are,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “We want everyone to enjoy the holiday, but it’s critical to follow the law and avoid actions that could cause a fire or injury.”

Local governments across Oregon may set additional restrictions on the sale or use of fireworks, especially in areas at higher risk of wildfires. It’s the responsibility of those using fireworks to understand and follow local laws.

Fireworks safety and legal reminders

Consumer-legal fireworks may be purchased only from permitted retailers and stands. These fireworks may not be used on:

Public lands and parks

National parks and forests

Bureau of Land Management lands

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service properties

Oregon state beaches, parks, and campgrounds

Private lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry

To help reduce the risk of fire and injury, fire officials urge Oregonians to follow the four Bs of safe fireworks use:

Be prepared: Have a bucket of water or a hose nearby.

Be safe: Keep children and pets at a safe distance. Never use fireworks near dry grass or other flammable materials.

Be responsible: Do not relight duds. Soak used fireworks in water before disposal.

Be aware: Use only legal fireworks and only where they are allowed.

Illegal fireworks and consequences

Oregon law prohibits the possession, use, or sale of any fireworks that fly into the air, explode, or travel more than 12 feet horizontally on the ground without a permit from the state fire marshal. This includes items such as bottle rockets, Roman candles, and firecrackers.

Violations are a Class B misdemeanor, with a maximum fine of $2,500. Those who misuse fireworks or are found to be responsible for them causing damage may be held financially responsible for fire suppression and other costs. Parents can also be held liable for damage caused by their children.

Learn more

The Oregon State Fire Marshal offers resources on fireworks laws, retail sale permits, and safety tips on its fireworks webpage.

For a safe celebration this Fourth of July, know the law, check local restrictions, and always keep it legal and safe.

About the Oregon State Fire Marshal The Oregon State Fire Marshal became an independent state agency in July 2023. The agency is dedicated to protecting people, property, and the environment from fire and hazardous materials. The OSFM works with local fire agencies, communities, and other partners to strengthen fire prevention, preparedness, and response statewide. Please note: the Oregon State Fire Marshal is no longer an office. 

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KTVZ News Partners

Redmond, OR – The Bi-Mart Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo, in partnership with Indian Head Casino, announces that Grammy-nominated R&B artist Trey Songz will replace Tyga and perform live on Saturday, Aug. 2, as part of the 2025 Kendall Toyota of Bend FREE Summer Concert Series.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tyga will no longer be able to perform, but we’re excited to welcome Trey Songz as his replacement,” said Geoff Hinds, Director of the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center. “Trey’s dynamic energy and strong fan connection make him a great addition to this year’s star-studded concert series.”

Trey Songz has sold 45 million records and has over 60 million followers across his social media platforms. Known for fan favorites like “Na Na,” “Bottoms Up,” and “Say Aah,” his accolades include multiple BET Awards, American Music Award nominations, and gold and platinum-certified singles.

The 2025 Kendall Toyota of Bend FREE Summer Concert Series also includes performances from Brothers Osborne, AWOLNATION, Diplo, and La Original Banda El Limón. New this year, Nashville-based DJ Grant Fisher will kick off each night with a pre-show performance and return after the headliner for a post-show set.

General seating for all concerts is FREE with a paid fair admission ticket, thanks to the generous support of Kendall Toyota of Bend. General seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, and early arrival is recommended.

Fairgoers looking for an elevated experience can purchase VIP tickets for seats in a premium viewing area. There are a limited number of VIP tickets available for each show, which start as low as $10, plus fair admission.

For more information on the fair schedule, attractions, ticketing, and to purchase VIP tickets, please visit www.deschutesfair.com.

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Harley Coldiron

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The small but mighty team of volunteers at Furry Freight Shelter Transport are holding a fundraiser garage sale all weekend in Bend, to support their efforts to transport pets to areas where they will not be euthanized. To date the nonprofit has saved over 2,000 dogs from being put down, and also runs a program to get dogs neutered.

WHAT: Furry Freight Shelter Transport’s 8th Annual Benefit Yard Sale

WHEN: 7AM-2PM; Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

WHERE: 241 SE Airpark Drive, Bend, Oregon.

Background: Furry Freight partners with shelters in overpopulated areas where pets are at risk of euthanasia. We transport the pets to our partner shelters in the Pacific Northwest where they are quickly adopted into loving homes. Just by changing their location, pets go from unwanted and discarded to loved members of the family.

Programs:

Transport:

Our Transport program saves lives by transporting dogs and cats from overpopulated areas to areas of high demand to reduce the euthanasia rate of adoptable pets.

Studies show that transport provides a means of addressing population imbalance issues in communities. It supports the movement of animals from shelters overburdened with more animals than they have the capacity to care for and a limited market demand to shelters with fewer animals and higher market demand thus reducing euthanasia and saving animal lives.

Spay it Forward:

Our Spay it Forward program was created to help decrease pet overpopulation at the source, by helping pets whose owners can’t afford to fix them. In December of 2021 our first dog was fixed in Tulsa at no cost to the owner, and the Spay it Forward program began. We now have regular appointments set up through our rescue partners.

We are currently in talks with other low cost spay and neuter clinics to increase this program to combat the massive number of dogs, cats, kittens, and puppies surrendered to local shelters that already are forced to euthanize for space. We are focusing on large breed dogs and cats, as those are the hardest to adopt out and are most at risk in shelters.

If you would like to help in the efforts to reduce euthanasia of adoptable pets in overpopulated areas please consider a donation of any size to our Spay it Forward program by indicating “Spay it Forward” in the comments. If you would like to sponsor a surgery for a pet in need each surgery costs on average $70.

Furry Freight Shelter Transport is an all volunteer 501(c)(3) public charity.

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Harley Coldiron

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Over 100 hundred people lined up outside of Burgerville’s newest location on 3rd Street in Bend, for the grand opening of its newest location. The first 100 customers of the fast food chain received a promotional gift card for the equivalent of 52 Burgerville burgers.

After the early-morning crowd cleared out, a ribbon-cutting ceremony took place, with Burgerville CEO Ed Casey speaking on the importance of local partnerships.

“Fresh food just tastes better. And so if you’re getting it local and you’re getting it quickly and it’s not frozen, it’s a fresh product, it’s just a higher quality meal to start with. So there’s that. But it’s also about participating in the community,” Casey told KTVZ News. “When you’re buying local, you’re trading with economies in the market and it helps everybody. So those are the most important pieces of it. And I think it speaks to most of our guests.”

The new location has already employed 60 locals.

“60 (employees) is probably about right to start, but if it gets busier than we can handle with that, then we would hire a few more,” Casey said. “We hope to grow in this market and put another store in down the road.”

For the first 30 days, there’s a Bend-exclusive item on the menu: the Pub Beer Cheese Slider.

It features Bend’s own 10 Barrel Beer Cheese, pasture-raised beef patty from Country Natural Beef, and is served on a pretzel bun. Burgerville will donate 20% of all slider proceeds to The Giving Plate, a Bend nonprofit food relief organization.

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Claire Elmer

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — On Sunday in downtown Bend, Central Oregon 50501 organized a protest to voice their opposition to the recent U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites. 

The event took place at Bend’s Peace Corner and started at 2:00p.m., just hours after the group announced its plans to the public at 9:00a.m. 

“We want to show an immediate reaction,” said Freddy Finney-Jordet, co-organizer of the protest. “We’re saying ‘here’s the 84% or so that opposes this move. Here is how passionately we oppose the move’,” said Finney-Jordet.

The statistic Finney-Jordet referenced comes in part from poll results released by YouGov and The Economist, which stated that only 16% of Americans supported U.S. Military involvement in the Iran and Israel conflict; that left the remaining 84% of Americans in the ‘should not’ or ’unsure’ categories. The poll was conducted between June 13th and June 16th of this year, less than 10 days before the bombing. 

Included in these results was the statistic that 85% of Americans did not want Iran to get or develop nuclear weapons. 

While many in opposition of the Trump administration’s bombing say it was unconstitutional, others pushed back, citing President Trump did not violate the constitution in this instance — Congress was notified of the action within the 48 hour requirement period. 

For protesters, there is concern that the bombing escalated already high tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which could lead to further military action. They fear those potential actions won’t go through the Congressional process of formal approval, the War Powers Act may be ignored, and the U.S. could end up in another war. 

“This isn’t just Trump, but presidents have a tendency to skirt the lines a little bit and expand their executive power. Not outside the bounds of legality necessarily, but it’s unprecedented,” said Finney-Jordet. 

The group hopes the protest on Sunday will make elected officials take notice of their stance against the bombing and call for Congress to reinforce or reform the War Powers Act. “We would like to make sure that Congress is consulted in the future to make sure that not just Trump, but any president doesn’t do this kind of thing again. The authority to launch attacks like this is in the hands of Congress and not the president,” said Finney-Jadet. 

They encourage people to contact their elected officials to let them know where you stand on the issue. 

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Claire Elmer

(Update: adding video, interview with advocate, full report)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — On Saturday morning in downtown Bend, protesters gathered to push back against the proposed sale of public lands in Oregon. The group convened in Drake Park before making their way to Peace Corner.

The proposal being protested was introduced by Utah Republican Senator, Mike Lee, as a provision to the Trump administration’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”. It would open the door to selling off more than three million acres of public lands across 11 western states, including Oregon.

The way it is written, the bill would allow nearly any type of Nation Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land to be sold, even if it’s currently used for public outdoor recreation. For Oregonians, this includes popular trails and recreational sites — including Sparks Lake, Mt. Hood, and more. 

National Parks, Wilderness, and other protective designations are excluded from potential sales. Aside from exclusion of those lands, there are practically no other restrictions that would prohibit what non-excluded lands could be sold, or for what purpose. 

After reading the proposal in its entirety, outdoor advocate Grace Schuessler felt she had to do something. “As an outdoor recreation community, particularly in Bend, Oregon, we want to say that our land is not for sale. It is for us and for outdoor recreation, whether it’s motorized or non-motorized,” Schuessler told KTVZ News. 

Protesters argue the bill prioritizes drilling and logging, slashes environmental safeguards, and bypasses public input. They hope to spread the word about what’s at stake and let elected officials know where they stand. 

“I think it’s a great way for us to inspire other states to get out there to protest and to let their elected official officials know that we’re not going to stand down. We’re going to stand up. We’re using our voice,” said Schuessler. 

Saturday’s protest in Bend remained peaceful and drew honks of support from passing drivers. Schuessler felt that seeing a unified community show up for the cause made the day a success. 

“The main message I want to get out there is just to have people stand up for their land and fight for their land. Please reach out to your Senators, please reach out to your elected officials, and let them know that we don’t stand for this. That is going to be the way we get our voice heard,” said Schuessler.

Schuessler hopes to organize more protests against the provision throughout the summer. Though she organized Saturday’s protest as an individual, she told KTVZ News that the Outdoor Alliance has been a major help in providing information and support. 

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Jillian Fortner

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A long-standing Crook County tradition is back in full swing.

The Rockhound Pow Wow kicked off in Prineville on Thursday, marking its 79th year.

The event draws vendors from across the country, offering everything from unique rocks and rare fossils to handcrafted jewelry.

David Alexander, owner of Rockwater Stone, has been part of the event for five years. He says what keeps him coming back is the strong sense of community the event has created.

“I’ve been digging rocks for 20 plus years and I’ve involved with different vendors and people around the West that have been involved in this. I’ve also become friends with a lot of these vendors. So it carries on, you know, the culture of rockhounding,” said David Alexander.

The gem and mineral show runs through Sunday at the Crook County Fairgrounds and is free for the public to attend.

If you can’t make it to Prineville, there’s another rock show happening in Madras next weekend.

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KTVZ News Partners

The City of Sisters is seeking to award Community Grants to non-profit community groups and otherentities that meet the grant criteria for the 2025/26 fiscal year.

The City will award up to $30,000 in grants this year for Sisters community projects. The average grant award is approximately $1,500, and the City has awarded over $350,000 in grants to over 70 local groups over more than 20 years.

Organizations that serve the Sisters community, but are not designated non-profits will need to meet atleast one of the following criteria to be eligible for a grant:

Provides assistance for essential utilities, food, medical needs, clothing, or shelter.

Provides educational or recreational opportunities for children or seniors.

Generates/supports economic activity in Sisters.In evaluating requests from non-profits and for-profit organizations, the City will consider the following:

The requesting organization’s history of success.

The organizational and financial stability of the requesting organization.

The number and types of community members served by the request.

The ability to measure and track the effectiveness of the project or service.

Community grant funds will not be used for travel, budget deficits, or routine operating expenses.Interested organizations should submit a Community Grant application by Thursday, July 31, 2025,attention Rebecca Green, City Recorder at recorder@ci.sisters.or.us. Grants are awarded at the discretionof the Sisters City Council in late August.Applications are available on our website: www.ci.sisters.or.us/administration/page/community-grantsFor more information, contact Rebecca Green at 541-323-5206 or recorder@ci.sisters.or.us.

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