Sen. Merkley Brings Town Hall Tour to Eastern Oregon in March

Eastern Oregon University's Badgley Hall in La Grande will host U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley for a 12:30 p.m. town hall on Tuesday, March 31, the Union County stop on a nine-event sweep through Eastern Oregon running March 30 through April 1.

Merkley's office announced the tour will cover Malheur, Harney, Grant, Baker, Union, Wallowa, Umatilla, Morrow and Wheeler counties over three days. The La Grande event is at Badgley Hall, One University Boulevard, near the corner of K Avenue and 6th Street.

"I'm looking forward to again visiting wonderful communities all over our state," Merkley said in a statement from his office. "By talking directly to folks in each county my team and I can go to work for the interests and needs most important in each corner of our state."

The Eastern Oregon leg begins Monday, March 30 with an 11 a.m. Mountain time stop at the Nyssa Senior Center in Malheur County, followed by a 2:30 p.m. session at the Harney County Community Center in Burns and a 6 p.m. event at the Grant County Senior Center in John Day. On March 31, Baker County gets a 9:30 a.m. town hall at Community Connection of Baker County in Baker City before Merkley moves on to La Grande, then wraps the day at 3:30 p.m. at the Wallowa Senior Center in Wallowa. The tour closes April 1 with stops in Umatilla at 10 a.m., Heppner at 1 p.m. and Fossil at 4:30 p.m.

Since taking office in 2009, Merkley has held an open town hall for each of Oregon's 36 counties every year, a total of more than 630 to date, according to his office. The Eastern Oregon stops are part of a statewide 2026 tour that has already included events in the Willamette Valley, coast counties and central Oregon.

Merkley's office noted that additional details will be sent to local media ahead of each event. Anyone planning to attend the Umatilla County stop at Columbia Vista Intermediate School gymnasium should be aware that the school is newly opened and many mapping apps do not navigate directly to the site at 251 Grant Street.