The American Red Cross is holding a blood drive today from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hal Holmes Community Center, 209 North Ruby Street. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Bird flu has been found in Kittitas County. The county Public Health Department said yesterday that a federal lab confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza in a backyard poultry flock here on Friday. Health officials say the risk to the general public is very low, but people who keep chickens or other bird

Saturday is a Discover Pass free day, so you can visit state parks and other state recreation lands without a pass. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Ellensburg has joined Cle Elum and Kittitas County in putting a temporary stop to data centers. The City Council voted unanimously this week for a six-month emergency moratorium on data center proposals inside city limits. It took about five minutes. Community Development Director Dan Carlson told the council the city's rules don't t

Two people who've spent years making Ellensburg a more creative place are getting the city's top arts honors. Jeannie Johnson is this year's Arts Treasure. She's a painter and teacher who has taught hundreds of local students since 1993, and two of her oil paintings hang in the city's collection. Renee Fyall gets the Arts Advocate Award. As president of the Ellensburg Mural Society, she has helped raise nearly 200 thousand dollars over the last three years to restore and grow

If you've been waiting all summer for a backyard fire, you can have one now. The Kittitas County burn ban was lifted at noon yesterday, when the governor's statewide ban also ended. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS If you've been waiting all summer for a backyard fire, you can have one now. The Kittitas County burn ban was lifted at noon yesterday, when the governor's statewide ban also ended. Fire Marshal Dan Young says fuel moisture, the weather and humidity all now support it.

Saturday is National Public Lands Day, which makes it a Discover Pass free day. You won't need a pass to park on state parks, Department of Natural Resources or Fish and Wildlife lands. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Kittitas County got a clean report from the Washington State Auditor's Office. The audit covered the county's books for 2025 and found no problems at all. It's the second audit in a row with no findings. County Auditor Bryan Elliott thanked his finance team and eve

Central Washington University is waking back up. About 3,000 students are settling into campus housing this week, with roughly 1,500 of them having moved in last Thursday and Friday. Classes begin tomorrow. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS An independent investigation has cleared Kittitas County Coroner Cori McKean of wrongdoing. A whistleblower complaint filed this spring by four deputy coroners questioned the hiring of a chief deputy without an application and raised concerns a

Central Washington University has set a date to open its newest building. The North Academic Commons, the big new structure next to Brooks Library on Dean Nicholson Boulevard, gets its ribbon-cutting on Friday, October 2nd, at 2 p.m., with self-guided tours after. It's a 104-thousand-square-foot building that is heated and cooled by a geothermal plant drawing on the Ellensburg aquifer under campus. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Kittitas County said thank you this week to someo

Ellensburg's historic buildings now have a map of their own. The city launched an online story map yesterday that lets you explore every building, district, site and object on the Ellensburg Landmarks Register. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Kittitas County commissioners have a full afternoon of public hearings today, and one of them is about data centers. At 2 p.m., the board takes up whether to extend the county's moratorium on data centers for another six months. The morator

Local kids are getting a lot more time outdoors. The Kittitas Environmental Education Network announced this week that it's launching a year-round outdoor learning series based at its campus at Helen McCabe Park. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Cle Elum is down two city councilmembers. Ken Ratliff and Stephen Cook both submitted resignation letters this week, effective immediately, and Mayor Matthew Lundh read them aloud at Tuesday night's council meeting. Ratliff, who held Posi

Saturday is the first home football game. CWU hosts top-ranked Ferris State in Ellensburg at 6 p.m. Volleyball is up north the same night, at number twenty-four Western Washington in Bellingham at 7. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Fire crews east of Snoqualmie Pass are bracing for a warmer, drier stretch this week after several days of cool, wet weather slowed all three wildfires burning north of Lake Kachess. The Three Queens Fire stands at just over nine thousand four hundred

The Kittitas County Fair opens today at ten a.m. at the Kittitas Valley Event Center and runs until ten tonight. Today is Super One Day — five-dollar admission tickets are available at Super One. Kids five and under and active-duty military get in free every day. The carnival and midway rides open at noon. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Three wildfires are still burning east of Snoqualmie Pass as the holiday weekend begins, and together they have covered roughly twelve thousand

The rodeo mural is back. The painting at Third Avenue and Main has been greeting people driving into downtown for forty-three years, and it just came through a five-week restoration. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Kittitas County has a third commissioner again. The Board of County Commissioners appointed Jeff Leichleiter yesterday to fill the vacant District 1 seat, the seat previously held by Cory Wright. Leichleiter is sworn in this morning at 8:30 in Kittitas County Superior

The Hoedown in the Downtown is back Saturday evening. It runs 5 to 10 in downtown Ellensburg, it's free, and it's open to all ages. Line-dancing lessons kick it off, and then there's live music from American Honey and Jukebox Central, along with local food, drinks and rodeo-themed games. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Part of the new pavement on Canyon Road is coming back out tonight, and the contractor is paying for it. The city inspected the freshly paved stretch between Umpt

In Cle Elum, they turned the first dirt last week on forty-one new affordable homes. HopeSource and city officials held a groundbreaking for Teanaway Court on North Short Avenue — a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom units for households earning up to sixty percent of the area median income. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS There's smoke in the valley again today, and there are now two fires in the mountains northwest of us. The Three Queens Fire, burning six miles east of Snoqua

The Music in the Gardens series continues tonight at 6:30 at Brick House Gardens and Nursery. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS The Three Queens Fire is still burning in the mountains six miles east of Snoqualmie Pass. As of the latest update from fire managers, the fire covers about three thousand seven hundred acres and is two percent contained. More than eight hundred people are working it. The fire started July 15th from lightning, and it's been moving through steep, high coun

The public library in Kittitas is opening its doors again. The Gilmour Memorial Library has moved into the Catalyst building at 117 North Main Street — the old hardware store the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce renovated into offices. T LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS The Three Queens Fire west of Cle Elum has grown to about thirty-six hundred acres and is two percent contained. More than six hundred firefighters are assigned to the fire, which was started by lightning on Ju

The Summer Concert in the Park is tonight, but it's moved indoors. Because of the air quality, the city has shifted the Rodeo City Bluegrass Concern show to the Hal Holmes Community Center at 209 North Ruby Street. Music starts at 6:30. It's free and family friendly. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Kittitas County commissioners have put a stop — at least a temporary one — to data centers. On Monday, commissioners unanimously approved an emergency six-month ban on accepting data

AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM PDT THURSDAY An Air Quality Alert has been issued for Benton, Columbia, Franklin, Kittitas, Klickitat, Walla Walla and Yakima Counties until further notice due to expected wildfire smoke from regional fires. Expect some clearing out and intermittent good air quality but with significant fires on the landscape conditions can worsen quickly to unhealthy air. Be sure to check air monitors in your area before outdoor activities. LISTEN TO T

There's coffee in the old depot in Cle Elum. Tim and Charis Dion have opened Division Point Coffee Bar and Crêpes inside the historic South Cle Elum train depot at 801 Milwaukee Avenue. They're open 8 to 4 every day but Tuesday. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS Kittitas County has narrowed the field for its next prosecuting attorney. Republican Jodi Hammond and independent Aaron Reiman led Tuesday's first count in the race to replace retiring prosecutor Greg Zempel. Hammond took

Today is the last day to turn in your August 2026 primary election ballot. Dropbox locations include: Roslyn City Hall/Library, South Cle Elum Town Hall, Cle Elum - Upper District Court, Easton Fire Station, Ronald Fire Station #1, Thorp Fire Station #1, Central Washington University, Kittitas County Courthouse and Kittitas City Hall. Election results will be released by the Kittitas County Auditor after 8 p.m. tonight. LISTEN TO THE NEWS HERE NEWS About 5,000 homes have bee