Open Gorge: The Skamania Dispatch & Klickitattler
Welcome to Open Gorge, your audio bridge to local government, infrastructure, and community news in the Columbia River Gorge.
Hosted by the founder of Open Gorge, Kate Bertash, this podcast brings the in-depth, civic-minded reporting of The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler newsletters straight to your headphones. We break down the public meetings you didn't have time to attend, track local infrastructure projects, and decode the regional policy decisions that directly impact your daily life.
Whether you are a Columbia Gorge resident commuting across the river, following local elections, or tracking where your tax dollars are going, we provide clear, factual summaries of what’s changing and what’s coming next.
Our unified feed covers the entire Gorge. Check the title of each episode to see if we are covering Skamania County, Klickitat County, or regional issues that impact us all. Listen to what matters most to your neighborhood, or stay tuned for the full regional picture.
Subscribe to the written newsletters and join the community at SkamaniaDispatch.com.
Open Gorge: The Skamania Dispatch & Klickitattler
Latest Episodes
[All Gorge] 🔨 Putting the Old Bridge to the Pile-driving Test - HRWSBA August '26
The Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority got its first real look at how the federal government scores its billion dollar grant application, and the news was mixed. Reviewers cut the project's benefit score nearly in half over a single assum...
[Klickitat] 🐂 Running of the Bull - Goldendale August '26 Round-up
Goldendale's quietest month of the year still managed to leave the City Council with a question about its own rulebook that nobody at the table could answer. A resident asked for livestock to be banned from R-1 neighborhoods with no exceptions,...
[Skamania] 🗺 Who Actually Plans the City? - August '26 Stevenson Round-up
Stevenson's county planner counted the city's apartment-zoned land and reported back that in his opinion Stevenson does not need more of it. The Planning Commission recommended a rezone anyway, then asked to be put to work on a comprehensive pl...
[Klickitat] 🎨 A Door Through the Mural - Bingen August '26 Round-Up
Bingen's city attorney is leaving at the end of the year for two judgeships, and nobody outside City Hall has reported it. The Bingen City Council also filed a breach-of-contract complaint over a door cut through a community mural, caught a sta...
[Skamania] 🧾 A City w/o a Water Operator - North Bonneville August '26
North Bonneville lost its only certified water and wastewater operator at the end of July, with what staff called less than twenty-four hours of notice. The mayor declared an emergency and signed a six-month contract that the City Council never...