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Good morning, Northwest.

While typically associated with cheese, Tillamook is also home to a cutting-edge aerospace materials company.

OPB’s Kristian Foden-Vencil starts this morning’s newsletter with a story about Aerostar Tillamook, how it aids space exploration and why it ended up on the Oregon Coast.

Also this morning, Salem city councilors are set to receive a crucial update today on the challenges facing the drinking water supply in the coming years.

We round out this morning’s newsletter with a plucky Portland thrift store owner kicking a rock to drum up business.

—Bradley W. Parks

Tillamook is home to a cutting edge aerospace company

When Oregonians and others think about Tillamook, they generally picture cows or the Tillamook Creamery, but they generally aren’t aware there’s an aerospace company in their midst.

When the International Space Station needed an airtight membrane, NASA turned to Aerostar Tillamook.

One of Aerostar’s main products is high-altitude balloons. Space agencies use them to carry payloads up to 23 miles high, outside 99.99% of Earth’s atmosphere, to test them. (Kristian Foden-Vencil)

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3 things to know this morning

• Nearly two years after he was traded, Trail Blazers legend Damian Lillard is back in Portland. He appeared before thousands of eager fans over the weekend for a welcome party at Pioneer Courthouse Square. (Joni Auden Land)

• At a meeting today, Salem city councilors will receive a supplemental report from Salem Public Works Director Brian Martin that offers more information on drinking water treatment challenges the city can expect in years to come. (Ryan Haas)

• Four people died in a car crash Saturday evening in Salem. After receiving medical treatment for serious injuries, the driver was arrested and is scheduled for arraignment today on 11 charges. (OPB staff)

A short history of Portland hip-hop

On this week’s episode, we hear from pioneers and new wave artists about Portland hip-hop, why it isn’t bigger and what keeps it going. (Mia Estrada, J Jackson and Jenn Chávez)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Why ‘Twilight’ has become immortal in this former Washington state logging town (Matt Martin)

• Adam Fugitt fights his way from Eugene to the UFC (Julia Boboc)

• Eugene Catholic school teacher dismissed over Charlie Kirk comments, students allege (Nathan Wilk)

• Oregon’s first licensed outdoor preschool opens in Phoenix (Jane Vaughan)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

Noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Many students enrolled in Oregon colleges and universities still choosing online classes

🪨 How one Portland businessman turned an ordinary rock into a rock star

With the news the way it is these days, sometimes you just want to tell people to go kick rocks.

One Portland business owner is doing just that — and has punted his way into online fame.

Owen Gail, 23, is the owner of Shirtzenpantz, a Southwest Portland thrift store that opened this spring.

The Hillsdale strip mall where he found space for his shop wasn’t in the most visible location, so Gail and his business partner, twin brother Ethan, knew drawing customers would be a sisyphean task.

So he came up with a sisyphean solution: kicking the same rock every day and posting it online. (Lillian Karabaic)

Learn more

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/22/opbs-first-look-tillamook-goes-to-space/