Dutch Bros Moving Hometown Headquarters in Grants Pass to Phoenix, Arizona

Drive-thru chain Dutch Bros is formally moving its headquarters from its hometown in Grants Pass to its rapidly growing office near Phoenix, Arizona. The move isn't a surprise. Dutch Bros CEO Christine Barone has worked in Arizona since the company hired her in 2023 and the chain began moving many other corporate jobs there early last year. Still, Dutch Bros' exit is a major symbolic blow in Oregon. It's the first large, homegrown company to emerge in Oregon in many generations. With a market capitalization of $11.8 billion, it trails only Nike among the state's most valuable businesses. Founded as a single Grants Pass coffee cart in 1992 by Travis Boersma and his late brother Dane, Dutch Bros sells energy drinks, coffee and other beverages in drive-thru stands across the country. It opened its 1,000th drive-thru in March and hopes eventually to have 7,000. Its fastest-growing markets are in Texas and the Southeast. When Dutch Bros began expanding its corporate offices in Arizona last year, the company said it wanted to be closer to those markets, and closer to a major airport so executives could quickly reach other cities. It wasn't immediately clear whether Dutch Bros plans to relocate or lay off workers at its current headquarters north of Grants Pass. ...Read more

Latest Round of Thunderstorms Misses SW District, But ODF is Monitoring Region

The latest round of thunderstorms focused over northern California and into Klamath and Lake counties, missing the Oregon Department of Forestry's Southwest District entirely and hitting that area for the second day in a row. Locally, ODF Southwest has been utilizing all means necessary to search for lightning-caused fires in the local district. ODF's partners at the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest conducted some reconnaissance flights over their ground and flew over ODF strike areas as well, not finding anything in this jurisdiction. ODF continues to monitor strike areas from Monday night's thunderstorms in this region as it can take a while for a lightning fire to show itself. These are called "holdover fires" and it can take days to weeks for them to smolder and grow before showing signs and smoke. Firefighters will continue to watch for signs in their patrol areas. Firefighters will continue to watch for signs in their patrol areas. As temperatures begin to dip into the 90s and below this weekend, please be aware that moderate fire potential remains and one spark in dry vegetation can start a fire. Help prevent new fires by following current public restrictions, which can be found at "swofire.com." ...Read more

RCC to Hold 54th Commencement Ceremony at Redwood Campus in GP on Saturday

Rogue Community College will celebrate its Class of 2025 this weekend at the Redwood Campus in Grants Pass. RCC's 54th Commencement on Saturday starts at 10 a.m. at the Marjorie Holzgang Concert Bowl. The ceremony will include student speakers Finn Franklin Dwyer and Austin Lawrence as well as opening remarks by RCC President Randy Weber. The college will confer a total of 492 associate degrees and 148 certificates -- with some students completing more than one -- as well as 36 GED diplomas. RCC's Class of 2025 includes 518 college graduates and 35 GED completers. Thirty-three graduates maintained a 4.0 GPA. The average age for RCC's college graduates is 28 -- 27 for those earning an associate degree and 31 for those completing a certificate. For more information about the ceremony, "visit roguecc.edu/commencement." ...Read more