February 2026

Longview Elects Erik Halverson as Mayor, and Keith Young as Mayor Pro Tem. Cowlitz County Commissioners Extend Gun Range Lease with Cowlitz Game and Anglers.

William Raymond Canales, 28, of Longview, pleaded quilty to criminal charges stemming from two separate incidents: the 2025 Dairy Queen shooting and an assault on a fellow inmate while in the Cowlitz County jail.

House Joint Resolution 4209 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the state Legislature to conduct congressional redistricting between decennial censuses.

Ethics Board Advances Case Against Governor Bob Ferguson, saying he likely violated state ethics laws by giving former advisor free ride on state plane

DNR auction data show that just 25 percent of the agency’s annual target was sold in the first half of fiscal year 2026, the lowest mid-year volume in 22 years.

A federal judge has ordered the state to turn over documents related to immigrants receiving Medicare and Medicaid.

Firefighters from Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue responded to a shop on fire early Sunday morning in the 400 block of Moilanen Rd. at 4:21 am.

Austin Murray’s sentence to remain at 30 years for the 2017 murder of Ryan Hoven

They say they’ll increase the Working Families Tax Credit, but they don’t say by how much, if any. Talk is cheap.
Since the WFTC program launched in 2023, approximately 359,000 refunds have been issued, totaling about $263.4M (this is a pittance when you consider a $78 billion budget)

A massive confrontation unfolded in Olympia on Thursday, January 15, 2026, as Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank and several other sheriffs delivered blistering testimony against Senate Bill 5974. The controversial legislation, heard before the Senate Law and Justice Committee, would grant an unelected state commission the power to “decertify” and effectively remove constitutionally elected sheriffs from office.