Business
Local businesses, jobs, development, and the county economy.
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Columbia Business Alliance contracts head to Rainier and Clatskanie councils this week
Rainier and Clatskanie vote this week on $4,000 and $3,000 contracts with the Columbia Business Alliance, a Scappoose city program that inherited CET’s work. The county was asked for $75,000,…
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County lands $16 million to bring fiber to 3,077 rural addresses
State records show Columbia County was approved for four BEAD projects covering 3,077 locations, with about $16 million in federal grants and $13.6 million in county match, and executed its…
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Deer Island fertilizer plant could share in $100M federal upgrade
USDA picked a $200 million fertilizer upgrade naming St. Helens as a site and proposed about $100 million for it. The money isn’t guaranteed yet. Records tie the project to…
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BMO is closing its St. Helens branch Oct. 31
The bank formerly known as Bank of the West is shutting its Columbia River Highway branch at the end of the month, according to a Port of Columbia County staff…
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240 jobs promised, $3.6 million unpaid: NEXT’s land goes to auction Nov. 20
NEXT Renewable Fuels owes $3.6 million on 25 acres near Port Westward and has not paid since March 2024, county records show. The land goes to auction Nov. 20. Its…
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From a mushroom farm to a coin exchange: 67 new Columbia County businesses
Sixty-seven businesses registered Columbia County addresses with the state in September, up from 48 a year earlier, led by Scappoose with 21 and St. Helens with 14. Here’s the full…
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Fewer Columbia County residents out of work as unemployment rate hits 5.6%
Columbia County’s unemployment rate fell to 5.6% in September from 6.3% a year earlier, even as the county’s seasonally adjusted job count dipped by 130.