What’s Happening Salem is presented by
What’s Up Salem Besties!
We are throwing an award show October 3 and will be highlighting THREE community builders in Salem.
This is what I need from you…
If you know someone who is a great fit and has done incredible work bringing people in Salem together, please reply to this email with their name and why you think they should win.
This isn’t a writing contest, so don’t feel like it needs to be a publishable essay. Just speak from the heart and let us know.
Plus, save the date for the party 😉
Was this email forwarded to you by a friend?
Running on caffeine fumes—and still tanking by noon?
Another drip-coffee isn’t the answer. (I hate admitting this…)
Enter Saltwater Wellness, Salem’s one-stop spot for IV vitamin drips, medical weight-loss coaching, and hormone optimization. It’s like plugging your body into a fast charger, right on Hyacinth Street.
What you’ll unlock at your first visit
A quick lab panel + no-rush chat with Nurse Practitioner Nancy Yankovic to pinpoint exactly what your body’s missing.
Targeted IV blends (immune boost, skin-glow, “I overdid it last night”) or a supervised weight-loss game plan—no fad diets required.
A clear roadmap to more energy, deeper sleep, and that “let’s-hit-Minto-Brown” vibe—without driving to Portland.
The Mission of What’s Happening Salem
A little over a year ago, I started What's Happening Salem with a simple goal: make it easy for our community to know what's going on, celebrate the good stuff, and connect with the people making our city better.
Since then, we've grown to over 10,000 newsletter subscribers and nearly 40,000 Instagram followers. This growth has shown me that Salem is full of people who care about showing up, supporting local, and making connections.
Every post, every email, every event we share is about one thing: recognizing the things we want to see more of. Because I know that the things that are recognized get repeated.
We are a city without televised local news, and the only time we see our name brought up by Portland stations is when something bad happens. But our city is so much more than that. We want to focus on the rest.
Lately I've been getting two questions in my inbox pretty often, and I wanted to take a moment to address them. (This feels like a better format than trying to fit everything into a 25-second Instagram Reel.)
Why aren't you talking about national politics?
Why do you only post about businesses who advertise with you?
Let's look at politics first.
When we post about politics at any level, the comments often become shouting matches that detract from our mission of highlighting positive developments in Salem. While I understand some readers want us to take positions on various issues, that approach wouldn't align with our core purpose. And there are already many outlets available focused on national politics.
However, there are far fewer outlets discussing local politics and decisions made by our elected officials, especially on social media. This is where we choose to focus our energy. We believe keeping you informed about city council meetings and local governance matters most because these decisions directly impact your daily life, yet they're often overlooked by other media. (And just to be clear, I am not suggesting national politics aren’t important.)
Now, about our business partnerships.
We're extremely fortunate to work with partners who help bring our events and publications to life. Their support allows us to consistently deliver Salem-focused content. Over the past year, we've posted 743 times, with many posts highlighting our business community, and only a small percentage of these were paid promotions.
Our editorial approach prioritizes businesses and organizations that contribute to Salem's vibrancy, whether they're partners or not. We also love your feedback and regularly discuss it in our weekly editorial meetings, so please keep the positive and constructive commentary coming.
Here's what guides our content decisions: we focus on what makes Salem stronger, more connected, and more vibrant. Sometimes that means featuring a new restaurant opening, sometimes it's highlighting a nonprofit's community impact, and sometimes it's explaining a city council decision that affects local development.
We have limited time and energy for content creation, but do our best to spread the love as much as possible. I also know that even with unlimited resources, we couldn't create content that satisfies every individual preference—and that's okay.
I believe our strength comes from having a clear mission and sticking to it.
Most community feedback we receive is thoughtful and constructive, which we genuinely appreciate. We don't always get everything right, but we're a small, committed team focused on showcasing what makes Salem special.
We really appreciate all of you being a part of this journey with us.
Your engagement and support make this work possible and meaningful.
What should I write about next week?
Jacob
Thanks for keeping up with Salem this week!
Spotted something interesting in town? Drop us a note at [email protected] We love hearing from you.
See you soon.