McKinney

My name is Harrison McKinney, the newest addition here at The Redmond Spokesman. I was hired on the pretense of being a jack-of-all-trades to handle advertising, classifieds, obituaries, circulation and some writing for the paper.

In 2020, I graduated from OSU Cascades with a Bachelor of Arts in social science and English. That was in the heat of the pandemic, so my graduation ceremony consisted of a box in the mail with some confetti. Off to a great start. I wouldn’t call my short attempt at freelance writing a catastrophic failure, but it was equally as lackluster.

That led me into a different kind of freelancing. Before this job, I worked as a contractor installing ceramic tile, so I went from mixing cement with icy water in skeletal houses on dark, excruciating mornings to a cozy office job selling newspapers ten minutes from my house. Don’t worry, I’ve adjusted.

Redmond has been my home since 2008 when my family moved from Portland to be closer to our family’s cattle ranch, the M Bar L Ranch, in Culver.

Working at the ranch is one of my favorite memories. I remember bobbing up and down in the torn leather seat with the radio blasting in my grandparents’ John Deere, dutifully rolling the bailer over the plush rows of alfalfa. Of course, that was during summer and fall. Winter consisted of mostly standing on a hay wagon, trying to grin through the pelting sleet, rain and snow while doling out slices of hay to the foggy, mooing mouths. To this day, the smell of cow excrement brings me much comfort.

My passions are reading, writing, going on long walks and true crime. That’s made my job compiling the police log one of the highlights of my week.

I also love cats, especially my cat, Ramsey. Ramsey is a small, fat, black cat with an even fatter attitude. As a kitten, she successfully charged a full-grown Rottweiler who yielded immediately at the frightening little puff. Animals and nature are also a prominent fixture in my life. You can usually find me outside enjoying the rain and making a few feral friends along the way. And of course another prominent fixture is my girlfriend, Emily, an astute astrologer and budding botanist with a flame point siamese cat.

Since being hired at the Spokesman, I’ve found working at a newspaper to be exhilarating. I never know what I’m going to do or what interesting people I’ll get to meet each day.

Redmond is a part of who I am, which gives me a lot of pride to be able to work for our newspaper. What’s most important to me is expanding the Spokesman whether it be through selling more advertisements, going door-to-door or whatever else is necessary.

Swing by the office or get in touch with me at 541-923-1370 or hmckinney@redmondspokesman.com