About

Founded in May 1985, the monthly Mid-county Memo neighborhood newspaper is mailed to every home in a geographic-specific area of Portland, in the middle of Multnomah County, Oregon.

Completely advertiser supported, the Mid-county Memo circulates 16,000 copies in the Gateway and Parkrose neighborhoods of east Portland. Over 15,000 papers are directly mailed, free of charge, to homes in the area bounded on the east and west by Northeast 82nd and 162nd avenues, and Sandy Boulevard and East Burnside Street on the north and south. The remaining 2,000 copies are distributed at popular gathering places throughout the Mid-Multnomah County area of Portland.

The Mid-county Memo focuses and reports on positive forces and people in the Gateway and Parkrose communities of Mid-Multnomah County.

The Memo reports on, and encourages participation, in civic affairs, thereby serving as a means to promote active citizenship and civic participation.

Every month the Mid-county Memo publishes and disseminates pertinent school, neighborhood and business news.

Community, library, church, senior, social and fraternal organization meetings and events in the Gateway and Parkrose communities are also published monthly.

In this way, the Mid-county Memo enables Gateway and Parkrose community members to communicate with themselves and others, strengthening cultural participation and engagement. The Mid-county Memo neighborhood newspaper serves as a vital cultural resource in east Portland.

The Memo publishes news and perspectives of the diverse neighborhoods of east Portland that include Parkrose, Hazelwood, Russell, Parkrose Heights, Wilkes, Glenfair, Mill Park and Madison South, strengthening Mid-County’s cultural vitality.

By being rooted within the community, the Memo serves as a means to strengthen connections and deepen understanding across the diverse Gateway and Parkrose communities of east Portland and Mid-Multnomah County. The Mid-county Memo neighborhood newspaper represents and reflects the Gateway and Parkrose communities of east Portland.

The Mid-county Memo circulation area encompasses one school district in east Portland entirely, the Parkrose School District, along with two others partially, David Douglas and Reynolds school districts.

In 1985 Tom and Marcia Pry founded the Mid-county Memo. At the time, the Memo was one of seven community newspapers the Prys owned in Portland.

In September 1991 the Prys sold the Mid-county Memo to Advertising Manager Tim Curran and Executive Editor Rich Riegel, who continue to this day to publish the Memo. The Mid-county Memo is one of Portland’s oldest community newspapers.