About Us

Welcome to The Northwest Connection

ABOUT US

JoLinn Kampstra, Publisher, Northwest Connection

In 2007, Oregon native JoLinn Kampstra decided to parlay a Master’s Degree in Health and Public Administration from Portland State University and her interest in community affairs into a monthly newspaper, the Northwest Connection.

With the able assistance of current Sales and Marketing staffer Dale Seale and Copy Editors Frank and Helen Maguire, the NWC began attracting advertising accounts, and soon gained a reputation for interesting content and independent coverage of local issues. A crew of dedicated volunteers helped with distribution.

Mark Ellis, The Northwest Connection, Assistant Editor
Mark Ellis, The Northwest Connection, Associate Editor

In 2009, Portland journalist and writer Mark Ellis brought his feature writing and reportage experience over from Brainstorm NW when the magazine ceased publication. Ellis specializes in general content and assignments aimed at giving voice to citizen activists and underrepresented members of the community. Ellis also writes a column for the national conservative website, PJ Media, and recently became the NWC’s Associate Editor.

NWC’s roster of regular columnists and contributors, including, Helen Maguire, Mary Jo Conniff, Mel Hedgpeth, Lynne Page, Victoria Larson, Paula Olson, Bill Wehr, Gordon Fulks, Ph.D (Physics) Jim Wagner, Art Crino, Bryan Fischer and Jerry Newcombe.

Since inception, the NWC has run influential Cascade Policy Institute content in its own department, Think Tank: News and Views from the Cascade Policy Institute. In addition to the regulars, a rotating team of citizen journalists and activists keep an eye on local governments and other powerful entities.

In an expanded Faith Encouragements section, contributors Pastor Marlon Furtado, Kari Lee Fournier and  Pastor Randy Alcorn with Eternal Perspective Ministries guide readers of faith with reflections on how theology enriches life.

The NWC also provides a forum for elected officials. City councilors, mayors, county commissioners, congressional, senatorial, and gubernatorial candidates have all taken the opportunity to present ideas and positions to their constituencies via our pages.

Seventeen years after first hitting the stands in East Multnomah County, Clackamas County, and numerous rural communities, the NWC is going strong, and growing.

Is the Northwest Connection conservative? If standing up for the Constitution, supporting local control and limited government, speaking out for transparency and truth from elected leaders, and celebrating faith and traditional values is conservative, the answer is yes.

Welcome to our pages, we value every reader.

SUBMISSIONS

The Northwest Connection welcomes submissions from interested contributors.

The ideal submission is between 550-750 words, and is focused on a timely local issue that may be the subject of controversy. Longer submissions are considered, but the best chance for publication is a concise, well-written piece. Contributors may be asked to provide digital images with their submissions.

Accepted work may appear either in the print version, the online version, or both.

Style notes: Please submit articles in Times New Roman or Courier New fonts. Do not use text gimmicks like boldface, underlining, all caps, and improper italics. Contributors may request one pull quote per article to highlight representative or pivotal points. Text for pull quote requests should not exceed two sentences, should be copied from the body of main text, and pasted at end of submission in a larger font size.

Articles referenced in submissions should receive quotation marks: (“Home Schooling as I See It” by John Smith) and book and movie titles referenced should receive italics: (Killing Patton, Star Wars).

Editorial deadline: 20th of each month. Email submission to jolinn@nw-connection.com

Our Mission at the Northwest Connection is to provide an educational, informative community newspaper that promotes free market principles. We support and honor the Constitution and our founding fathers. Our goal is to stimulate the local economy by promoting area businesses and to encourage citizen involvement, which, in turn, will build stronger communities.

The Northwest Connection is a monthly published community newspaper. We welcome letters to the editor and public opinion articles. All submissions must be typed and signed with a full name, address and phone number. Articles will be published on a space available basis. We do not necessarily endorse any advertiser, public opinions and or columnists.