An open house for open books. North Powder celebrates the opening of its brand new city library.
By Garrett Christensen on Friday, May 1st, 2026 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
NORTH POWDER – Three years ago, the City of North Powder casually announced in its newsletter that it was seeking a grant for a new library. What was simply described at the time as an add-on to the south end of City Hall, turned into a multi-year project, over a million dollars in grants from numerous organizations, and likely more than a few sleepless nights from city staff and volunteers, all to make sure North Powder could have a state of the art facility. Finally, on the afternoon of Saturday, April 25, 2026, a public open house commemorated an end to the project, as the city formally welcomed the community to their brand-new library.
Reflecting on the historic moment for the city, North Powder Library services director and city council member Midge Clause remarked:
“It’s incredible, it’s wonderful. It’s been a long time coming, with a lot of people involved. Our mayor has done a great job and we’re just so proud. It’s been years in the works. We’re just so happy to be at this point and happy to have everybody here today, and we’re just excited for the future of North Powder, because this is a turning point I think.”
When asked how she found herself helming North Powder’s library, Clause explained:
“A position was open and I just applied for it. I’ve always been interested in books and libraries, and education is important to me. It’s so much more than just a library. It’s a gathering place. It’s a place for adults as well as children. So, we have a lot of programs that we want to incorporate.”
North Powder Mayor John Frieboes would offer a similar amount of excitement at the library’s completion:
“It’s actually kind of surreal. It’s been such a long time in the making. To be able to have this in our community is such a plus. It’s kind of a relief that we’re done, because, like I said, it’s been a long time in the works, and we’re just thrilled that we had the support from the foundation, community members, and others to do this.”
In a brief speech to attendees, Frieboes would also remark:
“We finally made it. After many years of brainstorming, planning, planning, and more planning, we were able to build this beautiful library. So many years of talk about how we could fund such a project. We were finally able to receive a block grant from Business Oregon. The block grant covered the design, engineering and construction of this building.
It’s an amazing feeling to be able to walk into such a beautiful facility in our small rural community, having a new building that is accessible and can meet the needs of everyone.”
That beautiful facility, almost literally, took a village. The amount of time and effort put in by volunteers, staff, and other community members cannot be understated, from organizing grants and construction, to furnishing the near finished building after construction wrapped up. A few volunteers were still planting things in the library’s flower beds mere hours before the open house, while the city’s contracted grant writer Nick Ducote was beyond instrumental in getting the 1.2-million-dollar block grant from Business Oregon.
For anyone that may have missed the open house, the library itself is a clean and modern, yet warm and welcoming space. The 2,000 square foot building features a librarian’s desk, dedicated kids’ area, computers, high quality bookshelves and reading tables, with a few reading chairs tucked into the corners, while large windows bring in plenty of natural light.
It should be noted that, while the open house served as something of a ceremonial opening, the library had already been up and running for around two weeks by that point. Even during the open house, kids were checking out and returning books, using the computers, or sneaking off to read in a corner, despite all the noise and activity. The library is also fully integrated into the Sage Library System and is ready to share and borrow books with other libraries in Eastern Oregon.
Further reflecting the library’s long anticipated opening, Mike Schoeningh with the North Powder Library Foundation remarked:
“I’ve only been here about five years, and I saw newspaper articles from 1985 saying they thought they were having a new library coming pretty soon. So, this is how long this has been progressing. I can say that it’s amazing. When it started taking off, it really went. I would say Nick Ducote was instrumental, he was pivotal. It’s very exciting and think I the town deserves something nice, and I think it’s a starting point for good things to come.”
The North Powder City Library is open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and is located at 340 E Street, North Powder.
