Author

Erika Bolstad
Erika Bolstad is a Stateline correspondent based in Portland, Oregon, and the author of Windfall, published by Sourcebooks in 2023. Previously, she wrote for E&E News, the McClatchy Washington Bureau and the Miami Herald.
States sweeten their offers to chipmakers to outdo one other
By: Erika Bolstad - September 19, 2023
HILLSBORO, Ore. — “Oregon’s been at this for decades,” the governor’s office assures potential investors in its so-called Silicon Forest. The Lone Star State’s governor calls it a “race that Texas must win for our state, our workforce, our national security, and our future.” And New York’s governor boasts on the state’s YouTube channel that […]
Indigenous language interpreters unite to fill gaps
By: Erika Bolstad - July 31, 2023
Bethany Fisher was raised in the Marshall Islands, the daughter of American missionaries who spoke English at home but who insisted that she and her siblings speak the Indigenous language of the island republic everywhere else. The parental say-so proved smart when the family returned to the United States. With the fluency they gained as […]
Route 66, America’s ‘Mother Road,’ readies for its centennial
By: Erika Bolstad - June 6, 2023
From its earliest days, Route 66 has reflected the American culture of the moment. When the road connected Chicago to Los Angeles in 1926, it represented the possibility of the automobile. In the 1930s, it served as an east-to-west escape route from the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. By the 1950s, the 2,400-mile highway […]