Community: Feb. 26, 2026

Published 5:00 am Thursday, February 26, 2026

Scandinavian Midsummer Festival announces court

The 59th annual Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival will take place June 19, 20 and 21 at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.

The Scandinavian Midsummer Festival Court will be formally introduced at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Astoria High School Commons. The public is encouraged to attend, and there is no cost for admission.

Signe Rickenbach was crowned Miss Scandinavia at the 2025 Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, and will reign until a new queen is chosen on June 19. A former Miss Norway who danced with the Viking Nordic Scandia Dancers for five years, she is attending Clatsop Community College and Oregon State University. Her Norwegian heritage comes from both of her parents.

Crown Bearer is Reid Hartvigson, who has Danish and Norwegian heritage. He has been to five midsummer festivals, and has worked at the Danish Booth. He is also involved with the Scandinavian Dancers and plays piano.

Senior Miss Denmark is Norah Alsbury, who is sponsored by the Lower Columbia Danish Society. Her Danish heritage comes from her maternal grandmother. She has been to more than 10 midsummer festivals. At school she is involved in the Environmental Club, National Honors Society, wrestling, and fisheries. She plans to attend college.

Junior Miss Denmark is Elizabeth Bellingham, who is sponsored by the Lower Columbia Danish Society. Her Scandinavian Heritage comes from her great grandmother, Livina Brandon. She has attended one midsummer festival so far, and is excited to attend more.

Senior Miss Finland is Sophie Saarheim, who is sponsored by Friends of Suomi Hall. Her Finnish Heritage comes from her father’s side of the family. This will be the first midsummer festival that Sophie will attend. She spends her summers commercial fishing in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and plans to attend the University of Oregon Clark Honors College.

Junior Miss Finland is Anneli Farmer, who is sponsored by the Friends of Suomi Hall. Her Finnish heritage comes from her grandparents. She has attended at least eight midsummer festivals, and is involved in dance, “The Nutcracker” performance, gymnastics and piano. She also enjoys volunteering at the North Coast Food Web.

Senior Miss Iceland is Jenna Karnofski. She has attended three midsummer festivals, and her Icelandic heritage comes from her mother’s side. She is involved in cheerleading, SkillsUSA, Knowledge Bowl and FFA. She plans to attend a university.

Senior Miss Norway Susannah Burpee, who is sponsored by the Sons of Norway Nidaros Lodge. Her Norwegian Heritage comes from her father’s side of the family. She enjoys dancing, including ballet, tap, hip hop and jazz. She wants to study architecture or become a physical therapist.

Junior Miss Norway is Grey Christianson, who is sponsored by the Sons of Norway Nidaros Lodge. Her mother was born in Norway. She has been to three midsummer festivals, and enjoys playing softball, volleyball and soccer.

Senior Miss Sweden is Marlie McCauley, who is sponsored by VASA Astor Lodge No. 215. A junior at Astoria High School, she was Junior Miss Sweden in 2018, and has attended the midsummer festival her whole life. Her Swedish heritage comes from her father’s side of the family. She is involved in 4-H, FFA, and Oregon High School Equestrian Teams. She plans on attending Clatsop Community College.

Junior Miss Sweden is McKenzie Bohrer, who is sponsored by VASA Astor Lodge No. 215. Her Swedish heritage comes from her grandmother. She will be attending the midsummer festival for the first time this year. She loves skating, participating in sports and helping whenever she sees a need.

Senior Court Chaperone is Kara Dowaliby, a marketing coordinator at Columbia Memorial Hospital. Her Finnish and Swedish heritage comes from her mother’s side, and her Norwegian heritage from her father’s side. She has attended 23 midsummer festivals since she was born. She is a member of the North Coast Choral Community Choir, and enjoys playing golf and designing earrings and sun catchers for her small business.

Junior Court Chaperone is Kerry Farmer, an audiologist who owns Bayside Audiology. She has attended over 40 midsummer festivals since her first as a 6-month-old baby. Her Finnish grandparents were very involved with the Finnish Brotherhood Lodge and Ladies of Kaleva. Her Finnish heritage comes from both of her parents. She enjoys dance, piano, baking, and spending time in nature and with her family.

The formal introduction is the first of the court’s scheduled presentations to local service clubs between now and June. For any service group that would like to schedule for a court appearance and/or presentation, contact the festival at AstoriaScanFest.com.

Cancer collaborative welcomes new medical director

Dr. Jeyanthi Ramanarayanan (“Dr. Ram”) has joined the Columbia Memorial Hospital — Oregon Health and Science University Knight Cancer Collaborative, where she is the new medical director of medical oncology. She is board-certified in hematology and medical oncology.

She earned her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute in Porur, Chennai, India, and her doctor of medicine degree from MGR University, also in Chennai.

She completed an internal medicine internship and residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Jersey City, New Jersey, and fellowships in hematology at the University at Buffalo, Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, New York, and medical oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, also in Buffalo.

Dr. Ram has been practicing medicine for over 20 years. She speaks Tamil, Hindi and English. She is especially interested in cancer screening, early detection, improving access to immunotherapy and targeted treatments in rural communities and precision medicine clinical trials. She has contributed numerous publications to advance scientific understanding of cancer research.

Most previously, Dr. Ram was a medical oncologist/hematologist in Jesup, Georgia, at the Nancy and J.C. Lewis Cancer Research Pavilion at Wayne Memorial Hospital.

Video Scholarship applications open for graduating seniors

ST. HELENS — InRoads Credit Union is now accepting applications for its 2026 Digital Scholarship, which will award two $2,500 scholarships to support the recipients’ college education during the 2026-2027 academic year.

The Digital Scholarship is open to InRoads Credit Union members who are graduating high school seniors, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, and plan to attend an accredited college or university.

Applicants must create two public videos, each 30 to 60 seconds long, encouraging peers to become members of InRoads Credit Union. Videos must be posted on a social media platform, and include the hashtag #InRoadsScholarship. The application deadline is April 30.

For details, go to inroadscu.org/scholarship. For questions, contact Hannah Baldwin at 503-366-6418 or hannah.baldwin@inroadscu.org.