U.S. Rep. Greg Walden was on hand Saturday at a fundraiser for local soldiers and veterans, where he auctioned off a flag to be flown over the U.S. Capitol and a guitar painted in a flag theme.

Throughout the Danner Boots factory floor in Portland, computer monitors provide workers with updates every 15 seconds on where productivity levels are — and where they should be. While that struck a reporter as intense time pressure, it was seen by Chris Perrotti, the commercialization manager for Danner, in a wholly different light: “I love it. It’s really organized, just like the military.”