Bend close to winning ‘Strongest Town Contest’

Bend, Ore. (KTVZ) — Bend has advanced to the Elite Eight in the Strongest Town Contest. It's held to recognize towns that are financially stable, growing, and focused on long-term development.

What started as a match-up against 16 towns now has Bend facing off against Sacramento in the semi-finals. The people who nominated Band are local home builders called Hiatus Homes.

Jesse Russell, CEO of Hiatus Homes, says, "I think Bend is a strong town because we're oftentimes the leaders and the examples of what to do with our land use code and our building code to try to have more housing types available to the people that are living in the town, that are working at our hospitals that are working at our schools. And we're really an example of that and to be recognized nationally for that I think is a great thing."

You can vote for Bend online at Strongestown.com. If Bend wins, it will be recognized at the Strongest Towns national gathering, and there will be a short film made about the city. In the past, winning towns have used the Strongest Town title to secure grants and funding.