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Monday 01/19/26 Bill Meyer Show Guests and Info
Podcasts on www.BillMeyerShow.com
Facebook – www.Facebook.com/billmeyershow
6:35 Dan Doyle is president of two American energy companies and has spent decades in the oil patch. His forthcoming book, “Of Roughnecks & Riches: A Startup in the Great American Fracking Boom” (Post Hill Press, February 2026), is the first insider account of the fracking industry—written by an actual fracker.
The Trump Administration’s Venezuela play is dominating headlines—but is it actually moving oil markets?
In an op-ed running in The Hill, industry insider Dan Doyle and Venezuelan-born petroleum engineer Luis Zerpa, Ph.D., break down why traders aren’t buying the hype: $100 billion to rebuild infrastructure, a generation of U.S. oil majors still burned by Chavez-era nationalizations, and China sitting on 4.5 billion barrels of Venezuelan reserves. The real oil story? It’s complicated.
7:10 Jason Wall, father of Ava Wall, a missing 15-year old from Medford. Jason talks about what we know so far in the hunt for Ava. RV-Times coverage is here: https://rv-times.com/2026/01/19/detectives-investigate-case-of-missing-medford-teen/
UPDATE 7:30pm Monday night – SHE’S BEEN FOUND!!!
(From her parents)
7:35 Scott Seufert, a Jacksonville resident discusses the fire hardening he has accomplished in this semi-rural property.If you want to reach out to him, email scottjseufert@gmail.com
8:10 Dr. Dennis Powers, www.DennisPowersBooks.com with today’s “Where Past Meets Present” historical profile
Jim Wright, Knife River and Southern Oregon
By Dennis Powers
With quarry operations off North River Road by Gold Hill and on Kirkland Road in Central Point by Costco, people wonder just how did Knife River come to Southern Oregon. Jim Wright with his family was responsible.
The grandfather on his mother’s side was M.C. Lininger, an entrepreneur who came to Ashland in 1911 as a railroad telegrapher. After being involved in a cannery and later hardware business, he noticed that nobody was providing plasterers with materials. He found a location by Jackson Hot Springs and began making plaster sand that family members after high school classes headed out to screen and deliver. By the late 1930s, they were in the sand and gravel business.
Opening up M.C. Lininger and Sons in Central Point, they delivered materials when Camp White was under construction. Jim Wright worked summers there from the time he was twelve and after graduating from Ashland High School (1958) and SOSC, he sold ready mix and worked in the field “for years.” His brother and four cousins were all involved in the business.
In the early 1980s, Jim became president of the company as it expanded its operations. Owing to a progressive eye disease (retinitis pigmentosa), he later completely lost his vision. Needing to quit driving in 1987, Jim was fortunate that LTM (Lininger True Mix) found a way in hiring a driver to keep him involved. His driver did other company work when not driving Jim, who had enough eyesight then to do “most aspects of his job”.
True Mix (which produced different construction materials in the area) had merged with Lininger’s operations to form LTM in 1988; Knife River then acquired LTM in 1990 with Jim Wright being involved in all stages in the company. LTM as Knife River helped him adapt with screen reading programs for his computer.
Along the way, Wright joined People’s Bank board in 1993 and served our region over the decades with the Asante Foundation, Raider Athletic Association, Medford Rotary Club, and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (which helps abused and neglected kids). In late 2022, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners honored him with its Chairman’s Award, an honor given out once a year to the community member that stands out. It concluded that he “… although blind, served the community for 50 years.,” and enumerated his service.
Knife River was acquired by MDU Resources (a $5 billion-revenue utility and construction conglomerate, which in 2023 spun it off as a publicly-traded company. Knife River has 1.2 billion tons of aggregate reserves, 5,750 employees, and operates in 14 states with revenues in excess of $3 billion. It provides construction materials and services, from building roads, highways, and bridges to airport runways. (Note: The Knife River in North Dakota is a tributary of the Missouri River, where “Knife” is an English translation of the Native American name.)
Sources: Steve Boyarsky, “Jim Wright lost his sight but still has Vision,” Mail Tribune, October 4, 2020; Vickie Aldous, “Wright honored for lifetime of community service,” Mail Tribune, January 3, 2023.