Tom Banse
Regional Correspondent
About
Tom Banse covers national news, business, science, public policy, Olympic sports, and human interest stories across Washington state. Now semi-retired, Banse is an Olympia-based reporter with more than three decades of experience covering the Pacific Northwest. Most of his career was spent with public radio's Northwest News Network, but now in semi-retirement his work appears on multiple nonprofit news outlets including KUOW. His recent areas of focus range from transportation, U.S.-Canada borderlands, the Northwest region's planned hydrogen hub, and emergency preparedness.
Previously, Tom covered state government and the Washington Legislature for 12 years. He got his start in radio at WCAL-FM, a public station in southern Minnesota. Reared in Seattle, Tom graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota with a degree in American Studies.
Location: Olympia
Languages: English, German
Stories
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Science
'Blue tides' of sailor jellies on Northwest coast correlate with warmer seas in winter
New research out of the University of Washington finds a correlation between warmer ocean waters and mass strandings of By-the-wind sailor jellyfish over the past two decades. The brief, widespread beachings of "gazillions" of purplish-blue jellies along the Pacific Northwest coast create a memorable sight for those who chance to be in the right place at the right time.
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March Madness remains off limits for legal sports betting in Northwest, but maybe not much longer
With March Madness getting into full swing this weekend, it's a safe bet that some area fans want to wager on their favored teams in the NCAA basketball...
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Government
Couples, families separated by U.S.-Canada border closure find oasis at Peace Arch park
This coming Sunday, March 21, will mark one year since the U.S. and Canada closed their shared border to nonessential crossings due to the pandemic. It's anybody's guess when the border might reopen for discretionary trips. In the meantime, every weekend rain or shine, Peace Arch State Park in Blaine, Washington, becomes a happening meetup point for couples and families separated by the northern border.
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Arts & Life
We still spring forward this weekend despite votes to ditch daylight saving time
Residents of the Pacific Northwest will have to set their clocks ahead by an hour this weekend to move onto daylight saving time. The Oregon and Washington legislatures voted nearly two years ago to stay on daylight time year-round -- joined later by Idaho and British Columbia -- but still the biannual time change ritual and associated grumbling persists.
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Science
Hydrogen production plant groundbreaking signals renewed interest in alt fuel
A public utility in North Central Washington broke ground Monday for a hydrogen production facility. It's one of several related actions in the Pacific Northwest that reflect renewed interest in hydrogen as a clean alternative fuel.
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Government
Prisoners eligible for stimulus checks, but getting payout behind bars is complicated
Like many Americans, people behind bars are waiting to see if they will be getting checks from the federal government as part of the new stimulus bill -- provided it passes Congress this month as expected. The majority of incarcerated people in Washington and Oregon were likely eligible for the first two rounds of relief money.
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Environment
What could you do with a few seconds warning that an earthquake was coming?
Smartphone users who opted in to a test of the West Coast earthquake early warning system got an early taste on Thursday of what is to come. Mobile...
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Technology
ShakeAlert test part of long-awaited earthquake preparedness plan
‘It has been a long time coming, and it's not even completely built out yet.’
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Pay-per-mile tax gets test drive in Washington Legislature to augment gas tax
Washington state senators have teed up a mileage-based tax for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles as the first step toward changing how the state pays...
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Gone fishin'. Western states catch lots more angling and hunting license sales during pandemic
Fishing and hunting license sales jumped in 2020 across the Pacific Northwest as more people flocked to outdoor activities during the COVID-19 pandemic....