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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Alaska Air foresees minimal impact from ongoing grounding of Boeing 737 MAX
Executives from Seattle-based Alaska Airlines say they foresee minimal impact from the ongoing grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX model. The airline has 32...
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Environment
Why are gray whales washing up dead on Pacific Northwest beaches?
An unusually large number of gray whales are washing up dead on their northbound migration past the Oregon and Washington coasts this year.
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Cutting back on fishing could help orcas. But would it hurt charter fishing fleets?
Pacific Northwesterners are undeniably fond of their endangered resident killer whales. Many locals are also fans of salmon fishing, a hobby that...
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How the Northwest can learn from Indonesia’s deadly 2018 quake
Last September, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake followed by a tsunami devastated a region of Indonesia, killing more than 4,300 people. Two Oregon State and...
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Is there room for hydrogen-powered cars in a future that looks electric?
Fifteen years ago, the California and British Columbia governments sketched bold plans for a "hydrogen highway" for clean cars stretching from Whistler,...
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Now it's your move, Oregon. Washington Legislature votes to end twice-yearly time changes
A measure to adopt daylight saving time all year-round is now one small step away from the Washington governor's desk. The same issue is still chugging...
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Hey, seals and sea lions! Quit eating so much endangered orca food... or else.
Politicians and wildlife managers are engaged in a fresh debate about whether to intervene in nature to save an imperiled species. The question is...
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Fill 'er up... with hydrogen? Washington utility eager to branch into H2 fuel production
An electric utility in north central Washington wants to branch out into hydrogen fuel production. It would be the first of a group of power companies...
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Don't want to buy new skis or tent? REI set to expand rentals and used gear sales
Outdoor retailer REI is planning a major expansion of rentals and used gear sales this year to sustain growth. The Pacific Northwest-based co-op's vast...
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Health
Stuck in the emergency room because there's nowhere else to go
Some psychiatric patients are spending not just hours in the emergency room, but days or a week. They're living there in the ER because there is nowhere...