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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Technology
Technology is taking on addiction. Now there are smartphone apps to help prevent relapses
Every week, tens of thousands of Americans complete intensive drug and alcohol rehab programs. The next months, however, are fraught with risk of...
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Politics
Grant County gets to keep its ban on the United Nations. But the Oregon county has other ideas, too
In 2002, Grant County, Oregon banned the United Nations by citizen initiative. The referendum wasn't close: 58 percent of voters said to keep the United...
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Politics
Proposal to replace Marcus Whitman statues stokes anger in Olympia
A proposal to remove the larger-than-life statues of pioneer missionary Marcus Whitman from the Washington state capitol and the U.S. Capitol drew angry...
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Politics
Yay or nay on permanent daylight saving time? You may get to vote on it
Oregon and Washington voters could get a say at the next general election on whether to adopt daylight saving time year-round — and thereby abolish the...
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Politics
Washington lawmakers ponder rules for sidewalk-driving delivery robots
Drones that fly through the sky to deliver packages are taking longer than anticipated to become reality. But wheeled delivery robots that drive down...
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Arts & Life
A ‘farm-to-bottle’ movement takes off in the Pacific Northwest
Stroll down the wine aisle at your local store and you'll notice just about every bottle lists where the wine grapes were grown. The raw ingredients for...
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Politics
Washington extends unemployment to thousands of federal workers impacted by shutdown
More public and private agencies are stepping up to ease the financial strain on federal workers affected by the partial government shutdown.
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Self-flying air taxi developed by Boeing subsidiary makes first flight
The Boeing Company announced that one of its subsidiaries on the East Coast successfully completed the first flight of a self-flying air taxi. This...
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Politics
Washington may rope in ranchers to fight rural wildfires — as Oregon and Idaho already do
Washington state may soon copy a rural wildfire fighting strategy that Oregon, Idaho and Nevada already employ: letting private ranchers attack range fires before the blazes get big.
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Business
Honey, please stop at the store to pick up some bread and ... bitcoin?
West Coasters may soon be able to pick up bread, milk and, yes, bitcoin, at their local supermarket.