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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Arson and hate crime suspected in latest attack on Jehovah's Witnesses near Olympia
A suspicous fire early Friday morning destroyed the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Lacey, Washington. If confirmed as arson, this would be the...
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Porcupines and hares beware! Weasel-like fishers return to North Cascades
An elusive carnivore in the weasel family is roaming free in Washington’s North Cascades for the first time in at least 70 years. Federal and state...
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Here a wolf, there a wolf, everywhere a wolf, wolf. Sightings abound in Northwest
An online map of wolf sightings from the public includes unconfirmed reports of wandering wolves from the Idaho border to the Pacific beaches, not to...
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High hemp hopes: Washington state farmers cheer on provision in Farm Bill
A new five-year federal Farm Bill that could get a vote from the House and Senate next week contains a provision to fully legalize hemp production in the U.S.
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A Yakama woman’s promise to her elders sheds light on a forgotten Pacific Northwest war
Emily Washines was 18 years old when she was crowned Miss National Congress of American Indians. Yakama tribal councilmembers and elders sung a warrior...
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Oregon aquarium plans a $4.75 million rehabilitation facility for sick or stranded sea animals
Injured, sick or orphaned seals, seabirds and turtles could get a second chance in a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center if the Oregon Coast Aquarium...
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Time to make daylight saving time permanent, some West Coast lawmakers say
According to some Oregon and Washington legislators, it's high time to get rid of the twice-yearly ritual of changing clocks.
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Big cryptocurrency player based in China establishes foothold in Pacific Northwest
One of the biggest players in the global cryptocurrency space has established a foothold in the Pacific Northwest. China-based Bitmain Technologies held a ribbon cutting for a $20 million data center near the Wenatchee airport on Friday.
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Environment
Oregon officials worry 'world's smallest harbor' could shrivel unless dredged
If you've traveled the central Oregon coast, you might remember the signs marking Depoe Bay's claim to fame: the "World's Smallest Harbor." But now that...
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Otter fans float plan to bring sea otters back to Oregon coast
It's been more than a century since sea otters were hunted to near extinction along the U.S. West Coast. The cute animals were successfully reintroduced...