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Libby Denkmann

Host, Soundside

About

Libby Denkmann has covered veterans issues, homelessness and local politics during her radio journalism career. She became the host of KUOW's Soundside in November 2021. Previously she was a producer, reporter, anchor and host for stations KIRO, KFI and KPCC in Seattle and Los Angeles. During a yearlong hiatus from journalism in 2011, she worked as a congressional staffer in Washington, D.C.. Libby was born in Seattle, grew up on the eastside, and graduated from the University of Washington. Her favorite things include soccer, video games and her dog, Monty.

Location: Seattle

Languages: English, limited Japanese and Portuguese

Pronouns: she/her

Podcasts

Stories

  • caption: An elections worker feeds ballots into a ballot sorting machine on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, at King County Elections in Renton.

    Why didn't more Washingtonians vote in the 2023 election?

    Turnout for this year’s November election was the lowest on record since Washington started keeping track in 1936. Statewide, 36.41% of registered voters returned their ballot in 2023. That beats the previous low of 37.1%, held in another odd-year election — 2017, and the one before that, 38.52% in 2015. So, what is it with odd-year elections and low voter turnout?
  • caption: Alaska Airlines planes parked at gates with Mount Rainier in the background at sunrise, on March 1, 2021, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle.

    Will regulators stop the Alaska Hawaiian merger?

    Seattle-based Alaska Airlines announced over the weekend it plans to buy Hawaiian Airlines. The $1.9 billion merger would solidify Alaska's position as the nation's fifth largest carrier, if federal regulators don't block the deal.
  • ferry seattle generic

    WA's ferry network is stretched thin, how will it recover?

    If you’ve tried to catch a boat regularly lately, you know Washington state’s ferry system is struggling. Many vessels are 40 to 50 years old. The Tilikum is 63 years old. Just 14 of the agency’s 21 ships are currently sailing. A third of the fleet is out of service. Several routes are on reduced service or running smaller boats.

  • caption: Scott Welton (left), Suzanne Elshult (right), and Kili (center) stand in a field as the group searches for potential remains at Mool-Mool, or Fort Simcoe Historical State Park.

    With dogs and radar, volunteers search for remains at Mool-Mool, or Fort Simcoe State Park

    Since time immemorial, Native Tribes in the Columbia Basin met at a village crossroads called Mool-Mool. In the wake of the Yakama Treaty of 1855, the site was of continual use as a U.S. military outpost, and for decades, the grounds included a boarding school operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, where children from the Yakama Nation were forced to attend. Today, volunteers and Yakama descendants are searching the 200-acre park for their relatives' remains.

  • caption: The SS Dix in Puget Sound, 1904-1906.

    Local explorers believe they've found Puget Sound's deadliest shipwreck

    In 1906, the Steamship Dix was shuttling passengers from Colman Dock to Port Blakely when it crossed the path of the SS Jeanie. After the SS Jeanie rolled the SS Dix, the latter's passengers scrambled for safety, with dozens tragically sinking aboard the vessel. More than 100 years later, local shipwreck enthusiasts believe they've found the steamer's resting place in Elliott Bay.

  • caption: A cyclist rides along Harbor Avenue Southwest in the rain on Thursday, November 3, 2022, in Seattle.

    What happens when El Niño rolls into Seattle?

    If you’re in the Pacific Northwest right now, it’s cold outside. There’s frost on the ground in the morning — sometimes a freezing mist in the air. And lately, very little rain. Winter doesn’t technically start for another three weeks. But if this is all feeling off to you, you may need to prepare for more weirdness; it’s an El Niño year.