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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Track star aims to win in not one, but two pro sports, beginning at World Champs in Eugene
It's uncommon for athletes to compete and excel in two professional sports, especially ones as punishing as football or sprint hurdles. But a Seattle-born speedster who ran track and played football at the University Oregon is now attempting that rare feat.
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Business
Amazon drone deliveries nearly ready for prime time with Oregon crashes in rear-view mirror
Amazon made news this month by announcing it will start package deliveries by aerial drone to real customers in a northern California town. In the run up to the U.S. debut, the company conducted extensive flight tests in Eastern Oregon, where it experienced a spate of crashes. Amazon said Monday the upcoming rollout of commercial drone delivery signifies the refined technology is safe and no longer experimental.
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Surge in homes powered by the sun, but do your homework so you don't get burned
Solar power installations on home rooftops are surging in Oregon and Washington state. Alongside, you may have noticed an uptick in ads pitching rooftop solar, or even gotten an in-person solicitation. Some of the sales pitches contain dubious or potentially misleading claims. And now, consumer watchdogs are urging homeowners to do their homework before signing any contract.
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The 'best worst idea.' Race to Alaska for engineless boats returns after pandemic hiatus
A Northwest adventure race that some call "the best worst idea" has returned after a long, pandemic hiatus. The 2022 running of the Race to Alaska for engineless boats cast off at the first light of dawn Monday amid high winds in the Strait of Juan de Fuca that the organizers characterized as "between seasick and dangerous."
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Government
By air and by bike, civilian pilots and cyclists rehearse delivering aid after 'The Big One'
A huge dress rehearsal for regional earthquake disaster relief was supposed to happen next week until the ongoing pandemic forced its cancellation. The scrubbed Cascadia Rising exercise would have involved more than 22,000 participants – chiefly U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen as well as state, local and tribal emergency planners. Some smaller drills are going ahead this weekend and next featuring civilian volunteers who will demonstrate unusual ways aid may get to Pacific Northwest earthquake survivors.
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The highway to the danger zone passes through the NW
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Arts & Life
Highway to the danger zone passes through the PNW
The summer movie blockbuster season kicks off May 27 with the release of a sequel to the 1980s hit "Top Gun." And Northwest moviegoers may recognize some familiar Puget Sound scenery in the background.
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Arts & Life
To 'honor the shoulders we stand on' — Big band premieres with nod to history of Native jazz musicians
A scheme to entertain a four-year-old youngster in Spokane by playing a jazz album nearly three decades ago produced a cascade of aftereffects that culminated on stage in Olympia, Washington, this month with crescendos of horns and multiple standing ovations. During the debut of a 16-piece, all-Indigenous big band, the performers on stage hearkened even further back in history to celebrate the little-known, but long line of Native jazz musicians and big bands.
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Environment
Hydrogen Valley vision for Southwest Washington gets boost from Aussies' proposed plant
An Australian company is looking at repurposing the soon-to-close coal power plant property in Centralia, Washington, to build a big hydrogen fuel production facility. Fortescue Future Industries went public with its plans during a hydrogen symposium hosted by the Economic Alliance of Lewis County on Thursday.
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Volcano lodge and developed campground okayed in Mount St. Helens National Monument
The U.S. Forest Service has okayed a plan to develop what would be the first overnight tourist facilities within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, including camping, cabins and a lodge.