Tom Banse
Regional Correspondent
Stories
-
Pacific NW was once a ski jumping hotbed, as told in new book and museum exhibit
Few among us have tried our luck at competitive ski jumping, and there is no shame in that considering these skiers can reach speeds around 60 mph before they take flight. But there's something riveting about the daring sport even for casual onlookers. The Pacific Northwest was once a "hotbed" for Nordic jumping as detailed in a new book and a parallel museum exhibit.
-
Pandemic-curtailed Amtrak service to be partially restored next month in Pacific NW
In another sign of the rebound in travel, Amtrak and the state transportation departments of Oregon and Washington announced plans to restore a good...
-
Dawn of legal sports betting in Washington state in deal with Tulalip tribe
Nearly a year after the Washington Legislature voted to legalize sports betting, terms have been agreed for the first sportsbook to open. It will be...
-
Billy Frank Jr. in, Marcus Whitman out as part of U.S. Capitol statue swap
In a time of reckoning about historical monuments, Washington state lawmakers found a bipartisan path to change out a prominent statue. A bill signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday begins the process of putting a statue of the late tribal treaty rights activist Billy Frank Jr. in the U.S. Capitol.
-
100-day countdown to Tokyo Olympics begins and NW athletes are excited to go
The 100 day countdown to the opening ceremony of the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics begins Wednesday. Yes, the summer games are proceeding amid an...
-
Idaho Legislature lends sympathetic ear to Oregon group that wants to redraw state lines
Idaho legislators gave a sympathetic ear Monday to an Oregon group that wants to redraw state lines so that conservative eastern and southern Oregon...
-
Robotic balloons to explore Venus? An Oregon company is working on it
The space agency NASA has chosen a small Tillamook-based aerospace company to design and test robotic balloons for future scientific exploration of...
-
Yes, there are mermaids in the Pacific Northwest. They get their own museum now, too
The Pacific Northwest might seem like an unlikely place for mermaids and mermaid culture to catch on given the cold water here. Yet, putting on an eye-catching tail and pretending to be a mythical sea being is a thing across the Northwest. There's even a brand new mermaid museum near Aberdeen, Washington.
-
KUOW Newsroom
Interest in hydrogen fuel growing in the Pacific Northwest — and tax dollars following
More folks from Pacific Northwest government and industry are jumping on the hydrogen bandwagon to test if the alternative fuel could be a viable and green replacement for diesel and gasoline in some situations. The potential converts include more than half a dozen transit agencies from Everett to Eugene, state legislators and Boeing's drone subsidiary in the Columbia River Gorge.
-
KUOW Newsroom
Small ship cruising getting ready to resume in Pacific Northwest and Alaska
Small ship cruise lines are pressing ahead with plans to restart overnight cruises on the Columbia and Snake rivers, around Puget Sound and in Alaska. They aim to cast off in April and May while the big cruise ships remain laid up by a red light from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.