Tom Banse
Regional Correspondent
Stories
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KUOW Newsroom
Time to ‘fall back’ despite lawmakers’ vote to lock the clock
Daylight saving time goes away this Sunday, November 1. You'll get an extra hour of sleep from the time-change ritual. But wait, wasn't this hassle of...
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KUOW Newsroom
Safest place may be at sea, say Portlanders who cast off on global trip
There is probably no better place to social distance than on a small boat in the ocean. But you do have to go into port occasionally, provided it's not closed. The risks and unknowns created by the ongoing pandemic have put off some people's plans to sail around the world right now. But not for one Portland couple.
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Chehalis Tribe opens distillery after overturning centuries-old prohibition
A new distillery will soon begin making whiskey, vodka and gin on Chehalis tribal land in southwest Washington state. It's the first legal, Native-owned distillery to open on tribal land in the nation. The Chehalis Tribe's effort to diversify its economy by joining the craft spirits boom had to first overcome a nearly two century old prohibition on liquor production in Indian Country.
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KUOW Newsroom
Dead whale left to rot on private beach now on its way to becoming amazing yard art
Last year, a couple who lives near Port Townsend, Washington, agreed to let the federal government drop off a dead gray whale to decompose on their semi-isolated beach. Now, the couple has a permit to keep the whale skeleton and will soon assemble the most amazing yard art.
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New momentum to retire Native-themed mascots at Washington state schools
The first Native American woman elected to the Washington State House of Representatives says she is drafting legislation to retire Native-themed...
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Tablet and phone cameras monitor mask-wearing and distancing in cafes and lobbies
A tech startup in the Seattle area is offering new software that it says can help businesses track whether they are COVID-safe, including monitoring for...
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Bonsai tree exhibit offers novel take on 75th anniversary of end of World War II
One of the more unusual ways the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II is being marked this summer is with an exhibit of stunted trees. They’re bonsai trees on display at the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way, Washington.
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KUOW Newsroom
Ferry service boosted to U.S. enclave of Point Roberts, which is cut off by Canada
The Port of Bellingham is increasing temporary ferry service to the isolated enclave of Point Roberts, Washington. That community was largely cut off...
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Two 100-year-old World War II vets, separated by an ocean, lap expectations
A World War II army veteran in Great Britain achieved world renown earlier this year with a charity walk to raise money for British health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic. The achievement went viral -- in a good way -- and inspired another pandemic feat by a 100-year-old U.S. Army veteran across the ocean in Portland, Oregon.
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KUOW Newsroom
'Tidying up the past': Pandemic house-cleaning leads to return of World War II souvenirs
Pandemic stay-at-home orders gave lots of households extra time for spring cleaning. Some people rediscovered World War II artifacts, including inscribed Japanese flags taken as souvenirs by American soldiers from Pacific battlefields.