Regional Correspondent, Northwest News Network
Tom Banse
Tom Banse is a regional correspondent for the Northwest News Network, covering business, environment, public policy, human interest and national news across the Northwest.
Tom has covered state government and the Washington Legislature for more than a decade. He got his start in radio at a public radio station in southern Minnesota, WCAL.
Reared in Seattle, Tom graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota with a degree in American Studies.
Tom enjoys exploring the Olympic Peninsula backcountry and cooking dinner with his wife and friends.
Recent Articles
local
Public art installation beside Columbia River put on hold by Yakama Nation opposition
A large public art project proposed to be built beside the now-inundated great falls of the Columbia River has been put on indefinite hold by its...
local | Nation | Politics | Environment | News
Oregon's Grant County Gets To Keep Its UN Ban. And It's Not Done Fighting Big Government.
In 2002, Grant County, Oregon, banned the United Nations. Last month, a state court threw out a challenge to the ban. Now Grant County lawmakers may employ a new strategy to bring big government to heel.
local | Health | Politics | News
To Roll Back Or Not: Northwest Voters May Get To Decide On Region's Time
Oregon and Washington voters could get a say at the next general election on whether to adopt daylight saving time year-round — and thereby abolish the twice-yearly clock changes.
local | Science | NW Life | Flora and Fauna | Food | News
A 'Farm-To-Bottle' Movement Takes Off In The Pacific Northwest
In Oregon and Washington, distillers, brewers, farmers and university researchers are exploring if there is a way to highlight and sell the taste of the local "terroir."
local | Science | Business | News | Technology | Economy
Boeing Subsidiary's Self-Flying Air Taxi Makes First Flight
The Boeing Company announced that one of its subsidiaries on the East Coast successfully completed the first flight of a self-flying air taxi.
local | Recreation | Politics | Environment | News
Oregon Workers Clean Garbage On Federal Lands During Shutdown
Some Oregon State Parks workers are now tending to federal recreation lands as the partial U.S. government shutdown continues with no end in sight.
local | Nation | Politics | News
How A Partial Government Shutdown Affects The Northwest
Local effects of a partial federal government shutdown would likely be limited in Oregon and Washington.
local | Transportation | News
Survivors Healing, Seeking Accountability 1 Year After Amtrak Cascades Derailment
One year after a deadly Amtrak Cascades derailment in Washington, some of the seriously injured are still healing. And the courts are just beginning to deal with the lawsuits stemming from the crash.
local | Pacific Ocean | Business | Water | News
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 harbor is getting even smaller because of accumulating silt.
local | Water | Pacific Ocean | Animals | News | Fish & Wildlife | Environment
Otter Fans Float Plan To Return Sea Otters To The Oregon Coast
It's been more than a century since sea otters were hunted to near extinction along the U.S. West Coast. Now a new nonprofit has formed to try to bring them back to the Oregon Coast.
local | Technology | Business | Transportation | News
Pendleton Is A Hub For Drone Testing. Now, It Wants To Expand Its Capacity.
A dream to make rural Pendleton, Oregon, into a drone-testing mecca is taking flight.
local | Environment | News
Long-Range Forecast Predicts A Mild Winter For Pacific Northwest
The primary driver for the winter outlook is the emergence of El Nino. That's a warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean that tends to bring mild winters to the Pacific Northwest.
local | Recreation | News
Boy Scouts 'Boot Camp' For Girls Paves Trail For Coed Scouting
A Western Washington chapter of the Boy Scouts of America is preparing to welcome girls to scouting with a "boot camp" just for teenage girls this coming weekend.
local | Business | Economy
Trade War With China Results in Canceled Orders For NW Exports
Retaliatory tariffs levied by China on U.S. goods are taking a toll on Pacific Northwest farm exports.
local | Animals | Transportation | News | Fish & Wildlife | Environment
Critters Begin Using Unfinished Animals-Only Bridge Over I-90
Deer have already begun using an unfinished wildlife bridge over Interstate 90 east of Snoqualmie Pass. The new overcrossing is expected to reduce frightening animal-vehicle collisions.
local | News | Business | Economy
Almost Everything Leaving Northwest Ports For China Soon To Be Hit With Tariffs
The Chinese government announced on Tuesday that it would impose tariffs on $60 billion more of U.S. exports. This widens the range of Pacific Northwest companies caught in the trade crossfire.
Fish & Wildlife | local | News
Flying Goats! Olympic Range Mountain Goats Relocated By Helicopter And Ferry
Wildlife biologists have relocated the first two dozen of hundreds of non-native mountain goats slated for removal from Olympic National Park.
Animals | Fish & Wildlife | Environment | local | News
Washington Wildlife Agency Gets Green Light To Kill Cattle-Hunting Wolf
A judge on Friday declined to extend a temporary stay on the killing of a wolf from the Togo wolf pack won by several environmental groups last week.
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