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
Health | local | Environment | News
How Oregon Coastal Hospitals Are Prepping For The Cascadia Megaquake
No hospitals on the Oregon coast could sustain operations after the Cascadia earthquake, according to a state prediction. Hospitals are on the move to improve.
Transportation | local
Boeing Jumbo Jet Returns To Central Washington To Become Flying Testbed
An iconic Boeing jet model nicknamed the Queen of the Skies swooped back into Moses Lake, Washington. AeroTEC will now modify the jumbo jet into a flying testbed for its new owner, Rolls-Royce.
Education | Sports | Politics | Business | local | News
More State Funding Sought As Eugene Prepares For 2021 World Track Championships
Public funding for big-time sports tends to generate static. So, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is building her case now for additional taxpayer support for the IAAF World Track and Field Championships, which are coming to Eugene in two years.
Transportation | Business | Technology | News | local
In The Skies Of Eastern Oregon, An Autonomous Robo Taxi Takes Flight
A drone air taxi designed by Airbus has successfully completed 114 test flights in Pacific Northwest skies.
Environment | Pacific Ocean | Water | local | Animals | Science | Food | Fish & Wildlife | News
Plastic In Your Seafood? Otters And Orcas Have The Same Problem.
Scientists from Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia are scrutinizing the marine food chain from top to bottom. Otters, oysters, rockfish and young salmon are all being analyzed for microplastics.
Science | Technology | local | Environment | News
Scientists Probe Pacific Northwest Lakes To Learn About Quakes Of The Past
Earthquake researchers are looking in what may seem like an unlikely place to learn about past Pacific Northwest quakes: lakes.
Health | Politics | News | local | World
Year-round Daylight Saving Movement Gets Another Nudge, This Time From Canada
The movement to “ditch the switch” just got a push from British Columbia, where residents signaled they are keen to join Washington state and Oregon on permanent daylight saving time. But in California, a new snag cropped up.
History | News | local
Jumpers Get Their Due Nearly 75 years After Wartime Missions Over Northwest
Pendleton has recognized the Triple Nickles, the first black paratroopers in the U.S., who also trained as smokejumpers to fight wildfires.
Transportation | News | local
Amtrak Concedes Negligence In Catastrophic 2017 Derailment South Of Tacoma
The first of what could be many trials stemming from the deadly 2017 derailment of a Portland-bound Amtrak Cascades train began with the railway accepting liability for the crash.
local | Environment | News
Thousands Of Tremors Hit Northwest, But Don't Necessarily Signal The Big One
More than 4,500 tremors hit the Northwest over the past two weeks in a regular phenomenon known as a "slow slip." Seismologists want to understand what they mean.
Business | News | local
BP Sends Checks To Many Who Bought Gas In Oregon Before 2014 Settlement
Nearly 2 million people got mysterious, unbidden $91.94 checks in the mail recently. They're the result of a 2014 settlement payout from a case involving Oregon's unlawful trade practices law.
Environment | Pacific Ocean | Water | local | Animals | Fish & Wildlife | News
Judge Strikes Down San Juan Islands Ballot Measure On Whale Watching Distance Rules
Whale watch tour companies have knocked a proposed orca protection initiative off the November ballot in San Juan County, Washington.
NW Life | local
Photo Sleuthing By Northwest Man Backs Up New Amelia Earhart Search
Photo analysis by a forensic imaging expert from suburban Seattle is backing up a new search for the pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart.
local | Environment | News
NW 'Humpback Comeback' Excites Whale Watchers As Researchers Study Surge
Humpback whales are resurfacing in big numbers in Northwest waters. Along with excitement over the humpbacks' return comes concern about ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.
Environment | Pacific Ocean | Climate change | Water | local | Animals | Fish & Wildlife | News
Rare Sighting Of Blue Whales Off The Washington Coast
A whale expert is reporting a rare sighting of blue whales off the Washington coast. The largest animals on the planet have also been sighted in unusual numbers offshore of Oregon this summer.
Environment | Pacific Ocean | Water | local | Animals | Fish & Wildlife | News
Rescuers Free Humpback Whale From Fishing Gear Off Washington Coast
A badly entangled whale is swimming free again after a dramatic rescue off the Washington coast last week.
Food | local | Environment | News
Get Out The Sauté Pan: Fall Mushroom Season Starting Early In Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwesterners who forage for wild mushrooms are noticing that the late summer and fall delicacies are coming in early this year.
Education | Health | Environment | local | Recreation | News
Feeling Ill? A Walk In The Park Is Just What The Doctor Ordered.
Dozens of Pacific Northwest doctors are teaming up with a national nonprofit to write a different kind of prescription. Their "park prescriptions" direct patients to spend more time outside.
Education | Agriculture | Pacific Ocean | Water | Business | local | Environment | Fish & Wildlife | Science | Food | News
The Dream Of A Viable Bacon-Like Seaweed Is Still Alive In Oregon
Four years after OSU shook the internet with its discovery of "a seaweed that tastes like bacon," the hard work of commercialization continues, but guilt-free bacon from the sea remains elusive.
Animals | Entertainment
'Hero Rats' Arrive At Tacoma Zoo. Their Relatives Are Still Saving Lives.
Giant rats sound like something to be scared of, perhaps. But the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington, thinks quite the opposite.
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