Tom Banse
Tom Banse covers national news, business, science, public policy, Olympic sports and human interest stories from across the Northwest. He reports from well known and out–of–the–way places in the region where important, amusing, touching, or outrageous events are unfolding. Tom's stories can be found online and heard on-air during "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" on NPR stations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
Before taking his current beat, 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.
When not sifting through press releases, listening to lobbyists, or driving lonely highways, Tom enjoys exploring the Olympic Peninsula backcountry and cooking dinner with his wife and friends. Tom's secret ambition is to take six months off work and travel to a faraway place beyond the reach of email.
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University students and staff in the Pacific Northwest are giving a trial run to a smartphone app that tells you if you were recently near someone who... -
As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, it's now increasingly apparent that 2020 will be remembered for an unusually high death toll -- not just from... -
The most recent extension of the U.S.-Canada border closure expires this Friday, November 21, but no one expects the restrictions to be lifted then.... -
We don't know if the pandemic has a happy ending, but British Columbia is delivering a surprise plot twist courtesy of its film industry. Filming of TV... -
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... -
In a newly launched pilot project, civilian mental health crisis responders are riding alongside Skagit County, Washington, sheriff's deputies on 911... -
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... -
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... -
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...
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One of the first Native American women elected to the Washington State House of Representatives says she is drafting legislation to retire Native-themed...
