Today's headlines:
- Hantavirus levels in Palouse rodents are 'very surprising' to WSU researchers.
- North central, northeast WA are in a long-term precipitation deficit. Forecasters say that could mean an early start to fire season.
- Eastern WA theater adopts vests to let deaf, hard of hearing patrons physically feel concerts.
- WSU Cougar baseball team advances to NCAA regional tournament, hopes for first College World Series appearance in 50 years.
- Feeling intimidated about reducing your individual climate impact? Here's one piece of tech that could help home chefs.
Plus, SPR’s Eliza Billingham kicks off a series from SPR News and our partner stations in the Northwest News Network about how the region is getting ready for next month’s World Cup.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting was contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Owen Henderson, Eric Bengel, John Ryan and Eliza Billingham.
Owen Henderson hosts and produces the show. Eliza Billingham provides digital support.
TRANSCRIPT
[THEME MUSIC]
OWEN HENDERSON: From Spokane Public Radio, it’s SPR News Today.
I’m Owen Henderson. It’s Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
On today’s show, after an outbreak this month on a cruise ship raised concerns around hantavirus, new research shows unusually high levels of the disease in rodents on the Palouse.
And the Washington State University baseball team is advancing to this summer’s regional tournament. The Cougars are hoping to make it to the College World Series for the first time in 50 years.
Plus, SPR’s Eliza Billingham kicks off a series from SPR News and our partner stations in the Northwest News Network about how the region is getting ready for next month’s World Cup.
Those stories and more, coming up on SPR News Today.
[FADE OUT THEME]
Washington State University researchers say hantavirus is more common in the Northwest than they once thought.
Professor Pilar Fernandez says she and a colleague captured nearly 200 rodents in the Palouse over a three-night period in 2023.
About 10% testified positive for a strain of the virus and nearly a third of them had had it in the past.
PILAR FERNANDEZ: “To what extent this means is actually a risk to humans, we don't know yet. But to have a third of the mice that we collected to have shown evidence of infection, when human cases are still so rare, I think it's still very surprising.”
OH: Fernandez says the strain of hantavirus carried by Northwest rodents like deer mice is different from the one that recently sickened cruise ship passengers.
She says none of the known hantavirus strains spread easily to humans.
Still, Fernandez says people should take precautions while around mice, voles and other animals that typically carry the disease.
— — —
North central and northeast Washington could see fire season begin sooner than usual this year.
National Weather Service forecasters say the region from the Okanogan Valley all the way to the Idaho border is in a long-term precipitation deficit.
And across the northwest, snowpack is lower than usual, with few exceptions.
NWS says the only areas with normal snowpack levels are the far north Cascades and the Selkirk Mountains in north Idaho.
Fire officials say Northwest residents should prepare emergency kits and make plans for where to go if wildfire threatens their area.
— — —
One Eastern Washington theater is expanding its accessibility options for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The Gesa Power House Theatre in Walla Walla is using something called haptic vests. They vibrate with the rhythm of the music.
That means deaf and hard of hearing audience members can experience concerts by feeling the music through their bodies.
Becky Hatley is the theater's artistic director.
She got the idea to use the vests when she learned that the band Coldplay provides them during its shows.
BECKY HATLEY: “These vests have been a passion project for me for about three years, and so I’m really excited that we finally have them available for the public. It’s really exciting for us.”
Hatley says as far as she knows, her theater is the only one in the Northwest using the haptic vests.
— — —
In about a month, the Washington State University athletics program will welcome seven new members to a revamped Pac-12 Conference.
It will do so with some renewed confidence. Its baseball program—which has experienced middling success the last few decades—has qualified for this summer’s national tournament.
SPR’s Doug Nadvornick reports.
DOUG NADVORNICK: Last weekend, the Cougars won the Mountain West Conference tournament.
They earned an automatic bid to one of the NCAA regional tournaments that determine which eight teams will play in next month’s College World Series.
It’s been 50 years since Washington State has played there.
The Mountain West has been Cougar baseball’s temporary home for the last two seasons while the future of the Pac-12 has been worked out.
Last spring, the Cougs finished last. This year, they turned things around.
They finished second in the regular season and then won three of four in last weekend’s tournament, including a 14-4 win over San Diego State in Sunday’s championship game.
The Cougars’ road to the World Series in Omaha will go through Eugene, Oregon.
Their next test is a four-team, double elimination tournament this weekend that features former Pac-12 foe Oregon, current Pac-12 opponent Oregon State and Yale from the Ivy League.
I’m Doug Nadvornick reporting.
— — —
OH: Individual efforts to protect the climate can be daunting, especially with the White House eliminating federal support for clean energy.
But KUOW’s John Ryan found one clean technology that’s easy to adopt, for anyone who likes to cook.
JOHN RYAN: Faster than a steaming tea kettle…
[WHISTLE]
Cleaner than a gas stove…
[GAS BURNER CLICKS AND IGNITES]
It’s the humble induction stove.
[INDUCTION COOKTOP BEEPS AND WHIRS]
That’s the sound of an electric induction burner frying my scrambled eggs.
Induction is a fast, efficient, and clean way to cook.
The main downside is that installing an induction stove can require upgrading your electrical system. And that is pricey.
So what we’ve done at my house is to buy a one-burner induction cooktop that sits on our kitchen counter.
Cost us less than a hundred bucks. No electrical upgrades required.
We still use our gas oven a couple times a month, but this portable little cooktop takes care of 90% of our cooking needs.
Cooking isn’t the biggest user of gas in a typical home. Space heating usually is.
But gas cooking is the most visible use, and the only one that pollutes air inside the home.
[BEEPS AND WHIR]
Cooking with induction is a daily reminder that doing less harm to the planet is entirely possible, even if the White House no longer shares that goal.
I'm John Ryan, reporting.
[SHORT MUSIC BED]
OH: The FIFA World Cup is the globe’s biggest sporting event, and this year, it’s coming to North America. Seattle will host six matches, and cities across the region–including Spokane—will host fan zones and watch parties.
There’s only one problem: Lots of Americans just aren’t that into soccer.
SPR’s Eliza Billingham reports on how to get excited about the action if you’re brand new to the sport.
[CROWD NOISE]
ELIZA BILLINGHAM: Hundreds of soccer fans are crammed under the only covered section at ONE Spokane Stadium—because it just started hailing.
It’s the Spokane Zephyr’s last game of the season. The women’s club started in 2024 as the city’s first top tier professional sports team.
JENNIFER RICHWOOD: “I love soccer, yeah. I love watching it.”
Jennifer Richwood is one of the fans trying to stay dry.
JR: “I mean I like the activity, I like watching the players and like, you know, struggling to get the ball into the goal and everything and…But if you're not really into soccer, you just have to go to a game with a good crowd and then you can people watch. I mean, it’s really…[laughs].”
EB: Plenty of Spokanites are not really into soccer—which is why this isn’t just the last game of the Zephyr season. The team is shutting down because it wasn’t selling enough tickets.
That’s not uncommon for soccer teams across the country. The most viewed sport is American football, and the biggest sporting event in the States is the Superbowl, which the NFL says typically draws around 130 million viewers.
FIFA says the World Cup draws billions of viewers. That makes it the globe’s biggest sporting event. While it’s in North America, more U-S fans might be paying more attention.
But if you’re brand new to soccer, you might find it, well, a bit boring. A game might have only one or two goals.
[CHANTING]
Zephyr head coach Nicole Lukic says it can be exciting to just watch for good touches—that’s when a player expertly maneuvers the ball straight from the air onto the ground.
NICOLE LUKIC: “Maybe you as a person can go outside in your backyard and try to take the soccer ball down out of the air with it not bouncing away from you. And then maybe you'll have a deeper appreciation about what these players can do with their touches.”
EB: Zephyr midfielder Emma Jaskaniec agrees that it’s pretty simple to be casually entertained by the game.
EMMA JASKANIEC: “Anybody can know if a goalkeeper makes a crazy save. Like how did they do that? Or a defender makes this crazy side tackle or this forward takes somebody on and beats three defenders.”
EB: Some might argue that soccer is inherently un-American.
But in his new book “How To Watch Soccer Like a Genius,” Bay area journalist Nick Greene pushes back on this stereotype.
NICK GREENE: “Soccer is a very American sport, too. American football evolved from the very same games that soccer evolved from. It just happened to do so in a different timeline and a different path.”
EB: But if you’re watching soccer for the first time, you may notice that something feels foreign about it.
NG: “Soccer is a game—and I mean, this is a huge compliment—that can never be invented today. There's no stoppages except for halftime, for commercials. The second the ball gets kicked, you have at least the minimum of 45 minutes of action.”
EB: But if soap operas are more your style, Zephyr forward Ginger Fontenot says soccer’s got you covered there, too—and Jaskaniec agrees.
GINGER FONTANOT: “It’s the drama. The drama! It’s just like, everybody who plays soccer is a drama queen, don't let them tell you different.”
EB: Greene went so far as to talk to a philosopher about the ethics of diving— that is, dramatically faking an injury to get a foul called.
NG: “He was far more permissible towards it than I would have imagined, although he's a Real Madrid fan, so that might explain some of that. But if you look at diving as a piece of spontaneous choreography, again, you might start, if not to appreciate it or like it, understand its place in the game.”
EB: But no matter what, even young fans like 7-year-old Leighton know there’s always one moment that’s better than every other.
LEIGHTON: “I like to watch when they get goals.”
EB: Few moments are as satisfying as when the ball finds the back of the net.
[CROWD CHEERING FOR GOAL]
I’m Eliza Billingham, reporting.
OH: This is the first in a series from SPR News and our partner stations in the Northwest News Network about how the region is getting ready for the World Cup.
[SHORT MUSIC BED]
SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Eric Bengel, Bellamy Pailthorp, John Ryan, Eliza Billingham and me, Owen Henderson.
I’m also your host and producer. Eliza Billingham provides digital support.
Thanks for listening.
It’s SPR.
