Tom Banse
Regional ReporterTom Banse covers business, science, public policy, 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 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 Northwest 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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The presence of eleven skiers, skaters and sliders with ties to the Northwest should add intrigue to the 2022 Beijing Olympics, although the upcoming sports spectacle beset with extreme COVID precautions, a diplomatic boycott and scarce snowfall hardly needs more drama. -
The American Red Cross says blood supplies going into the holidays are "dangerously low." One reason for this is that fewer donors are coming forward during the pandemic. Another is short staffing among the blood collectors, known as phlebotomists.
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There are no statewide initiative measures on the ballot this November in Oregon and Washington state. That’s a change from usual, but voters around the region are casting ballots on a variety of newsworthy local initiatives.
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The Pacific Northwest is rightfully proud of its thriving microbrewery scene. Most beer lovers probably consider the rise of craft brewing a phenomenon of the past few decades. But the first brewpubs in the Northwest date so far back that archaeologists were called in to excavate the remnants of one in Jacksonville, Oregon.
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Holiday shopping season is just around the corner. With all the news about supply chain problems, you might be wondering how to get your online purchases on time. A startup company has opened a factory in Bend, Oregon, to manufacture delivery drones. But those zippy aircraft won’t be flying packages to your house.
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The days are quickly ticking down to next Monday's deadline when most Oregon and Washington teachers, health care workers and public employees need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
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Not every Olympic story is happening in Tokyo this week. Take for instance these two runners in Tacoma. He's a 26-year-old former Oregon Ducks standout, now a professional quarter-miler. She's a 67-year-old baby boomer who began sprinting barely a decade ago. Together they overcame various personal disappointments and sorrows to make a winning combination.
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Earthquake researchers are eager to dig into a trove of new data about the offshore Cascadia fault zone. The valuable new imaging of the geology off the Oregon, Washington and British Columbia coasts comes from a specialized research ship.
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Last summer, Pacific Northwest public lands and trailheads were overrun by people seeking COVID-safe getaways in the fresh air. The pandemic may be winding down, but it doesn't look like the crowds are abating.
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As the story of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Pacific Northwest changes from scarcity to surplus, one northwestern Washington community says it is in a unique position to extend a helping hand across the border.
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In another sign of the rebound in travel, Amtrak and the state transportation departments of Oregon and Washington announced plans to restore a good...
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Idaho legislators gave a warm reception Monday to an Oregon group that wants to redraw state lines so that conservative eastern and southern Oregon would become part of the expanded state of "Greater Idaho."
