Tom Banse
Regional CorrespondentTom 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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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. -
If you like cheering for hometown athletes — or former Ducks, Zags, Cougars or Huskies — you're in luck when the Summer Olympics start in less than a week. The team rosters for the USA and a bunch of foreign countries are chockablock with athletes with Pacific Northwest ties. By our count, 49 Team USA Olympians have strong connections to Oregon or Washington. At least 53 more athletes are at the Olympics representing foreign countries after starring for universities or turning pro in the Northwest.
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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. The National Science Foundation seismic survey ship Marcus Langseth zigged and zagged over the full length of the undersea Cascadia Subduction Zone -- from the Oregon-California border north to Vancouver Island.
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The broiling heat in the weekend forecast is forcing changes at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials underway in Eugene. Distance races are being shifted earlier in the day, but shorter events are staying put on the schedule in the peak afternoon heat.
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A local fire chief is warning of a looming "humanitarian crisis" on the peninsula of Point Roberts in northwest Washington state. It's a strange predicament brought on by a money-losing supermarket and pandemic-related restrictions on crossing the U.S.-Canada border.
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Many levels of government, private foundations and charities are handing out economic recovery grants these days. A Native-led nonprofit serving the Pacific Northwest is carving out a niche by offering grants specifically to help Indigenous communities and artists rebound from the uneven effects of the pandemic.
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Some of the biggest names in American running have bowed out of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials on the eve of the competition's kickoff in Eugene on Friday. The scratches open a lane for a new generation of stars to earn spots in the delayed Tokyo Olympics.
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The Pacific Northwest is famous for churning out jet airliners, computer software and huckleberry syrup. The U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials…
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Nineteen-year-old Nevin Harrison of Seattle has pictured herself competing in the Olympics for many years, mostly as a track sprinter like in the 100 or…
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Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the beginning of the summer camping, vacation and recreation season. Last summer, Pacific Northwest public lands…
