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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Artificial intelligence is all the rage, and now it’s helping some Pacific Northwest seniors live in their own homes for longer. Twenty grandmas and grandpas on the Washington coast joined a pilot project that is trialing how AI-driven companion robots could reduce loneliness and social isolation among seniors —especially those living alone. -
For a few years now, aviation enthusiasts have teased the idea of a Jetsons-style future in which small electric aircraft whisk us to work or across the state and region. That future is not here yet, though a handful of companies, including one based in the Pacific Northwest, are trying to get a head start on the future of flying using conventional planes. -
Alaska Airlines ceremonially handed over a surplus turboprop airliner on Monday to a company that aims to turn it into the largest hydrogen-powered plane yet to fly. -
Shellfish growers in Willapa Bay in southwest Washington, the self-styled "Oyster Capital of the World," are alarmed by an invasion of potentially destructive non-native European green crabs. Some are asking for an all-out trapping offensive to corral the invasive species. -
Every new car ferry added to the Washington State Ferries fleet over the past fifty years was built at a Puget Sound shipyard. Now, state lawmakers are considering a break from past policy in order to obtain new vessels faster and cheaper for the troubled state ferry system. -
The airline manufacturer delivered its last 747 jumbo jet on Tuesday after a production run of more than five decades. Current and former workers said farewell to the "Queen of the Skies" with pride.
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The year 2021 isn’t even over, yet Oregon and Washington have already smashed their previous records for total annual deaths. Those records were just set last year. The coronavirus pandemic is only one piece of the explanation. -
Over the course of this year, you've no doubt heard about labor shortages throughout the economy. Waiters are scarce. Hospitals are short-staffed. There… -
An informal network of consumer activists, bereaved parents and green burial advocates are building websites to advise and empower families who may wish to handle funeral arrangements themselves. "Home funerals" are legal, yet just one of a widening set of options for how to lay a loved one to rest. -
Fossil fuel use in buildings looks to be the next frontier for climate activists at the state and local level. There's a convergence of activity in the Pacific Northwest right now aimed at phasing out natural gas furnaces and water heaters. Cities from Eugene to Bellingham have teed up bans on natural gas in new commercial buildings. But natural gas has its defenders, too, who have beaten back proposed phaseouts before.
