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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Laser beams that sweep erratically across crops have shown promise in protecting harvests from loss caused by birds. But researchers are still studying whether the beams may harm the animals' retinas.
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Aviation giant Boeing, a corporate sponsor of the inauguration and one of the country's largest exporters, is planning new buyouts and layoffs on top of nearly 11,000 job cuts last year.
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A U.S. Army program allows elite athletes to join the military and train in their sport. Four Kenyan distance runners in the U.S. military quickly became citizens and will represent America in Rio.
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The group of soldiers are headed to Brazil, but they're not going there to guard the athletes. The Army has a detachment to groom Olympic athletes, a number of whom only recently became U.S. citizens.
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Now that recreational use of marijuana is legal in four states, law enforcement officials are looking for quicker ways to test drivers for excessive pot use. Entrepreneurs are taking on the challenge.
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The Okanogan fire burning in central Washington is the largest wildfire in the state's history. Some area homeowners have cleared brush to keep the fire away. One built a nonflammable concrete home.