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Northwest News

Slim Bounty: Your Thanksgiving Meal Might Be Affected By This Summer’s Heat Wave, Shipping And Supply Chain Problems

By Anna King November 17, 2021

Heirloom turkeys huddle in a rusty stock trailer awaiting the abattoir at Windy N Ranch outside of Ellensburg.

A lot of us hunkered down at home last Thanksgiving instead of making the usual feast. Now we’re getting together again. But with pandemic-related shipping and supply chain issues, plus this summer’s extreme heat … you’ve got a recipe for sticker shock.Read More

This Whiskey Is For Protecting Salmon

By Courtney Flatt November 15, 2021

Nathan Rea holds a bottle of the first Salmon-Safe American single malt whiskey. Rea grew the barley used to make the whiskey in Walla Walla.

Whiskey isn’t just for drinking anymore. A new craft whiskey is turning the old saying: “Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting,” on its head. This whiskey is fighting to save salmon.Read More

‘Welcome Back Loonies’: U.S. Reopens Border To Canadian Leisure Travelers

By Tom Banse November 9, 2021

Quebecois long-distance cyclist Jean-Francois Bienvenue soaked in the warm welcome Monday in Port Angeles, having previously waited in a holding pattern in British Columbia until the border reopened. "It's crazy, everybody is so happy," the Los Angeles-bound cyclist said.

There was cheering, celebration and emotional reunions along the northern border on Monday as the U.S. reopened its land and sea crossings to Canadian leisure travelers for the first time in 19 months. The international ferry between Port Angeles and Victoria began sailing again with all of its initial southbound trips sold out. Some border restrictions remain that could Read More

During Fire Season, One Family Learns To Save Trees, You Must Cut Some Down

By Courtney Flatt November 9, 2021

Peter and Shannon Polson with their dog, Bonnie. For six years, the Polsons thinned trees, chopped off limbs, and built a home resistant to fire to prepare their property for when the flames would come.

One family’s continuous wildfire preparation paid off this summer in North Central Washington.Read More

In New Climate Order, Inslee Says Washington State Vehicles To Plug In

By Courtney Flatt November 8, 2021

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee ordered around 5,000 state vehicles to transition to electric over the next 19 years.

Washington’s state vehicles soon will plug in instead of gas up.Read More

Washington State And Oregon Considering More Tsunami Refuge Facilities Along Pacific Coast Following New Study

By Tom Banse November 5, 2021

A tsunami of local origin leaves precious little time for people to move to higher ground along the Pacific coast.

If you are on the Pacific Northwest Coast when the next Cascadia megaquake strikes — also known as "The Big One"— the standard advice is to run for higher ground as soon as the shaking stops. But in some low-lying places such as Ocean Shores and Long Beach, Washington, and Warrenton and Seaside, Oregon, the closest high ground could be a long walk away over buckled roads.Read More

Daylight Saving Time Ends Soon. Here Are 4 Things You Should Know

By NPR News November 5, 2021

Four things to know about Daylight Saving time. Read More

A Lone Holdout. Why Washington’s Secretary Of State Says She Didn’t Impose Vaccine Mandate

By Austin Jenkins November 3, 2021

Sec. of State Kim Wyman is Washington's only Republican statewide officeholder and the only one who didn't impose a vaccine mandate on her staff.

Washington has nine independently elected statewide officeholders. All but one of those elected officials has required their employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The holdout was the lone Republican.Read More

Record Numbers Of Bigg’s Killer Whale Sightings And Humpback Calves In Salish Sea

By Tom Banse November 1, 2021

Salish Sea whale watchers were treated in May 2021 to humpback whale mother Slate surfacing with her young son Malachite.

Whale watchers have spotted a record number of humpback calves in inland Pacific Northwest waters this season. There was also a record streak of Bigg's killer whale sightings that just ended, according to a local whale research nonprofit. Those observations offer some good news to offset the ongoing concern about the survival of the Northwest's iconic, but critically Read More

After Down Years, Clam Diggers Return to Washington Coast

By Murrow News - Brooklynn Hillemann November 1, 2021

In torrential rain and freezing ocean spray, locals and guests of the Pacific Northwest hunt for the razor clam by evening light. Read More

Third Violent Incident Closes Parkway On Washington’s Capitol Campus

By Austin Jenkins October 28, 2021

Police tape blocks access to Deschutes Parkway on the edge of Washington's Capitol Campus on Wednesday, October 27. The Washington State Patrol was investigating a midday shooting that sent one man to the hospital. It was the third violent crime in the same area in the month of October.

For the third time this month, Deschutes Parkway, which curves past Capitol Lake along the edge of Washington’s Capitol Campus, has been closed due to a violent crime.Read More

A Grab-Bag Of Juicy Local Measures On Nov. 2 Ballot In Absence Of Statewide Initiatives

By Tom Banse October 28, 2021

People First Bellingham campaign volunteers Seth Mangold and Sage Jones sought voter support for their coalition's four initiatives at the Bellingham Farmers Market on Saturday.

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.Read More

Are Washington Republicans About To Lose Their Nearly 60-Year Lock On The Secretary Of State’s Office?

By Austin Jenkins October 28, 2021

Potential candidates to replace Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman are already stepping forward after Wyman, a Republican, announced she will resign next month to take an election security position with the Biden administration. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, will appoint Wyman's replacement. That could spell the end of a nearly six decades Republican lock on the Read More

A Trip To The Salmon River With A Local Fisherman: Steelhead Trout Declining In Idaho

By Murrow News - Ava Wainhouse October 26, 2021

A Trip To The Salmon River With A Local Fishermen: Steelhead Trout Declining In IdahoRead More

Murray, Inslee Detail Salmon Recovery Process That Could Include Snake River Dam Removal

By Courtney Flatt October 25, 2021

A process to considering removing the four Lower Snake River dams will wrap up July 31, 2022.

Washington Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee said they'll listen to diverse viewpoints with open minds to recover salmon and potentially breach the four Lower Snake River dams.Read More

Conservation Groups Want Washington Forests Managed ‘For All The People’

By Courtney Flatt October 25, 2021

Many federal old-growth forests were protected in the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan. (Credit: Paula Swedeen / Conservation Northwest)

At a Supreme Court hearing, conservation groups argued Washington forest managers should log fewer trees.Read More

20-Year Legal Battle Over Salmon To Be Paused Until Next Summer

By Courtney Flatt October 25, 2021

Environmental groups plan to pause their 20-year legal battle to protect salmon.

A longstanding court battle over the federal government’s plan to manage dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers could be on hold until next summer.Read More

Will The Passes Get Plowed? Impact Of Vaccine Mandate Firings On State Services Not Yet Clear

By Austin Jenkins October 25, 2021

The Washington State Patrol and Department of Transportation closed I-5 near Tukwila and re-routed traffic off the freeway after a semi crash on Wednesday, October 20, 2021. Combined, the two agencies lost more than 550 workers as a result of Gov. Jay Inslee's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Roughly nine in 10 employees of the state of Washington are now vaccinated against COVID-19. Gov. Jay Inslee considers that a huge success and a win for public health. But his vaccine mandate has also led to the departure of hundreds of state employees. Now there are questions about the implications for some state services.Read More

Washington Farmworkers May Get More Protection From Hot And Smoky Conditions

By Lauren Gallup October 25, 2021

Over the past year, wildfire smoke has made the air quality in the Yakima Valley, Eastern Washington and parts of Oregon some of the worst in the country, and even in the world. When the air quality is bad, experts recommend people stay indoors, but that isn’t an option for outdoor laborers, like farmworkers.Read More

State Supreme Court Case On Public Lands Begins Oral Arguments

By Lauren Gallup October 21, 2021

On Thursday, the Washington State Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments in a case being brought against Washington’s commissioner of public lands, Hilary Franz, the Department of Natural Resources and the Board of Natural Resources, that may clarify how the state manages public lands.Read More

Prescribed Burning Begins In State Forests

By Lauren Gallup October 21, 2021

With cooler temperatures and more moisture in the air, preparations for next year’s wildfires have begun, and this means planned fires.Read More

When Will Drone Delivery Be A Thing? Slow To Take Off, But Now Building In Bend

By Tom Banse October 21, 2021

Volansi executives Mike Jackson, left, and Ahmad Ziada at the drone delivery company's nearly one year old Bend, Oregon, manufacturing facility.

With all the news about supply chain problems, you might be wondering how to get your online purchases on time. If only the promised future of aerial delivery by drone could be realized during the upcoming holiday shopping season.Read More

Controversial Spring Bear Hunt Up For Debate In Washington

By Courtney Flatt October 21, 2021

Conservation groups would like to stop Washington's spring 2022 black bear hunt.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will hear a report Friday on potential changes to the 2022 spring bear hunt season.Read More

Unvaccinated Washington State Employees Face Their Last Day On The Job

By Austin Jenkins October 18, 2021

At a news conference on October 14, Gov. Jay Inslee said the state was following science and the law when deciding whether to accommodate employees who received medical or religious exemptions to his COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Monday is the deadline for Washington state employees, healthcare and long-term care workers and those working in the education field to be fully vaccinated. Those who aren’t could be out of a job by day’s end. Some of the state employees who face termination got exemptions, but not a workplace accommodation so they could stay on the payroll.Read More

Craft Brewing In The Pacific NW Dates So Far Back That Archaeologists Are On The Case

By Tom Banse October 18, 2021

The Eagle Saloon in the 1870s. This building still stands in Jacksonville, but the adjacent Wetterer home and the brewery behind it is gone.

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.Read More

Inslee Says Lower Snake River Dams Report Should Be Ready This Summer

By Courtney Flatt October 18, 2021

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said a report on the four controversial dams on the Lower Snake River should come out this summer.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says a report should come out this summer on the four controversial dams on the Lower Snake River.Read More

Inslee Orders Proof Of Vaccine Or Negative COVID-19 Test At Large Events

By Austin Jenkins October 18, 2021

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announced a statewide requirement that attendees at large events show proof of being vaccinated against COVID-19 or proof of a negative test taken in the 72 hours before the event.Read More

Franklin County Latino Population Wants More Redistricting Information In Spanish

By NWPB News October 15, 2021

Franklin County started the hearings for redrawing electoral district boundaries, and the Latino population wants more information available in Spanish. The redistricting committee began public hearings on Tuesday in Pasco. In the middle of litigation regarding the violation of the Washington Voting Rights Act 2018, the committee is working on the electoral district maps Read More

Unlocking An Elk Hoof Disease Mystery

By NWPB News October 14, 2021

WSU researchers unlock key to elk hoof disease mystery. Read More

Helping Afghan Refugees In The Tri Cities

By NWPB News October 14, 2021

Picture of the American and Afghanistan flags

The Tri Cities area will see 40 Afgham refugees resettled there. What are organziations are doing to assist them? Read More

Salmon Spawning Above Grand Coulee Dam A ‘Hopeful’ Sight

By Courtney Flatt October 14, 2021

Casey Baldwin, a research scientist with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, points out a salmon nest, or redd, on the Sanpoil River.

Salmon are now spawning in waters blocked by Grand Coulee Dam. It's the start of a larger effort to reintroduce salmon into the blocked area. Read More

Is Fire Season Year-Round Now?

By Lauren Gallup October 12, 2021

As the weather gets colder the thought of wildfire may be floating away like smoke in the wind. But while the season is wrapping up, the management of wildfire isn't over.Read More

Pacific NW Governors Hold Fast On Vax Deadline As More Local Officials Warn Of Worker Exodus

By Tom Banse October 12, 2021

People opposed to vaccine mandates protested at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia on multiple weekends during September.

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.Read More

Hit Hard By COVID 5th Wave, Washington Veterans Homes Now Brace For Staffing Shortages

By Austin Jenkins October 11, 2021

Since July 21, 34 residents and 23 staff at the Spokane Veterans Home have tested positive for COVID-19. Three residents died.

It was a challenging summer at Washington’s state-run homes for veterans. Two of the four homes experienced widespread COVID-19 outbreaks. Four veterans died. Now the homes are bracing for another challenge: the potential for a staffing shortage as the governor’s vaccine mandate kicks in.Read More

Geological Survey Explores Idaho’s Salmon Region For Cobalt

By NWPB News October 8, 2021

ICB Survey of the area East of the Salmon River where cobalt is being sought. Courtesy of IGS. BY RACHEL SUN Work to provide information on cobalt deposits in Idaho’s […]Read More

Donning An N-95 Respirator During Wildfire Smoke Events Could Protect Your Health

By Lauren Gallup October 8, 2021

New study shows how N95 masks help keep smoke particles out of your lungs. Read More

Poll Finds Many Washington Voters Support Removing Snake River Dams

By Courtney Flatt October 8, 2021

A poll found 59% of Washington voters who were surveyed support a plan to remove the four Lower Snake River dams to protect salmon.

A new poll supported by environmental groups found Washington voters West and East of the Cascades support dam removal.Read More

Washington State Parks Director Resigns 7 Months Into The Job

By Courtney Flatt October 8, 2021

Peter Mayer, the director of Washington State Parks, resigned Wednesday after almost seven months heading up the agency.

Washington State Parks will need to search for a new permanent director, after Peter Mayer resigned Wednesday.Read More

Jails In Washington And Oregon Have Higher Suicide Rate Than National Average

By Austin Jenkins October 8, 2021

Washington and Oregon both exceeded the national average rate of suicides among jail inmates from 2000 to 2019, according to a report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Since 2000, more than 200 people have died by suicide in Washington and Oregon jails putting the Northwest states above the national average for jail suicides, according to a new report by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.Read More

As The Threat Of Default Grows, The Senate Faces Another Debt Ceiling Vote

By NPR News October 6, 2021

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, as President Joe Biden urged Republican senators to "get out of the way" and let Democrats suspend the nation's debt limit, hoping to keep the U.S. government from bumping dangerously close to a credit default.

Senate Democrats are trying a fresh attempt to stave off a potential debt default with a Wednesday afternoon vote meant to pressure Republicans into dropping their blockage of legislation to address the nation's borrowing limit.Read More

Strange Harvest: Weird-Shaped Potatoes, Melons That Won’t Keep And No Moisture To Plant Wheat

By Anna King October 6, 2021

Ramon Quezada, 39, a supervisor at Alford Farms north of Pasco, loves to whistle while he works. But the potatoes this year are hard to sing about: the heat caused them to grow into weird shapes, at lower densities and lower internal quality will make them harder to store over the winter

Now that fall’s here, Northwest farmers are taking account of their summer work and crops. And they’re planning for their next harvest. But this summer’s drought and heat twisted things up. A day-trip up Taylor Flats Road in Franklin County quickly shows some of the heat’s major damage.Read More

Tens Of Thousands Of Washington Homecare Workers Not Covered By Governor’s Vaccine Mandate

By Austin Jenkins October 6, 2021

In August, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that state employees and health care and long-term care workers would have to be fully vaccinated by October 18, or face termination.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate covers more than 800-thousand workers in education, state government and healthcare. But there’s one group of hands-on caregivers it doesn’t apply to.Read More

Federal Regulators To Limit Hot Water In Snake, Columbia Rivers

By Courtney Flatt October 4, 2021

Federal regulators starting will require dam operators to limit hot water pollution caused by the four Lower Snake River dams.

Federal regulators starting this spring will require dam operators to limit hot water pollution caused by the four Lower Snake River dams.Read More

Washington Artists Explore Hopes, Fears, In Black Lives Matter Exhibit

By NWPB News October 1, 2021

People looking at Rene Westbrook painting called Deliverance at the WSU Schnitzer Museum in Pullman.

Black Lives Matter artist grant exhibit at the Schnitzer Museum at WSU. Read More

COVID-19 Deaths Much Higher In Washington’s Republican Counties, Analysis Shows

By Austin Jenkins September 30, 2021

Pharmacist Rui Wen prepares to administer a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for an employee of the Safeway Distribution Center on Monday, March 22, 2021, in Auburn. COVID deaths are trending much higher in Republican counties in Washington where vaccination rates tend to be lower.

COVID-19 related deaths are trending much higher in Republican counties than in Democratic ones in Washington. That’s according to a new legislative analysis.Read More

Columbia River Toxic Algae: Experts Say Fix What’s Causing It

By Anna King September 30, 2021

Krista Ann Patterson owns Northwest Paddleboarding in Richland, Washington. She’s unable to rent paddleboards for use on the Columbia River near her shop because the area’s been closed due to a toxic algae bloom.

Health officials are testing Tri-Cities, Washington drinking water twice a week for toxic algae since a half-dozen dogs were sickened or died recently after being on the Columbia River. And the rivershore is closed in Howard Amon Park in Richland. But toxic algae is a nationwide problem, and we still have much to learn.Read More

More Renewable Energy, Less Energy Efficiency In New Power Plan

By Courtney Flatt September 27, 2021

A view of the Bonneville Power Administration's Big Eddy-Knight transmission line. More renewable energy development and less room for energy conservation are two of the biggest changes in the draft of the new regional power plan.

The draft Northwest Power Plan is dramatically different from previous versions. People can comment on the plan through Nov. 19.Read More

Washington State Patrol’s Hiring Under Fire As Agency Failed To Diversify Over Decades

By Northwest News Network September 27, 2021

Thirty-one new Washington state troopers are sworn in Dec. 13, 2018. The WSP has long been under pressure to diversify its ranks.

The Washington State Patrol turned 100 this year. To this day it’s still a mostly white, male organization. Over the years it’s struggled to diversify. But now one part of the hiring process is getting fresh scrutiny: the psychological review.Read More

NW Conservation Groups Push For Infrastructure Package Ahead Of U.S. House Vote

By Courtney Flatt September 24, 2021

Crews in Bellingham replace an old culvert (center) with a new 12-foot diameter pipe. The old culvert was too smalland sat too high for juvenile fish to navigate during their migration to their spawning grounds.

Northwest wildlife and wildlife habitat could get a helping hand next week from the federal government.Read More

A Wildfire Burned 85% Of This Washington Town – This Is Their Recovery Story

By NWPB News September 23, 2021

A welcome sign to Malden, WA. Founded in 1906. CREDIT: ALEC COWAN / KUOW

KUOW special on Malden Washington's recovery after devastating fire. Read More