Anna King, Author at Northwest Public Broadcasting

Gangs Of Elk Are Feasting On Farmers’ Haystacks Across The Northwest

By Anna King January 29, 2022

Gangs of wild elk are attacking farmers’ haystacks in Washington and Oregon. They’re hungry, after a long drought and record mountain snow this winter has driven animals down to the lowlands. Climate scientists say things may only get worse in the future.Read More

Glass, Corks, Capsules, Wine Supplies Are Hard To Get

By Anna King January 15, 2022

Listen Read Transcript There’s a glass shortage putting Northwest wineries over a barrel right now in bottling season. Many winemakers may have to make do with another style of bottle, […]Read More

A Widespread Glass Shortage Has Hit The Northwest Wine Industry

By Anna King January 15, 2022

Listen Read Transcript Host Lead: A widespread glass shortage has hit the Northwest wine industry. [GASP!] Correspondent Anna King explains. Some wineries might not be able to bottle your favorite […]Read More

Northwest Soldier Tries To Save Afghan Teammates From Taliban

By Anna King January 8, 2022

Team 11 was a group working with the U.S. Army Special Forces to clear IEDs in Afghanistan operations. Photo Courtesy of Tom Kasza Team 11 Afghanistan Listen Read Winter is […]Read More

Yakama Nation Seeks Food Sovereignty In New Farming Venture With Weighty History

By Anna King December 8, 2021

Gilbert Inaba, Lon Inaba’s uncle, sitting by the Dodge truck the was given to the Inaba Family by good friend and seed merchant, Wilbur Logan, after they returned from the internment camps. “Pay me whenever you can. You need it much more than I do,” Lon Inaba recalls Logan saying. “He was a great friend of our family and the Japanese farmers in the valley,” Inaba says.

Like interlaced fingers, the Inabas and the Yakama Nation have been collaborating to farm for generations. Now, this Japanese-American family, who owned and leased the land for a time, is returning it to the Yakama Nation.Read More

Dead Cattle, More That Could Become Sick Or Hungry, Grim Stories Leak Out Of Whatcom And Skagit Counties

By Anna King November 26, 2021

Chris Sybrandy helped his friends remove more than 40 head of dead cattle from their Skagit County farm recently. The cattle perished trying to return to the milking parlor with swollen udders when they were caught up in flood waters.

Washington state ag community scrambles after massive flooding kills milk cattle, sickens others and leaves herds across the state short on feed.Read More

Dairy Cattle In Jeopardy In Western Washington

By Anna King November 23, 2021

Dairy farmers across Western Washington say they’re a day or two from totally running out of fodder. That’s because of last week’s floods. Read More

Flower Fight: Same-Sex Couple Donates $10,000 To Non-Profit After Settlement With Florist

By Anna King November 20, 2021

The Tri-Cities Washington chapter of a national non-profit LGBTQ rights group just got a windfall. The money comes after a settlement in the eight-year-long Arlene’s Flowers case. Read More

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

State Of Washington And Well-Known Large Northwest Farmer Square Off Over Snake River Water

By Anna King October 25, 2021

A large-scale Northwest farmer allegedly stole Snake River irrigation water during this past summer. And Washington state has clamped down hard with an unusually-large fine.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

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

Six Dogs Sickened Or Dead Near Tri-Cities, All Thought To Have Contact With Columbia River

By Anna King September 17, 2021

Pets dead or sick after coming in contact with Columbia River water near the Tri-Cities, Wash. Now health officials have confirmed the culprit, Anatoxin-a in toxic algae.Read More

Easterday Estate Farm Equipment Sell-Off One Of The Largest In US History

By Anna King September 10, 2021

One of the largest agricultural equipment sales in the country is going on this week in Washington state. It's part of the breakup of the Easterday estate.

One of the historically largest farm equipment sales in the country is happening this week in the Northwest. It follows the bankruptcy of the Easterday family empire after its multi-million-dollar cattle swindle.Read More

Easterday Idaho: What’s To Become Of A Water-Rich Northwest Ranch

By Anna King August 18, 2021

A lone bull pauses from munching deep grass on a massive 1,100-plus acre ranch outside of Rathdrum, Idaho. This verdant jewel is part of the vast Easterday family empire. The family is under intense pressure now. Cody Easterday is facing federal fraud charges from a massive cattle swindle, and two of the family’s major businesses are embroiled in federal bankruptcy.

The saga of the troubled Easterday ag empire is spreading to rural Idaho. At issue: The fate of an Easterday ranch centered on a beautiful meadow that contributes water to the Spokane region.Read More

Beef Wars: Two Meat Giants Battle Over Easterday Feedlot North Of Pasco

By Anna King August 11, 2021

Tyson, the meatpacker, wants to buy the Easterday feedlot and is fighting for it in federal bankruptcy court. While Agri Beef, its competitor, says it’s purchase of the property should stand

Two meatpacking giants are battling in federal bankruptcy court over a 1,500 acre feedlot near Pasco, Washington. It’s part of the ongoing Easterday cattle swindle saga.Read More

Western Ranchers Are Cuttin’ Herds Like Mad To Prep For A Winter With Short Hay

By Anna King July 20, 2021

Cut hay laying in rows drying in the sun with a farm sprinkler in background.

From Oregon to the Dakotas, hay stocks for hungry cattle are already low. On top of that, ranchers say summer pastures are dry from the widespread drought.Read More

Berry Bake: Northwest Blueberry, Raspberry, Blackberry Crops Might Be Roasted From The Heat Wave

By Anna King July 2, 2021

Blackberries and raspberries in Oregon sustained mass damage from the heat dome event of earlier this week. Growers say they won’t be sure of all the damage until next year’s crop comes on. Courtesy of Oregon Blackberry Raspberry Commission

Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries from Oregon to Washington to British Columbia are baked on the bush and vine. Growers are calling the heat damage widespread and catastrophic. Read More

Weird Potatoes, Bad Berries, Hazardous Human Conditions: Heat Takes Its Toll On Northwest Farming

By Anna King June 29, 2021

Alan Schreiber inspects his broken irrigation pump. It's only working at 30 percent capacity in 117 heat. CREDIT: Anna King/N3

Record heat across the Northwest is taking a toll on agriculture – both the crops and the workers who harvest them. Read More

High Heat Brings High Worry About Crops, As Farmers Were Already Dealing With Drought

By Anna King June 23, 2021

Wheat at the farm of Nicole Berg in Washington's Horse Heaven Hills shows signs of a drought so far in 2021, with a damaged curled head.

Northwest farmers are pouring on the water to moisten soils ahead of the triple-digit temperatures and possible record highs expected this weekend. Read More

Major Swath Of Easterday Land In Southeast Washington Goes For Nearly $210 Million At Auction

By Anna King June 18, 2021

Verdant fields dot the basalt benches above the Columbia River near Goose Gap Farm, an Easterday property that's about to be auctioned off in a bankruptcy stemming from a swindle of 225,000 cattle.

The agricultural arm of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints — Farmland Reserve, Inc. — has agreed to pay about $210 million for a major swath of southeastern Washington farm ground.Read More

Scientist John Zachara Dies, Leaving A Legacy Of Exploring What’s Going On Beneath Hanford

By Anna King June 12, 2021

Scientist John Zachara, center, with family in the 1990's.

Some people work their whole life trying to solve one big problem. That was the case with geoscientist John Zachara, who studied Hanford. Correspondent Anna King has this remembrance of the scientist who died recently from a rare form of blood cancer.Read More

CATTLEGATE: 2 Land Titans Vie For Massive Swath Of Easterday Property In Southeast Washington

By Anna King June 9, 2021

Goose Gap Farm is one of several large swaths of farmland that are up for sale in a major auction in the bankruptcy of Easterday Farms and Easterday Ranches. CREDIT: Anna King/N3

Nearly 12,000 acres of Easterday family farmland in Benton County will likely sell for more than its $210 million asking price, according to court documents and sources with knowledge of the deal.Read More

It’s Been A Long Haul: Correspondent Anna King On Her Snail-Slow Recovery 1 Year After COVID-19

By Anna King June 2, 2021

Correspondent Anna King has been fighting COVID-19 and it’s after effects for a year now. It’s been a slow journey, like that of this snail she found crossing a walking path near the Columbia River in Richland.

June 3 marks a year since COVID-19 blasted through my immune system. I have never figured out how I got it. And my recovery has come in fits and starts. But mostly it’s just been incredibly, snail-slow. Read More

‘Somber Harvest’: Crops May Fail, Cattle Sold As The Northwest Descends Into Drought

By Anna King May 27, 2021

Some stunted wheat fields won’t see the combine this summer. Cattle operators are severely cutting back their herds for lack of grass. Little moisture since February in wide swaths of the Northwest is to blame. And drought is deepening across the West, with federal drought maps showing massive and growing areas of red.Read More

Two Asian American Friends In The Tri-Cities Reflect On Navigating How They’re Treated

By Anna King May 21, 2021

Mysti Meiers, left, and Danielle Kleist are best friends living in Washington's Tri-Cities. The women say they are having to recalibrate their relationships after instances of anti-Asian hate crimes across the U.S.

Mysti Meiers and Danielle Kleist say they don't define themselves as Asian Americans first, but as human beings. And that’s how they wish the rest of us would see them. Read More

Remaking Oregon Trail Video Game With An Eye Toward More Accurate Native American Depictions

By Anna King May 12, 2021

The fresh Oregon Trail game is part of the new Apple Arcade. It features more accurate depictions of Native American characters, historically-based story lines and researched clothing styles. Courtesy of Gameloft

The company Gameloft tackled the redesign of Oregon Trail for Apple Arcade just in time for the increase in worldwide play because of the pandemic. Its target audience: the now-40-year-olds and their kids. And more Native American players. Read More

As Easterday Family Property Is Auctioned, Big-Time Buyers Attracted To Water-Rich Deal

By Anna King May 6, 2021

Easterday Ranches and Easterday Farms has provided beef, potatoes, onions and produce to dinner tables for more than three generations. Now in bankruptcy, many of the family’s key properties will be sold to repay debts. It’s one of the largest sales of prime water-rich agricultural lands in the Columbia Basin in recent history. Read More

It’s Complicated: Why Some Northwest Latinx Residents And Farmworkers Hesitate On COVID Vaccine

By Anna King April 23, 2021

Vanessa Delgado, of Irvine, Calif., recently got her COVID-19 vaccine. She also helped her farmworker father of Benton County, Wash., get his shot.

Across the Northwest, many Latinx families are facing similar barriers to getting vaccinated and other issues. Adding to the complexity is powerful misinformation on social media and by word-of-mouth, the recent health concerns over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and religious reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Read More

Mysterious Northwest Cattle Mutilations Crop Up Again, This Time With 7 Dead In Central Oregon

By Anna King April 19, 2021

A fog of dust is kicked up from hooves as cowboys quietly push cattle into a corral from a big draw on Silvies Valley Ranch near Burns, Oregon. CREDIT: ANNA KING/N3

Seven cattle have been found mutilated over the last three months in Crook County and the sheriff’s office is actively investigating and hoping for a break in the case. This follows several recent cases in the past few years in rural Oregon. Read More

Northwest Snowpack Is Good, But Dry, Cold, Windy Spring Wreaking Havoc With Crops

By Anna King April 15, 2021

Asparagus from Schreiber and Sons Farms in Eltopia, Wash., has seen better days before it was windblown in recent cold, dry, windy weather across the Northwest.

Much of the Northwest’s high country is still deep in good snowpack but short on rain this spring. That has dryland wheat farmers and cattle ranchers fretting. Cold, wind and dust are even wreaking havoc with produce farmers in the region.Read More

Confederated Tribes Of The Umatilla Reservation Open Vaccines To Anyone In 11 Counties

By Anna King April 12, 2021

Staff administer a COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Wildhorse Casino, April 12, 2021 at a mass vaccination site managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation and Oregon National Guard. Courtesy of Jane Hill/CTUIR

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are opening a two-day mass vaccination event to any resident age 16 and above who resides in the 11 counties that span the tribes’ ceded territory. The offer is open to anyone, not just tribal members. Read More

Northwest Apple Exports Are Down As Eastern European Growers Crunch Into U.S. Shipments

By Anna King April 7, 2021

Cristina Campos removes damaged apples from the flume, the front end of the packing line, on Tuesday November, 20, 2018, at Gilbert Orchards in Yakima. CREDIT: KUOW PHOTO/MEGAN FARMER

A boom in American consumers’ online shopping during the pandemic has prompted a boost in imports from Asia. But that left U.S. agriculture products without a ride back. Many ships aren’t waiting to be loaded with agricultural goods at West Coast ports before heading back across the ocean with empty containers. Plus, the Trump administration’s trade war hit apples hard. Read More

Cody Easterday, Washington Rancher At Heart Of Alleged Cattle Fraud, Pleads Guilty In Federal Court

By Anna King March 31, 2021

The Easterday family is known for growing potatoes, onions and beef cattle as one of the largest agribusinesses in the Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon.

Washington rancher Cody Easterday pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal district court to defrauding Tyson Foods Inc. and another unnamed company out of more than $244 million. Easterday admitted charging the companies for the costs of purchasing and feeding hundreds of thousands of fictitious cattle.Read More

Cut And Fried: Northwest Spud Farmers Take A Deep Hit On Their Contracts

By Anna King March 30, 2021

Farmers in the Columbia Basin are fretting over a lower price for their big contracts with potato processing giants in the Northwest.

Farmers say they’ve already taken a hit from the pandemic and higher fertilizer costs. Now they are going to get 3% less for their potatoes from Lamb Weston, McCain Foods and J.R. Simplot Company. Read More

Spring Release: If You’re Headed To Northwest Wine Country, You May Need An Appointment

By Anna King March 24, 2021

People toasting the sunset with wine glasses outside in Washington state

When wineries release their new vintages to the public it’s often called “Spring release.” Those bottlings have been cooped up all winter aging. So have winter-weary patrons. Those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are stepping out to wineries and meeting in small groups both outdoors and in. Read More

Aplets And Cotlets No More: 101-Year-Old Central Washington Candy Maker Calls It Quits

By Anna King March 17, 2021

Liberty Orchards Company will stop production of its famous Aplets and Cotlets in June after 101 years of candy making.

The company that makes Aplets and Cotlets, the famous jellied fruit candy from central Washington, is calling it quits this June. Served up for Christmas and family reunions alike, the gelatinous apple and apricot treat studded with walnuts was famous far beyond Washington’s borders. Read More

Cattlegate: Alleged Massive-Scale Easterday Heist Is The New Brand Of Cattle Rustling

By Anna King March 17, 2021

Modern-day cattle rustling is something that happens mostly on paper, as a white-collar crime, not the literal stealing of cattle by people on horseback in the Old West.

Cattle rustling is as old as the West. And a recent $225 million alleged cattle heist involving Easterday Ranches and Tyson Fresh Meats in Washington is one of the largest cases in U.S. history. And that case, like others nowadays, happened on paper, not on the range.Read More

Short On Cattle, Long On Losses: Easterday Had An Alleged Habit Of Big-Money Trading

By Anna King March 3, 2021

A handwritten piece of paper in a court deposition by a financial officer of Tyson Fresh Meats details Cody Easterday's purported losses on the commodities market over the last decade. Courtesy of Tyson Fresh Meats court filing

The starting point of a Northwest-based saga of alleged invented cattle, a multi-million dollar lawsuit and two bankruptcies may lie in a short handwritten list of numbers scrawled on a lined sheet of three-hole punch paper that purports to show Cody Easterday’s annual losses from speculating on the cattle futures market.Read More

Easterday-Tyson Saga Shows: Counting 200K Cattle Isn’t Easy, Especially When They Might Not Exist

By Anna King February 18, 2021

The Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Wallula, Washington, near Pasco. CREDIT: Anna King/N3

Just how do you miss 200,000 phantom cattle over several years? That’s what some people in the Columbia Basin cattle-feeding industry are wondering in an ongoing saga between Tyson Fresh Meats and Easterday Ranches.Read More

‘Cattlegate’ Moves Forward: What About Those Cows As Easterdays, Tyson Battle Over Herd Of 54,000

By Anna King February 12, 2021

Easterday's "North Lot" is one of the largest concentrated cattle feeding operations in Washington. It was sold Jan. 22 to AB Livestock, a Tyson competitor. Courtesy of Franklin County, Wash.

In southeast Washington, the welfare of more than 50,000 head of cattle is worrying Tyson Fresh Meats. Can the herd continue to be fed and cared for while the company set up to guard over them, Easterday Ranches, files for federal bankruptcy?Read More

Washington ‘Cattlegate’ Continues: Bankruptcy Complicates Creditors’ Claims To Easterday Empire

By Anna King February 8, 2021

Since December, Easterday Ranches in WA has been embroiled in an alleged scandalous cattle rustling scheme. Now, a bankruptcy case calls into question whether a $225M lawsuit will go forward.Read More

Following Lawsuit, Washington’s Easterday Ranches Declares Bankruptcy; Suppliers Line Up For Pay

By Anna King February 2, 2021

Bluegrass straw seen on a ranch in southeastern Washington. Courtesy of Nicole Berg

The case of so-called modern-day cattle rustling in southeastern WA involving 200,000 fake cows and $225M is getting more complex by the day. Now, Easterday Ranches has filed for bankruptcy.Read More

Cattle Wars: Amid Lawsuit, Washington’s Easterday Ranches Sells Feed Property To Tyson Competitor

By Anna King January 28, 2021

As the public media Northwest News Network reported Wednesday, Tyson recently filed a suit against Washington-based Easterday Ranches seeking to get a neutral third party to take over the business until accounts could be settled. It came after Easterday allegedly made up hundreds of thousands of cattle on paper and fictitiously fed them, costing Tyson more than $225 Read More

Paper Rustling: Major Washington Cattle Operator Allegedly ‘Fed’ 200K Cattle That Didn’t Exist

By Anna King January 27, 2021

A major Washington cattle operator allegedly “fed” over 200,000 head of cattle that didn’t exist for years. Now Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc is suing. Tyson says in a lawsuit filed in Franklin County Superior Court this week that its losses are more than $225 million. The losses are from false cattle sales and feed costs. Read More

Potato Plant Down: Fire At Central Washington Facility Hurts Already Struggling Industry

By Anna King January 22, 2021

A Warden, Wash., potato processing plant burned and caused evacuations for much of town Thursday night, Jan. 21, 2021.

A potato processing plant in the central WA town of Warden burned down in a dramatic overnight fire Thursday. It’s a hit to the already struggling NW potato industry. Read More

Washington Plans Mass Vaccination Sites, But Says Please Register…And Don’t Show Up Yet

By Anna King January 21, 2021

Eager seniors filled up all of the first come, first serve slots at a drive-thru COVID vaccination clinic before the first shots were even given on Thursday in Sequim, Washington. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

Washington state plans to roll out mass doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at regional hubs starting Monday, Jan. 25. But some local officials say they received little notice and that they’re far from ready. Read More

Hanford Waste Still On The Big To-Do List For Incoming Biden Administration

By Anna King January 19, 2021

A new sign graces the entrance onto the Hanford site near Richland, Washington. CREDIT: ANNA KING

As President Donald Trump prepared to leave office, his Department of Energy was celebrating that a new analytical lab was “ready to operate” at the Hanford Site in southeast Washington.Read More

Coroner: Grant County Sheriff’s Deputy Died Of COVID-19. Confirmation Came Weeks After Death

By Anna King January 4, 2021

Grant County Sheriff's Deputy Jon Melvin was found in his home in Desert Aire, Washington, on Dec. 11, 2020. He was due to retire early this year.

Sheriff's deputy Jon Melvin, 60, was found Dec. 11, 2020, in bed at his home in Desert Aire, in southwestern Grant County. Fellow deputies were checking on his welfare after family members were unable to reach him.Read More

Correspondent And COVID ‘Long Hauler’ Anna King: As 2021 Rings In, Consider Staying Home

By Anna King December 30, 2020

Anna King went to the KADLEC Emergency Room twice during her battle with COVID-19. Once she was having trouble breathing, another time the virus attacked her inner ear, giving her vertigo. CREDIT: Anna King/N3

The first time it happened, it was a squeezing feeling. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My heart raced. At the hospital, I got an EKG and took a blood test. It wasn’t a heart attack. Just felt like one. Doctors are learning COVID-19 isn’t just a respiratory illness. Some of those who’ve had it, like me, end up with heart inflammation, heart rhythm problems or worse. Read More

Recent Posts