Washington Rep. Steve Tharinger of the 24th district became intimately acquainted with levee setbacks when he discovered the levee protecting his house on the lower Dungeness River was not only not protecting his house, but harming the ecosystem too.
“I sold my house and the five acres in a barn we had, so that we'd have more room to move that levee back and give the Read More
Northwest News
Grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. (Courtesy: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Listen (Runtime 0:57) Read Federal officials are considering several possibilities to bring grizzly bears to Washington’s North Cascades.… Continue Read More
An Idaho woman worried a year ago what might happen to her family if she needed an abortion after the state’s ban took effect. That fear came true. Now, the Caldwell woman is suing. Read More
Yakama Nation biologist Dave’y Lumley shows Aleeyah McJoe, 7, an adult lamprey at the Yakama Nation’s Willamette Falls Lamprey Celebration. (Credit: Courtney Flatt / Northwest News Network) Listen (Runtime 0:59)… Continue Read More
This historical photo, provided to Oregon Public Broadcasting by Pacific University archivist Eva Guggemos, shows seven boys who came to the Forest Grove Indian Training School from the Spokane Tribe… Continue Read More
We are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and NWPB tells us about Lupita Infante, a prominent American singer and heir of the Infante’s legacy. She recently visited Central Washington and inspired younger mariachis. Continue Reading Lupita Read More
We are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and it is a story on how the Mariachi Culture has settled into Central Washington and how different organizations are helping grow this tradition. Continue Reading Mariachi culture’s deep roots in Central Read More
Members of the Academic Student Employees union gather to give speeches on the Pullman campus on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. (Credit: Lauren Paterson / NWPB) Listen (Runtime :59) Read Hundreds… Continue Reading Read More
Sockeye salmon like these are among the salmon species in peril. Credit: Aaron Kunz Listen (Runtime 1:05) Read By Courtney Flatt and Tony Schick President Biden today directed federal agencies… Continue Reading Read More
The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. (Courtesy: Creative Commons) Read By Jeanie Lindsay / Northwest News Network As federal lawmakers race against the clock to keep the government running,… Continue Reading As Read More
We are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and NWPB take you on a journey through the diversity of Hispanic and Latino/e/x communities in the region. Continue Reading Mapping Hispanic and Latino/e/x culture in Washington stateRead More
The 2023 Washington State Book Awards were announced Tuesday, Sept. 26. (Courtesy: The Washington Center for the Book) Listen (Runtime 3:57) Read By Johanna Bejarano and Lauren Gallup The Washington… Continue Reading Washington Read More
Jason Vander Kooy said the potential for flooding weighs on his mind every November.
Vander Kooy is a dairy farmer — one of many in northwestern Washington. Two years ago, some farmers there dealt with flooding that killed livestock, damaged fields, and overtopped manure lagoons — meaning the basins that store cow waste filled with water and, like a bathtub too full, Read More
David Turk, federal Deputy Secretary of Energy, speaks to about 100 people during an informational meeting about potential clean energy development at Hanford. (Credit: Anna King / Northwest News Network)… Continue Reading U.S. Read More
Ethan Chapin (left) Maizie Chapin (middle) and Hunter Chapin (right) in a family photo. Hunter and Maizie are still attending University of Idaho and are part of Greek life. (Courtesy:… Continue Reading New scholarships will Read More
Kids and caretakers watch a “Madeline” DVD in the basement of the Columbia County Library on a hot Tuesday afternoon. (Credit: Courtney Flatt, Northwest News Network.) Listen (Runtime 0:58) Read… Continue Reading Measure to Read More
The Academic Student Employees (ASE) union at Washington State University has filed a complaint of unfair labor practices against the university, alleging WSU’s unwillingness to bargain with the collective in good faith. Read More
A line of about a dozen people passed buckets of summer chinook salmon to be released into Hangman Creek. (Credit: Courtney Flatt) Listen (Runtime 1:05) Read In a historic agreement,… Continue Reading Feds announce Read More
As wildfires become more prevalent, researchers are looking at how their smoke could affect health outcomes. Continue Reading The science of smoke and healthRead More
The historic Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla is taped off and shut down until officials can learn more about the plume of gasoline underneath some of downtown Listen (Runtime… Continue Read More
WSU students Reanna Liebl and Christina Flynn order ice cream at Ferdinand’s on the Pullman campus. (Credit: Lauren Paterson / NWPB) Listen (Runtime 1:30) Read Known for its student-made ice… Continue Reading We Read More
Visible from the smoke they’re emitting, seven fires are burning within the wilderness of Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula. Lightning strikes ignited the fires Aug. 28 and all were burning relatively small until this past weekend, when the Delabarre fire took advantage of hot, dry conditions and took off like a bandit, growing to over 3,500 acres. Read More
Portraits of the 30 journalists selected for Poynter’s 2023 Leadership for Academy for Diversity in Media. (Courtesy: Chris Kozlowski / Poynter) Read Johanna Bejarano, multiplatform bilingual reporter for Northwest Public… Read More
A drone photo shows the devastation of the Wixson Heights Neighborhood in Orofino, Idaho. (Courtesy of Lauren Paterson) Listen (Runtime 3:41) Read Joanne Schwartz and her husband John count themselves… Continue Reading As Read More
For people seeking medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder in some rural Washington communities, there could soon be more options. Recent grant funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been allocated to develop medication-assisted treatment (MAT) at rural clinics. Read More
Incumbent Pasco City Councilmember Irving Brown has been targeted by racist letters, a knocked down campaign sign and vandalism in his yard. His supporters held a rally in Pasco on… Continue Reading Irving Brown rallies Read More
COVID-19 numbers are on the rise in the inland northwest, with Whitman and Latah counties both reporting 10 hospitalizations from the virus in the past week. Continue Reading With COVID-19 rise in northwest, officials say new booster Read More
Homeowners in Whatcom County have been waiting nearly two years for relief from flooding that devastated communities in northwest Washington and parts of Canada — and now, they have to wait even longer.
Federal funding was supposed to come this week for 12 homeowners whose houses were destroyed during the November 2021 flooding. However, it’s been delayed, again. Read More
How local, state and federal programs are tackling the synthetic opioid crisis Continue Reading Idaho’s fight against fentanylRead More
A black bear spotted on a forest road this spring in Eastern WA. (Photo courtesy of WA Dept Fish & Wildlife) Listen (Runtime 0:56) Read The Washington Fish and Wildlife… Continue Reading No spring bear hunts in Washington – againRead More
Los incendios forestales son aterradores y pueden desbordar las emociones. Miedo, ansiedad e incluso depresión pueden sentirse antes, durante y después de estos desastres naturales, pero los especialistas dicen que aún existen recursos para enfrentar el trauma que pueden causar las emergencias medioambientales. Read More
Children play recently at Howard Amon park in Richland, near a sign warning of toxic algae. (Credit: Anna King / Northwest News Network.) Read The Environmental Protection Agency will begin… Read More
Wildfires can be frightening and result in overflowing emotions. Fear, anxiety and even depression can arise before, during and after these natural disasters, but specialists say there are still resources to cope with the trauma that environmental emergencies can cause. Read More
How to spot risk factors and how to prevent falls before they happen Continue Reading Fall prevention: Stay fit and fall-freeRead More
A giant tortoise on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos. (Courtesy of Courtney Flatt.) Listen (Runtime 1:13) Read Northwest researchers have discovered that turtle shells can help track radioactive material… Continue Reading Read More
A Western gray squirrel. (Courtesy of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.) Listen (Runtime 0:57) Read Washington’s Western gray squirrels are in trouble. So much so that state officials… Continue Reading Washington may Read More
With the impending closure of the WestRock Paper Mill in Tacoma, about 400 workers could be displaced.
“It's really significant,” said Chelsea Mason-Placek, who is the workforce development director for the Washington State Labor Council. “This is a much larger layoff than we typically see.” Read More
Ryan Graves, Americans for Safe Aerospace Executive Director, from left, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) Maj. David Grusch, and U.S. Navy (Ret.) Cmdr. David Fravor, are sworn in during a House… Continue Reading Northwest residents Read More
On Nov. 7, some voters will decide whether to dissolve the Columbia County Library in Dayton, Washington. If they choose to do so, librarians said it would be the first… Continue Reading Lawsuit aims to block ballot measure to dissolve Read More
Ken Luke, a manager with McCain Foods, shows off some of the old standby potato varieties, along with some of the new, like the fresh “King Russet,” at a recent… Continue Reading Fries of the future could use Read More
A helicopter pulled water from the Clearwater River while fighting the flames from the Hospital Fire in Orofino, Idaho August 29, 2023. (Credit: Lauren Paterson / NWPB) Listen (Runtime 3:16)… Continue Reading Six homes lost in Hospital Fire in OrofinoRead More
Moss drapes over trees in Olympic National Park like the table dressings of fairies and the blankets of sprites. This place inspires writers — from amateurs to poets to public radio reporters — and welcomes visitors each year into its majesty.
Our national parks tend to do that; be places of awe-inspiring beauty, great adventures through bushwhacking and overnights Read More
A screenshot of the map for the Oregon Road Fire via InciWeb. Read UPDATE: All evacuations lifted for Spokane and Pend Orielle Counties as of Tuesday evening. The fire was 79… Continue Reading UPDATED: Evacuation notices lifted for Oregon Road Read More
Residents on Blue Canyon Road near Lake Whatcom have been issued a Level 2 evacuation warning as crews fight a roughly 30-acre fire that likely started due to lighting Monday evening. Continue Reading Residents near Lake Whatcom issued Level 2 Read More
La biblioteca del condado de Columbia, en el sureste de Washington, se encuentra a menos de una cuadra de la calle principal de Dayton, en un edificio histórico de ladrillo rojo que alberga más de 30.000 libros. Read More
A Pasco City Council member is running to keep his spot in District 3. But Irving Brown says racist attacks are targeting his campaign. Continue Reading Pasco Council member says racist attacks are targeting his campaignRead More
El Concejal de Pasco Irving Brown es candidato para seguir representando al Distrito 3, pero dice que su campaña está siendo blanco de ataques racistas. Continue Reading Concejal de Pasco denuncia ataques racistas contra su campañaRead More
Empezar de nuevo en otro país no es fácil, pero una organización del sureste de Washington ayuda a las familias de refugiados a crear un camino hacia el éxito a través de la educación. Continue Reading Con programas educativos, ayudan Read More
Starting over in a new country is not easy, but a Southeastern Washington organization helps refugee families create a path to success through education. Continue Reading Helping refugees build new life paths through educationRead More
WestRock Paper Mill closing in Tacoma — job losses, utility impacts and the end of the Tacoma Aroma?
WestRock, a Georgia-based corrugated packaging company, announced that its paper mill on the Tacoma tideflats will close up shop at the end of September. The mill has been in operation for nearly 100 years, processing wood fibers into paper and emitting sulfurous scents infamous for contributing to the Tacoma Aroma. Read More