InsightsNW is part of NWPB’s efforts to include more solutions journalism in our reporting. Solutions journalism examines how communities are responding to problems and seeking solutions.
This type of journalism analyzes a response to a problem while also looking at lessons learned, limitations of a solution and the evidence to show how a response is — or isn’t — working.
Rachel Sun
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NWPB
With wildfires battering much of the western United States, practitioners of one fuel mitigation strategy have seen increased public interest. They work long hours, remove brush on difficult terrain, and chew cud.
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August Frank/The Lewiston TribuneA tribal health clinic in Lapwai, Idaho, has helped patients find success managing diabetes and prediabetes. NWPB’s Rachel Sun joined host Connor Henricksen to discuss. -
Lauren Gallup/NWPBCommunities across the U.S. are turning small plots of land into highly dense forests that grow quickly. Turns out these forests have roots to a decades-old planting method that originated in Japan. -
Courtesy: McCoy OatmanNative American people face a higher rate of type 2 diabetes than the general population. Several regional tribes are offering diabetes management programs to help patients fight those odds.
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How are the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla tribes working to take care of their unused food? Morning Edition host Connor Henricksen joined NWPB’s Anna King to discuss how the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are finding success diverting that waste. -
The Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla tribes view their traditional foods as something that deserves the utmost respect. So, they’re striving to repurpose their food waste. -
Refugees and immigrants in the U-S can have a hard time adjusting to a new place. But there's a nonprofit in the Tri-Cities that’s aiming to help. -
B5, a nonprofit in the Tri-Cities, provides free English and citizenship classes for refugees and immigrants. -
Across the United States, bird species are on the decline. But in Washington, one program is hoping to create more habitat for birds — using ranches. -
Bird species are on the decline across the U.S. for all different reasons, including habitat loss. But a new program in Washington hopes to create bird habitat by using ranches. -
In 2025, an assessment from the University of Washington found that Pierce County, Washington, had lower rates of recidivism than the statewide average. The county has been seeking to reform its juvenile justice system since the early 2000s, and it seems to be working. -
Pierce County does juvenile probation differently.About a decade ago, the county created a program it calls Opportunity-Based Probation.The program rewards good choices and behaviors. That’s different from the more traditional model that punishes kids for messing up. -
If you live in the Columbia Basin, right now is the time to plant native plants. They can be a good option for Eastern Washington’s dry climate. -
For decades, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation has been working with farmers and states to bring spring Chinook salmon back to the Walla Walla Basin. Their efforts are finally paying off.
