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Discover Fascinating History Stories with Feliks Banel

Pacific Northwest History

Paul Dorpat...
Feliks Banel

Historic regional treasure Paul Dorpat dies after 87 years

Historic regional treasure Paul Dorpat has died after 87 years.
1 month ago
income tax draft...
KIRO Newsradio staff

‘Not something I take lightly’: WA Democrats tap rainy day fund, proposed ‘millionaire tax’ to close budget gap

Washington Democrats reveal a supplemental budget plan addressing the deficit with a millionaire tax and rainy day fund usage.
4 months ago
Police officers responding to a suspect's violent rampage at Harborview get details about what happ...
Tom Brock

Suspect arrested following violent rampage at Harborview’s Emergency Room

Seattle police report a chaotic scene at the Harborview Emergency Room, where a patient went on a violent rampage over the weekend.
5 months ago
Martin Luther King Jr. Day...
Terry Tang, The Associated Press

The long struggle to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day

On the third Monday of January, federal, state and local governments recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
6 months ago
Venezuela...
Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin Show

‘Astonishing, audacious’: Retired 4-star general praises Venezuela operation, but asks: What’s next?

Retired general commends Maduro's capture but questions the next steps for U.S. strategy in Venezuela's evolving political landscape.
6 months ago
Seattle Spotify Wrapped...
Jason Sutich

Spotify Wrapped 2025: Seattle’s top artists, songs, albums revealed

The 2025 edition of Spotify Wrapped was revealed on Wednesday, with a complete list of Seattle's go-to choices for artists, songs, and albums in 2025.
7 months ago
An investigation is underway into an attempted carjacking on Queen Anne that left two suspects inju...
Tom Brock

Two suspects shot during attempted carjacking on Queen Anne hill

A man trying to keep armed thugs from carjacking his sports car on Queen Anne hill early Sunday morning opened fire, apparently injuring two suspects.
8 months ago
Mount St. Helens...
KIRO Newsradio staff

Landscape still bears the scars of Mount St. Helens eruption 45 years later

Sunday marks 45 years since Mount St. Helens erupted, killing 57 people and reshaping the landscape of southwest Washington, which still bears the scars of that devastating event.
1 year ago
The “Old Faithful Avalanche Zone” on Highway 2 over Stevens Pass, circa 1978. (Courtesy Rich Ma...
Ted Buehner

How 11 feet of snow led to America’s deadliest avalanche near Stevens Pass in 1910

Discover how 11 feet of snow caused America's deadliest avalanche near Stevens Pass.
1 year ago
Image: This is a photo of the DC-7C airliner that took off from McChord Air Force Base on June 3, 1...
MyNorthwest Staff

Feliks Banel’s Flight 293 podcast ‘Unsolved Histories’ inspires Congress to take action

Feliks Banel's "What Happened to Flight 293" podcast has inspired the creation of bipartisan bills in the U.S. House and Senate.
1 year ago
Image: Customers lined up outside the Skakey's in Renton on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. They were lookin...
Steve Coogan

Lines bust out the door as last Western Washington Shakey’s is set to close

The last Shakey's Pizza Parlor in Western Washington announced this week it will permanently close Monday.
1 year ago
Image: The exterior of the original Burgermaster in Seattle can be seen from the parking lot on Tue...
Steve Coogan

Burgermaster to close its original location in Seattle after 73 years

Burgermaster announced Wednesday it will close its original location in Seattle's University District at the end of February.
1 year ago
hydroplane racing...
Feliks Banel

New Year’s Eve icon’s forgotten ties to Northwest hydroplane racing

He was a fixture every New Year’s Eve, first on radio and then on TV, but bandleader Guy Lombardo also had a strong, very loud – and sometimes very fast – hydroplane racing connection to Seattle
2 years ago
Mount St. Helens President Carter...
Feliks Banel

Jimmy Carter in 1980: ‘Moon looks like a golf course’ compared to Mount St. Helens

When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared the entire state of Washington a federal disaster area.
2 years ago
Photo: Merchant's Café in Seattle is reportedly closing but only for renovations; the restaurant, ...
Feliks Banel

Owner: Historic Merchant’s Café in Seattle will re-open after renovations

Merchant’s Café in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood is reportedly closing on New Year's Eve, according to a report.
2 years ago
Sears opened at Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Wash. in 1994 in the old Frederick & Nelson department...
Feliks Banel

All Over the Map: Final hours for the last Sears in Washington

It wasn’t so long ago that the name “Sears” was synonymous with American retail and with holiday shopping in particular.
2 years ago
Image: The lodge at Camp Long in West Seattle dates to the early 1940s; it was struck by an arsonis...
Feliks Banel

Seattle Parks expects to restore historic Camp Long lodge, but questions remain

The historic lodge at Camp Long in West Seattle was badly damaged in a fire in November and the cost to repair it has yet to be determined.
2 years ago
Photo: The Seattle Times building can be seen in Seattle....
Feliks Banel

Banel: Seattleites looked to Patrick MacDonald for musical cues for decades

Retired Seattle Times' music writer and critic Patrick MacDonald has died, according to a tribute written in the publication he worked for.
2 years ago
Image: Jim Hudson, whose letter was read on the 1950 "Magic Radio Santa" program, shared these phot...
Feliks Banel

Lost and now found: 70 years of family history, thanks to Centralia’s ‘Magic Radio Santa’

Jim Hudson of Tumwater didn’t tune into KIRO Radio’s story on the "Magic Radio Santa" in December 2018, but he heard it last week.
2 years ago
Pearl Harbor...
KIRO Newsradio staff

Listening back to KIRO Newsradio’s Pearl Harbor coverage 83 years later

KIRO Radio resident historian Feliks Banel joins Seattle’s Morning News host Dave Ross for a conversation about Pearl Harbor history.
2 years ago
Image: Members of the KIRO Newsradio staff who took part in the 2024 holiday play, 'North Pole Even...
KIRO Newsradio staff

KIRO Holiday Radio Play: Christmas episode of the ‘North Pole Evening News’

Santa Claus does more than bring toys to kids around the world. He also hosts a show on North Pole Newsradio called "North Pole Evening News."
2 years ago
Image: The KING 5 tower atop Seattle's Queen Anne Hill has been decorated with holiday lights nearl...
Feliks Banel

KING 5 says tower holiday lights will return in 2025

This year, the 680-foot tall tower is dark, as far as holiday decorations are concerned, for the perhaps the first time since the energy crisis of 1973.
2 years ago
Everett Parks & Facilities is moving forward with a project to remove this 1920s-era gazebo in Clar...
Tom Brock

Everett begins controversial project to dismantle historic gazebo

The city of Everett has begun work to remove a century-old gazebo despite widespread opposition from community members.
2 years ago
Pine Street was temporarily renamed "Union Way" to accommodate labor marchers whose request to marc...
Feliks Banel

All Over The Map: WTO exhibit shows how infamous event played out on Seattle streets

A new exhibit at the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle is a reminder of what the WTO was about.
2 years ago