RANGE

On this week’s episode, Aaron Hedge was joined by Debbie Novak, an activist with the Washington State Coalition for Police Accountability. They talked about the Law Enforcement Leaders’ Bill (SB 5974), what it does, and the lawsuit by four Eastern Washington sheriffs – including Sheriff John Nowels of Spokane County – that opposes the bill.They also discussed some resources and ways to get involved, which you can find below:Learn from and get involved with the Know Your Rights Camp.You can watch the meetings for the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission here.Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

Erin, Luke, and Daisy went on the air for this week’s episode!They talked about ethics in journalism, their reporting processes, the months-long, complicated nature of recent investigative reporting, and more.Find relevant articles below:The Work Isn't For Everyone (English) (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)Why we investigated Latinos en Spokane (English) (Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)Este trabajo no es para todos (Spanish) (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)¿Por qué investigamos a Latinos en Spokane? (Spanish) (Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

On this week’s episode, Val and Aaron went on the air to catch you up on local news!They talked about some items from this week’s CIVICS agenda, including: A $120,000 contract for Mujeres in Action to provide SPD with cultural competency training and language access services (which passed);Info on the Spokane County sheriff’s proposal to charge fees for requesting body camera footage from law enforcement.$120,000 for Mujeres in Action to train cops (March 23, 2026 CIVICS)They also talked about PFAS clean-up updates, reopening the STA double decker bus crash investigation, and the March 20th memorial for Otto Zehm, who was killed by police 20 years ago.Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

(*the fake, AI Gonzaga fan pages that spread false info)On this week’s episode, Erin Sellers and Daniel Walters went on the air to talk about Daniel’s most recent article: John Stockton’s Not Dead.Daniel’s article title is a play on the clickbait “news headlines” from fake AI fan pages that have recently appeared on Facebook. More specifically, it’s a reference to a fake headline that claims John Stockton – a former NBA player and Gonzaga alum – died. (He didn’t.)Because some of these headlines use real info with slight changes, it’s important to use a critical eye when viewing news, social media posts, and other forms of media. One example of this is a headline claiming that Netflix announced a documentary on Gonzaga. The reality? There is a documentary on Gonzaga basketball, but it’s through Tubi.Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

We had a two-hour special show this week for the KYRS Spring Fund Drive, led by Erin and Pascal!During the first hour, Aaron Hedge and Daniel Walters joined to talk about their reporting processes. Daniel told a story about an interesting letter he found and how that led to him doing some journalistic work, while Aaron talked about his reporting processes for some of his early RANGE stories.During the second hour, Luke joined to talk about his career in journalism, how he’s seen the journalism field shift over time, and more.Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

On this week’s show, Aaron and Daniel interviewed investigative journalist Michael Edison Hayden.The three talked about far-right extremism in Idaho, how the new strain of Kootenai County white nationalism differs from the Aryan Nations of the past, and the big fracture points within the North Idaho fringe.Michael is a former senior investigative reporter for the Southern Poverty Law Center. His first book – Strange People on the Hill – focuses on how extremist ideology changed a small, West Virginia town and comes out in April 2026. His recently published story with Mother Jones – called “Who the F Are These Men?” – is an in-depth investigation on far-right extremism in Idaho.Founded in 1976, Mother Jones is a newsroom that “investigates the big stories that may be ignored or overlooked by other news outlets, including about democracy and voting rights, racial justice, reproductive rights, and food and agriculture.”Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

Pascal joined Hedge and Val on the radio this week!The three of them talked about some recent news:The first was about an item on the East Valley School District’s Board of Directors agenda, which was included in our February 23rd CIVICS. They held a first reading of a revised board policy that would eliminate the district’s Affirmative Action Program.The second was all about the West Plains PFAS crisis. They talked about Hedge’s recent article, where after almost a decade the airport found PFAS in the groundwater, the state is requiring both Spokane County and City to provide affected well owners with safe water.Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

Reporter Daisy Zavala Magaña and freelance reporter Daniel Walters were welcomed by Aaron for this week’s episode!They talk about their hopes, goals, and values in journalism, plus previous stories they’ve covered.Meet Daisy Zavala Magaña:Daisy previously covered immigrant labor for RANGE as a freelancer, and now she’s our newest full-time reporter! You can read her introduction in both English and Spanish.Meet Daniel Walters:As a longtime reporter, Daniel isn’t new to the journalism field… or RANGE. He’s currently working for us in a freelance capacity, but you may have read his InvestigateWest stories that we’ve republished or heard him on an early podcast episode.Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

This week’s episode is all about the Housing and Homeless Advocacy Day, or “HHAD” for short.HHAD is organized by the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance (WLIHA) and the Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund. They bring people across Washington state to Olympia to advocate for housing justice by meeting with their district’s representatives.This episode has 3 parts, and you’re going to hear from organizers, participants, lawmakers, and more.Further, relevant reading:‘This city is turning into an eviction mill.’ (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)More info on the WLIHA and HHAD

This week, Val interviewed Erin and Aaron about their recent stories.Erin talks about their story on a new eviction prevention program that was passed by Spokane City Council. The ordinance passed by a vote of 5-2 and will create this new program by June 1, 2026. Find the story here.Aaron talks about a story he and Luke co-wrote about two masked SPD officers who stood in on a healthcare workers’ vigil for Alex Pretti, who was killed by ICE agents. The vigil attendees thought they were ICE agents at first, up until it was confirmed that they were SPD officers. Find the story here.

Erin and Luke were joined by two guests this week!Dawn Kinder is the Director of Housing and Human Services for the City of Spokane.Carl Segerstrom is the Communications and Storytelling Manager of Waters Meet.The four of them talked about housing insecurity, the impacts of homelessness, and how Spokane is fighting against it.

Aaron, Erin, Val, and Luke went on the air this week! The four of them talked about two stories they’re working on:The first story stemmed from a conversation Hedge had with a local police accountability advocate who put in a public records request for photos generated from Automated License Plate Readers — AKA FLOCK cameras — using the license plate number of a van used by ICE. The van is owned by Geo Group, who not only is contracted to take immigrants to the Tacoma Detention Center, but also runs the center. Along with the single – and only – photo he got back, he also got a call from an attorney representing Geo Group: Joan Mell. She wanted to make sure he didn’t want to hurt – and she actually used this phrase – “her peeps.”The second story is a rundown of rumors swirling around the United States Post Office thanks to a vague “Essential Services” letter given to postal workers all over the country, including in Spokane. Val explains how she’s been trying to track down the reasoning behind issuing the letter and how it’s been contributing to online fears of martial law.

On Tuesday, Jan. 13, reporter Erin Sellers and producer Pascal Bostic went to Lewis and Clark High School to cover one of the six student-led walkouts planned in the area. These students were rallying to protest ICE’s harm and call for humane treatment of immigrants in our communities.Erin spoke with organizers from Spokane Students for Human Decency – who brought over 1,200 students together across the six schools – about their planning process and why they’re organizing.

This week, reporter Aaron Hedge and producer Pascal Bostic are joined by guest Joan Braune (Gonzaga University) to talk about a new book she co-edited with David M. Gides, On Christian Nationalism: Critical and Theological Perspectives.Joan Braune discusses Christian nationalism, fascism, and some ways people can recognize and intervene against it.Charlie Kirk’s Pacific Northwest ground game (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)SpoVal pastor helps push initiatives to erode student privacy (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, Fāvs News)The battle for a North Idaho city’s identity (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Jenny Davis, Gonzaga University)Conservative think tank: Immigration ‘undermined Christianity’ (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, Fāvs News)Uncivil Disobedience: Theological Perspectives (David M. Gides, Nick Braune, Joan Braune, Joshua W. Carpenter)Understanding and Countering Fascist Movements: From Void to Hope (Joan Braune)

It's 2026!Last year, we released an episode about our NEWS Year Resolutions.This year, we decided to set another set of resolutions!We also reviewed our top coverage from 2025 and got a bit nerdy about the data. Read on!Dear Gonzaga: A Letter from Assistant Professor Andrea Brower (Andrea Brower, RANGE Media)The State of Surveillance in Spokane (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)Queer BIPOC organizer arrested on their way to Spokane Pride (Erin Sellers and Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)Immigration officials are arresting people in Washington and warehousing them in Idaho (Aaron Hedge and Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)CIVICS: Spokane could become the first city to ‘Ban the Address’ (Erin Sellers and Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)Congressman Michael Baumgartner’s Spokane Town Hall: The wildest meeting we’ve ever attended (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)Everything we know about the Spokane ICE protests (RANGE Media team)9 Spokanites arrested by federal agents in connection to ICE protests (Luke Baumgarten, Erin Sellers, and Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)ICE agents with no warrant violently arrest migrants (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)