RANGE

On this week’s episode, Erin Sellers and Aaron Hedge went on the air to talk about a couple stories, one ongoing and one new. First, they talked about developments on the trials of Spokane protestors from June 11th, 2025 and the implications these trials have on free speech. In the weeds of Spokane’s federal conspiracy case (Erin Sellers and Valerie Osier, RANGE Media) Spokane protest coverage (RA...

On this week’s episode, Val and Aaron Hedge were joined by Kate Peterson and Mackenize Draper from the Get Lit festival ! The four of them talked about what goes into the festival, its impact on our region, and the ways it’s building up our communities. RANGE will be at the festival, so if you see us, say hi! Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube !

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 inv...

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...

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 en...

(* 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...

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. Duri...

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...

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 P...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 acr...

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 (...

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 orga...

It’s the last Free RANGE episode of 2025! On this week’s episode, the team talked about our favorite stories and projects from this year. Take a look at them below! Immigration officials are arresting people in Washington and warehousing them in Idaho ( Aaron Hedge and Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media ) Deputies killed Donald Hegel a year ago. His sister is still looking for answers. ( Aaron Hedge, RA...

Once again, reporter Aaron Hedge was joined by Cassy Benefield – a reporter and associate editor with Fāvs News – to discuss their recent story on the Family Policy Institute of Washington. Read it below: Conservative think tank: Immigration ‘undermined Christianity’ ( Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, Fāvs News )

On this week’s episode, Erin and Aaron are joined by a guest, Phil Neff! As the Research Coordinator at the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights , Phil is well-versed in all things Flock camera-related. The three of them discuss how these cameras work, what they do, and the effects they’re having on the people in our communities. Plus, at the end of the episode, Aaron also gives a br...

There’s been a lot of protests this year, both nationally and in Spokane.  Automated License Plate Readers – or FLOCK cameras – have been used to search for people who might’ve been at these protests. On this week’s episode, Erin, Aaron, and Val talk about these cameras, Erin’s months-long investigative reporting on them, and the recent stories we’ve published. Find the recent coverage (and a...

The Aaron and Erin Dream Team took over Free RANGE this week! They discussed Aaron's trip to Moscow, Idaho, where him and co-author Jenny Davis (Gonzaga University) visited the town as they did some reporting for their recent story. Compared to its larger, national media coverage of dominionist pastor Doug Wilson and Christian nationalism, the co-authors' day in Moscow told a different story: one...

This week, Aaron and Val talked about two ballot initiatives from Let’s Go Washington , a political organization who backs ballot initiatives. The first ballot initiative is IL26-001, otherwise known as “Strength and Communication Between Parents and Schools.” This would allow parents to access their child’s school records, including any disciplinary, medical, and mental health related records. Th...

Another week, another episode! This week, the team debriefed on the elections. They discussed the District 1 Spokane city council race, Spokane Prop 1 (“Together Spokane”), and other local coverage. They also zoomed out and talked about national elections, including the results of the New York City mayoral race ( which candidate Zohran Mamdani won ). ( Our podcast episodes are aired live with KYRS...

The RANGE team all went on the show again! There's always news to catch up on, which is why Val, Erin, and Aaron did just that: they caught Luke up on (even more) local news. Read the articles below: WA state Republicans are trying to turn school districts red ( Sophia Mattice-Aldous, RANGE Media ) A peek in the pocketbooks of Spokane City Council candidates ( Erin Sellers, RANGE Media ) Last minu...