STATE LAB PT 1

0519_STATELAB1_FEATURE.wav WRAP (ERT 4:00)

06/11/2025 Chris Sisk/Michael de Yoanna

Note: From Mountain West News Bureau. Notes on how to regionalize in the comments

INTRO: Across the nation, there are delays in the time it takes to process evidence investigators collect after a sexual assault. In [ ADD STATE ] for example, there are [ ADD # ] evidence kits waiting to be tested.

In Colorado, the wait is eighteen months – no better than at the start of the year, when leaders in the state first became aware of the backlog.

From the Mountain West News Bureau, Chas Sisk [rhymes w/ “jazz disk”] lays out why crime labs are struggling to keep up.

In the past week there have been at least two arrests of undocumented people in Vancouver, Washington by federal immigration officials, according to advocates.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested at least two people in Vancouver, Washington in the past week, according to advocates. OPB's Erik Neumann reports.

Grants Pass is exploring a new option to address its homelessness crisis: a grant program.

Grants Pass is considering creating a grant program to address its homelessness crisis.

Several schools in the Portland metro area released students early on Monday due to the high heat.

Oregon Public Broadcasting's Natalie Pate reports on why so many schools aren’t equipped to handle extreme temperatures.

The fallout from the Trump administration’s widespread cuts to the federal workforce are still reverberating…..In Washington, officials still don't have a clear picture of the scale…..and many former federal workers are still struggling to land on their feet.

KNKX Murrow News Fellow Nate Sanford has more

Earlier this year, Georgia Baxter-Krause of wood products company J.H. Baxter pleaded guilty to violating environmental laws, then lying about it to federal regulators. An attorney with a class-action lawsuit says having Baxter-Krause pay fines and serve time helps his case, but restitution for victims still seems far from certain. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.

Protesters chanted outside Seattle’s immigration court today [TUES]… in response to immigration raids and federal crackdowns in L.A.

More protests are planned in Western Washington in the coming days… over President Trump’s mobilization of the military in LA.

KUOW’s Scott Greenstone covered a demonstration yesterday [TUES] in Seattle.