Feliks Banel

Feliks Banel

Feliks Banel is a host and resident historian for KIRO Newsradio, and is an Emmy-winning television writer and producer.

All Over The Map: KIRO Newsradio’s junior high/middle school fight song challenge

We're on a mission to collect recordings of as many Puget Sound area junior high school fight songs as possible to celebrate our alma maters.
6 days ago

Young Fresh Fellows celebrate 40 years since ‘Fabulous’ vinyl debut

The Young Fresh Fellows are marking the 40th anniversary, and new remix reissue, of their album "Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest."
6 days ago

Sumner City Council vote on whether to save the Ryan House postponed

The Sumner City Council vote on a resolution that may determine the fate of a historic structure has been postponed.
9 days ago

Final frame was Saturday night for Kirkland’s Tech City Bowl – aka Totem Bowl

After more than six decades in business on the Eastside, Tech City Bowl on Rose Hill will shut down permanently later this year.
10 days ago

‘We got a real gut punch from it:’ Scientist recalls deadly Mount St. Helens eruption

This weekend is the 44th anniversary of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, a major event for those who remember it or know the history.
11 days ago

Kirkland’s rich history comes to life in the annual cemetery tour

The Eastside city's origin story will come up a lot during this year's annual history tour of Kirkland Cemetery.
12 days ago

The game-changing Boeing 707 jet debuted 70 years ago

It was 65 years ago this week that the Boeing 707 debuted in Renton. It was game-changing jetliner that cemented the company's dominance in the market.
14 days ago

Exclusive: Grassroots preservation campaign saves Parkland School

Members of the Parkland Community Association announced Friday that the group has officially assumed ownership of historic Parkland School.
19 days ago

Visiting Captain Vancouver’s grave in a tiny village near London

Captain George Vancouver will be commemorated as he is every year at the churchyard near London where he was buried more than 225 years ago.
21 days ago

History only deepens community love for Kirkland’s ‘mystery cottage’

A former neighbor shared some additional history and backstory of the "mystery cottage" in Kirkland's newest public park.
26 days ago

Vatican decides in favor of Tacoma’s Holy Rosary Church

The Vatican has reportedly found in favor of a community group working to save the Tacoma Holy Rosary Catholic Church from the wrecking ball.
28 days ago

Darth Vader, Ban Roll-On, Sinking Ship and other Seattle building nicknames

They rarely make it onto maps or on the fancy signage out front, but Seattle has its fair share of buildings with well-known nicknames.
1 month ago

Going deep on forgotten ‘Lakes of Washington’ books

With trout season opening on Washington’s lowland lakes this Saturday, April 27, the timing was perfect to go fishing around on the history bookshelf to share a prized catch – a forgotten encyclopedia of Washington lakes first published more than 60 years ago. “Lakes of Washington” is a two-volume set of books published by the […]
1 month ago

Citizens beg City of Everett to compromise on dog park and gazebo

The Everett Historical Commission voted to postpone taking action on the city's request for permission to demolish the Clark Park gazebo.
1 month ago

Echoes of Eastside rail history with Sound Transit preparing to get underway

As Sound Transit inaugurates commuter trains between Bellevue and Redmond, when was the last time passenger rail service was offered on the Eastside?
1 month ago

Remembering Enumclaw’s Doolittle Raider Edward Saylor

Edward Saylor volunteered to be a flight engineer on the dangerous "Doolittle Raid" mission 75 years ago.
1 month ago

Layers of history revealed by ‘Street Trees of Seattle’

This new book is “Street Trees of Seattle: An Illustrated Walking Guide” by writer and artist Taha Ebrahimi.
1 month ago

Update: Cold War air raid siren remains in private hands

A vintage magazine ad for the type of Cold War air-raid siren which stood in a Seattle park for more than 70 years, and which now belongs to Binford Metals in Kent. (Public domain)
2 months ago

Local TV legend “Brakeman Bill” McLain passes away at age 96

Brakeman Bill McLain, longtime beloved kids' TV show host, has passed away, according to a message from his family posted on social media.
2 months ago

City of Seattle sends Cold War artifact to the dump

A Cold War tower and siren disappeared from its perch in a park in North Seattle last month. People want to know where they went.
2 months ago

History means it’s Seattle vs. Seattle this weekend in Milwaukee

Everybody knows that the Milwaukee Brewers team is really the Seattle Pilots in disguise.
2 months ago

Parkland School catalyzes neighbors to support South Sound community

Neighbors in Parkland, south of Tacoma, have been working for two years to save the historic Parkland School.
2 months ago

When ‘Almost Live!’ knocked down the Space Needle for April Fool’s Day

A look back at the story of the April Fool’s 1989 Space Needle collapse hoax, as told in “Almost Live!” host John Keister’s own words.
2 months ago

Boeing slogan – if it’s not history, it’s a mystery

It’s also a slogan that’s been twisted around lately to express a meaning which is the opposite of what its original iteration had proudly proclaimed.
2 months ago