Release of Epstein files delayed by government shutdown, MIPA issued for at-risk youth out of Ferndale, Two men taken into custody in southern Oregon in connection with death of Bellingham man, Bellingham mayor’s proposed 2026 budget includes new sales tax and widespread layoffs, Bellingham City Councilmember alleges fraud in race for council seat, Bellingham Central Lutheran church set to host severe weather shelter, No students injured in school bus collision on Lakeway, WA co-leads 16-state lawsuit in fighting federal cuts to sexual health education, Thieves steal $1M in whiskey from Skagit distillery, Wildfire smoke linked to thousands of deaths, Free or Cheap (kill 10/3), Free or Cheap (kill 10/3), Election Town Halls slated for October (kill 10/4)
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KMRE brings you local news for Wednesday, October 1st. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Release of Epstein files delayed by government shutdown
The federal government has shut down.
The Republican-led Congress failed to reach a funding deal, resulting in major consequences for Washington state’s 82,000 federal employees. Services ranging from parks to air travel will also be impacted.
According to reports, essential operations like Social Security and mail delivery will continue, but many workers could be furloughed or forced to work without pay, as in the 2019 shutdown when rangers and staff at Mount Rainier were sent home. Veterans’ medical care would stay open, though regional offices and counseling programs would close.
Lawmakers are trading blame, with Republicans accusing Democrats of obstruction. However, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen says that, for Democrats, this is all about keeping healthcare affordable for middle-class Americans.
[clip: LARSEN RECAP 1, :33, out: “…the lack of action on the Affordable Care Act tax credits”]
While the shutdown continues, another Congressional goal will also not move forward: the release of the long-awaited Epstein files.
[clip: LARSEN EPSTEIN 1, :29, out: “…the House will have to act on the Epstein files”]
Earlier today, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced that the House will not return to session until next week, as the government shutdown has no end in sight.
STORY: MIPA issued for at-risk youth out of Ferndale
A Missing Indigenous Person Alert has been issued for a Ferndale teenager.
15-year-old Kamran Finkbonner is 5-feet-5-inches tall, weighs 150 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing black sweatpants and a black t-shirt at the time of his disappearance.
Finkbonner was last seen at 9 a.m. on Monday, September 29th, at the 5000 block of Golden Eagle Drive in Ferndale, after which he set out on foot in an unknown direction. Finkbonner is autistic, and needs very clear instructions from police or social workers in order to understand the cause-and-effect of choices.
Anyone with information is urged to call 9-1-1 immediately.
STORY: Two men taken into custody in southern Oregon in connection with death of Bellingham man
Two men are behind bars in Southern Oregon, accused of the murder of a Bellingham man.
Oregon State Police SWAT raided a rural property in Klamath (KLAM-ath) County last Thursday morning and arrested 38-year-old Russell Carroway and 31-year-old Devin Pellerin (PEL-luh-rin). Both are charged in the death of 47-year-old Robert T. Hein (HINE) of Bellingham.
According to the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office, Klein was murdered — his body found in a wooded area in Oregon. The Klamath County Major Crime Team, led by Oregon State Police, is still investigating.
No further details have been released.
STORY: Bellingham mayor’s proposed 2026 budget includes new sales tax and widespread layoffs
Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund unveiled her proposed 2026 city budget during last night’s City Council meeting.
The 543-million-dollar plan would eliminate the equivalent of 40 jobs, including 12 layoffs. There will be reductions across nearly every city department — from police and fire to parks, libraries, and the mayor’s own office.
Lund says the cuts will mean reduced library hours, less parks maintenance, and fewer walk-in services. She and all department heads will also forgo cost-of-living raises next year.
To help balance the budget, Lund is also urging the Council to approve a one-tenth of 1% sales tax for public safety, expected to raise nearly 4 million dollars.
The City Council will hold a public hearing on the budget next Monday at City Hall.
STORY: Bellingham City Councilmember alleges fraud in race for council seat
A Bellingham City Council member has accused local Democratic leaders of mishandling endorsements in a city council race.
According to a complaint filed with the Washington State Democratic Party, council member Lisa Anderson alleges fraud in the Whatcom Democrats’ endorsement process. The dispute centers on how votes were counted in the Ward 6 race between incumbent Michael Lilliquist and former party chair Andrew Reding.
The state party reviewed Anderson’s complaint, but said they found no code of conduct violations that required intervention.
STORY: Bellingham Central Lutheran church set to host severe weather shelter
The building that once housed the Central Lutheran Church in Bellingham’s Sehome neighborhood will once again serve as a severe weather shelter.
The location was announced during a City Council committee meeting by Chris D’Onofrio (doe-NOFF-rio), the Housing Program Supervisor at Whatcom County Health and Community Services.
Whatcom County has allocated 450-thousand dollars for shelter staff and operational costs. Furthermore, the City Council says it will consider the pledge of an additional one-hundred thousand dollars, which would be allocated only after all of the Whatcom County money has been spent. The Bellingham funds would come from the city’s affordable housing sales tax.
According to D’Onofrio, Whatcom County has already announced plans to hire double the number of temporary staff for the shelter, as well as reducing the number of available beds from 80 to 60. Lastly, in response to concerns expressed by neighbors in the area surrounding the Forest Street location, the County will also provide transportation away from the shelter to overnight guests.
STORY: No students injured in school bus collision on Lakeway
Lakeway Drive was briefly closed on Monday after a traffic collision involving a school bus.
According to Bellingham Police Lieutenant Claudia Murphy, the bus was turning from Old Woburn Street onto Lakeway Drive when the collision occurred. Police officers and Bellingham Public Schools employees arrived at the scene to check on the students; none were injured. The driver of the other vehicle, however, sustained minor injuries.
BPS spokesperson Dana Smith told My Bellingham Now that a replacement bus was dispatched to take the students home.
STORY: WA co-leads 16-state lawsuit in fighting federal cuts to sexual health education
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown will co-lead a new, multi-state lawsuit to save teen sex ed programs.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has threatened to pull funding from the Personal Responsibility Education Program grant. Washington receives $2.6 million annually to support instruction about pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
In a statement released last Friday, Brown says that the threat from HHS stems from the state’s refusal to remove state-mandated gender- and sexual identity-inclusive language from program materials. He called the proposed action cruel, arbitrary, and illegal, and said it is being done for quote “purely political reasons” unquote.
16 other states and the District of Columbia have joined Washington in the lawsuit. According to the release, the goal of the lawsuit is to block HHS action before funds get cancelled.
WX: THE FROGS HAVE BLOWN AWAY
And now for the weather:
Temperatures are expected to stay relatively warm with highs in the upper 50s; wind gusts of up to 31 miles per hour are expected. Additionally, be prepared for thunderstorms throughout the mid-afternoon and early evening. The evening forecast calls for lows in the mid-50s with some rain.
There’s a chance for thunderstorms tomorrow, and, well… those things do not care much for the rules.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers Carlos Braga (BRA-guh), Connor O’Boyle, Kyler Cantrell, Theron (THARE-un) Danielson, Cody Mills, Aidan Larson, Glen Hirshberg (HERSH-berg), Kathi O’Shea (o-SHAY), Bella Mae, and Kai Blais-Schmolke (KAI BLAZE-SHMOLE-kee). Tune in to local news on KMRE weekdays at 3, 4 and 5 p.m. For news tips and feedback, send us an email at news@kmre.org or call 360-398-6150. KMRE is a nonprofit community radio station, powered by your donations. Check out our Patreon page or visit kmre.org and click on the banner. I’m _________, and thank you for listening!
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STORY: Thieves steal $1M in whiskey from Skagit distillery
A million dollars’ worth of whiskey from Skagit County is gone without a trace.
Thieves pulled off one of the rarest liquor heists in U.S. history this summer, vanishing with 12,000 bottles of craft whiskey from the Westland Distillery in Burlington.
The Associated Press reports the suspects arrived at the distillery warehouse on July 31st in a freight truck, carrying what appeared to be legitimate paperwork to pick up a shipment headed for New Jersey.
The whiskey, however, never made it. Among the stolen cases is nearly half the stock of Westland’s 10-year Garryana single malt, a special anniversary release that took over a decade to create.
Westland’s managing director Jason Moore called the incident a “sophisticated, fraudulent carrier scheme,” and says the stolen Garryana bottles are irreplaceable.
The Skagit Valley Sheriff’s Office is investigating the heist, and collectors are now left wondering where — and if — those rare bottles might surface.
STORY: Wildfire smoke linked to thousands of deaths
A new study warns that wildfire smoke could cause tens of thousands of extra deaths each year.
Wildfire Smoke Exposure and Incident Dementia published in the JAMA Neurology Network, is a study of more than 1.2 million Kaiser Permanente Southern California members. It shows that if climate change continues unchecked more than 70,000 extra deaths can be expected in the U.S. by 2050. This includes up to 1,400 deaths annually in Washington.
Researchers say the findings underscore the urgent need for forest management, clean air protections, and climate pollution reduction to prevent the worst health impacts.
STORY: Free or Cheap (kill 10/3)
A free household paint recycling event is coming to Bellingham — now at a new location. Due to a scheduling conflict, the one-day drop-off on Saturday, October 4 will be held at Barkley Village, 2211 Rimland Drive, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Residents can safely dispose of unwanted paints, varnishes, primers, and similar products in their original containers, five gallons or smaller. Usable paint will be recycled into new latex paint. Attendees should stay in their vehicles while staff unload materials. Pre-registration is encouraged.
STORY: WA 3rd best for teachers
According to Wallet Hub, Washington state is the third best state for Teachers in 2025. Over the past decade, Washington has seen an increase in teacher pay of more than 75% Other factors include teacher friendly policies and the state’s fourth lowest time span before tenure goes into effect.
STORY: Election Town Halls slated for October (kill 10/4)
This year’s election is all about local power — from city councils to school boards — and Cascadia Daily News wants voters to hear directly from the candidates.
You’re invited to two free town halls in October at the Sehome High School Theater in Bellingham. The first, focused on County Council races, is Saturday, October 4. The second, covering Bellingham City Council candidates, is Saturday, October 11. Both run from 6 to 8 p.m.
It’s your chance to ask questions, raise concerns, and hear where candidates stand before ballots drop.
Admission is free, but an RSVP is required. Reserve your seat for county races at CascadiaDaily.co/WhatcomTownHall, and for city races at CascadiaDaily.co/BhamTownHall.
