Every day brings new stories, some of which leave a lasting impression. Over the airwaves and online, KNKX brings you local news 364 days a year — that's a lot of reporting.
As another year of reporting and storytelling wraps up, we asked the KNKX News team to share an important, overlooked, fun, special or memorable story from 2025.
The audio, interviews and visuals they captured illuminate life from across Western Washington: a midday party to help Seattle residents feel connected to their Latin roots, how city officials are using ChatGPT for government work, and neighbors who channeled their grief into a rebuilt park.
Here are the stories that we're especially proud to share with you:
Mitch Borden, General Assignment reporter
"As a reporter, sometimes you're proud of a deep dive into a dark twisty story that took months to figure out…and other times you love a story about a rat. Not just any rat though, I’m talking about the beautiful Hot Rat Summer mosaic located at Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park.
This saintly rat reportedly appeared in 2024 and since then dedicated locals have fought to preserve the unauthorized piece of street art. Earlier this year, I got to make my own pilgrimage to see the mosaic after city officials said they would stop painting over the art work."
Lisa Brooks, Weekend Edition host
"This is a feature story I did back in June about the genocide of practitioners of the Baha'i faith in Iran in the 1970s and 1980s. I had no idea of this tragedy until I was contacted about the play being staged to draw attention to it. I'd love to share it with more listeners."
Kirsten Kendrick, Morning Edition host
"This is the story I am most proud of this year. It was the catalyst for the creation of our series What's in a Name. I love telling the stories of everyday people doing extraordinary things. And, in this story, the person doing the good deed received an unexpected gift that changed her life."
Freddy Monares, Arts & Culture reporter
"The pitch for this story went something like this: I want to check out a monthly party happening at Seattle-area coffee shops during the day that features Spanish music. It followed a national trend of midday parties, minus the booze, and that felt like enough of a news hook.
I honestly didn't know what to expect, but that is the fun of being an arts and culture reporter. I was surprised by a coffee shop turned 'dayclub,' packed with people dancing and singing along to familiar songs. It felt like an especially important story to tell about Latinos building community with cafecito and music, given the surge in immigration enforcement actions happening across the country."
Bellamy Pailthorp, Environment reporter
"I've spent the last few years getting to know more about the gray whales that pass our coast twice a year as they complete an epic annual migration from the Alaskan Arctic to Baja Mexico and back. But I hadn't really seen them up close — till this spring, when I joined a group of whale watchers from Whidbey Island on their annual pilgrimage to meet gray whale mothers and babies in the warm and sheltered waters of Laguna St. Ignacio. It was an incredible experience that I won't forget— and a privilege to be able to report on it and share with KNKX listeners."
Nate Sanford, Murrow News Fellow
"My favorite story this year started with a fairly simple question: Are local governments using AI tools like ChatGPT? If so, how?
I filed records requests and obtained thousands of pages of ChatGPT logs that showed Washington city officials using the chatbot for all sorts of government business, including drafting speeches, responding to constituent emails, policy advice and more.
The two-part series we published prompted a really interesting discussion about how and when government representatives should use these tools. We have more follow-up stories planned, and have already heard from reporters across the country who’ve been inspired to file similar records requests because of our reporting."
What did we miss?
Is there another KNKX News story from 2025 that stood out to you? Let us know by emailing outreach@knkx.org.
Subscribe to the KNKX Weekly News Round-Up for more original stories like these in 2026.
