Knute “Mossback” Berger is an editor-at-large and host of "Mossback’s Northwest" at Cascade PBS. He writes about politics and regional heritage.
The massive Columbia River travels more than 1,200 miles from start to finish. It crosses four mountain ranges, powers 14 hydroelectric dams and irrigates hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, among other feats.
In the second half of the 19th century, a businessman named George Francis Train rose to prominence through his success with global shipping and trade. As his wealth grew, so did his obsession with himself, and his tireless self-promotion made him a social media phenomenon of his age.
The longtime Secretary of State helped resettle refugees, supported environmental legislation and was a founding member of the state’s Heritage Caucus.
The tumultuous mouth of the Columbia River, near Astoria, Oregon, is beautiful but deadly. Thousands of ships have capsized and wrecked on its shores over the centuries.
The Pacific Northwest has a reputation for the macabre. We’ll never escape the allure of Twin Peaks, for instance, or the terrible crimes of some of the most infamous serial killers in American history.
