Remote Surveillance Trailer in Ellensburg, WA

WASHINGTON STATE. – Travel across Washington state has become extremely difficult and dangerous, with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) advising residents to stay home unless absolutely necessary.

Both directions of Interstate 90 are closed from North Bend to Ellensburg, and the closure will remain in effect overnight. Additionally, US Highway 2 at Tye River Road is closed due to a snowplow crash, and State Route 410 is closed from Farman Street to Greenwater.

"Every single piece of equipment and person that's available is working on Snoqualmie Pass today [Friday]," said WSDOT Assistant Communications Manager Summer Deary.

Deary explained the challenges faced in clearing the roads.

"The highway closed because vehicles spun out, lots of them, that were blocking the highway," Deary said. "This includes semi-trucks that did not chain up. In addition to that, the weight of a snowfall on the trees. We had a lot of downed trees because of that. I-90 is essentially an ice rink right now. And we have more weather forecasted on the way. So, for that reason, we are keeping a close overnight for the safety of travelers."

Deary emphasized the importance of driver responsibility.

"We have been experiencing a lot of bad driver behavior lately with people refusing to chain up. This is not just the passenger vehicles. This is a lot of truck commercial truck drivers. So, for that reason, if the sign says chain up, you definitely need to chain up and know how to chain up and know your ability," Deary said.

WSDOT posted on their Facebook page urging people not to travel if it's not necessary. It is crucial for everyone to stay safe on the roads.

For those needing to stay informed about the latest road conditions, check WSDOT's social media and website for updates.

OLYMPIA — Grade school students at Discovery Lab in Ellensburg are pushing to see a prickly plant with colorful blooms recognized as the state’s official cactus.

In doing so, they are bringing lawmakers’ attention to the shrub-steppe ecosystem while getting a lesson in how a bill becomes a law.

A bill the students have backed would designate the basalt cactus, which is native to Central Washington’s shrub-steppe, as the Washington State Cactus.

Why the basalt cactus?

Ron Bockelman, a member of the Cascade Cactus and Succulent Society who helped involve the Discovery Lab class in the effort, could go on and on.

First, it is famous, at least among cactus enthusiasts, for its striking flowers: a hub of bright yellow stamens ringed by long petals of pink, red, fuchsia and magenta.

The cactus is tied to the state’s pre-colonial history: Archaeologists discovered basalt cactus spines in a centuries-old Native American rock shelter between Ellensburg and Wenatchee.

Of the three cactus species that occur naturally in Washington state, the basalt cactus is the only one classified as a ball cactus rather than as a prickly pear, Bockelman said.

It is also a sensitive species — not endangered but vulnerable to poaching and habitat loss, a topic Bockelman wrote about in Douglasia, the Washington Native Plant Society Journal.

The plant (Pediocactus nigrispinus) is also known as the hedgehog cactus, snowball cactus and the Columbia Plateau cactus. One place to see the plant is the Wild Horse Wind Farm visitor center on Vantage Highway outside Ellensburg, where Bockelman has studied the plant.

“Because it occurs in the shallow soils of the shrub-steppe habitat, it can kind of be a poster child for that habitat,” he said, “especially because we now have threats of more frequent rangeland fires … that are threatening not just this cactus, but a lot of other species that live in the shrub-steppe.”

Discovery Lab teacher Brooklynn Edgar said that, when people see the basalt cactus’ environment, they often think, “‘Oh, that’s sagebrush and some dead plants.’ But it’s actually very, very thriving.”

Edgar’s students had already been studying the shrub-steppe and basalt cactus when they learned they had a chance to champion the plant.

They wrote letters to state Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who in the 2024 legislative session introduced a bill to make the basalt cactus the Washington State Cactus. The bill didn’t get a hearing.

Warnick said, “It’s considered kind of a fluff bill — some people think that. But, in my opinion, it’s a civics lesson for these students that you don’t always get your bill through the first time you try … It’s been a huge class project for these young people.”

A second bill has crept through the legislative process. As of Thursday, March 5, SB 5325 had passed the Senate, been voted out of the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee and sits in the House Rules Committee, poised for a floor vote.

“All they have to do is pull it out and vote on it,” Warnick said.

During the 2025 session, Discovery Lab’s students testified in the bill’s favor. This year the students — ranging from second to seventh grade — submitted written testimony.

Bockelman said the students have done everything they can do. “Not just for them, but I would sure like to see them see the fruits of their labor.”

If Warnick’s bill passes, the basalt cactus would join a list that includes the state flower (coast rhododendron), state grass (bluebunch wheatgrass), the state tree (western hemlock) and two dozen other state symbols.

In her written testimony, Kalina Jones, a Discovery Lab sixth grader, said, “Even though it’s small, this cactus is very tough, surviving in dry, rocky areas where most plants can’t grow. It shows that Washington isn’t just forests and rain — our desert lands are special too.

“Making it the state cactus would help people appreciate and protect these unique habitats, and it would remind everyone that even small things can be strong and important.”

Erick Bengel is part of the Washington State Murrow Fellowships, a local news program supported by state funding.