Isolde Raftery
Online Managing Editor
About
Isolde Raftery has been the investigations editor at KUOW since 2022. Previously, she was the station's online managing editor.
She has worked for NBCNews.com, The New York Times (where she was a fellow on the Metro desk in 2010), and the Columbian and Skagit Valley Herald newspapers here in Washington state.
Born in Ireland to an Irish dad and a French mom, Isolde grew up in Dublin, Paris and Seattle, where she attended James A. Garfield High School. She later graduated from Barnard College in New York City and received a master's degree in literary nonfiction from the University of Oregon.
You can send her tips and story ideas via email or, more privately, by Instagram direct message @isoldedenise.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English, French
Pronouns: she/her
Stories
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How a Seattle kindergarten teacher broached the Texas shooting with his students
Kevin Gallagher wore all black to teach his kindergarteners on Wednesday.
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‘I was blindfolded. No one spoke a word.’ Seattle-area women talk about abortion before Roe
Did you have an illegal abortion before 1973, when the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade? Soundside, KUOW’s noon show, asked for your stories, and a dozen of you left voicemails, sharing first-hand experiences. Transcriptions of those voicemails are below, and have been edited for clarity.
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A very embarrassing moment: Today So Far newsletter
Happy Friday, friends. An embarrassing email landed in our newsroom inbox this week.
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Seattle Schools warehouse workers drove hours through snow for 60,000 Covid test kits
The day after the snowstorm, which was two days after Christmas, Seattle Schools officials learned that 60,000 antigen test kits could be theirs.
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When MLK came to town
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. only came to Seattle once, in 1961. He was invited by his longtime friend, Reverend Samuel B. McKinney of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. KUOW's Isolde Raftery tells Kim Malcolm about the message he brought with him that would become his most famous speech.
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We asked how you're feeling about Covid these days. This is what you told us
There's a meme going around: "Omicron means parents are doing it all again.
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It's coyote o'clock in Seattle. Should you bring your cats in?
If you're going by NextDoor, it sounds like an army of coyotes is cruising Seattle streets for pet cats. But cats may not be on the menu as much as cat owners fret. Patricia Murphy speaks with KUOW editor Isolde Raftery about why she started looking into coyotes — and what they like to eat. Turns out, coyotes may be to thank for curbing the city's rat population.
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Man electrocuted in tree in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood
A construction worker was in serious condition on Wednesday after being electrocuted while cutting down a tree in Greenwood, at North 87th Street and Phinney Avenue North.
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A very Pacific Northwest holiday gift guide
What to gift someone who lives in the Pacific Northwest?
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Cracked teeth: Covid stress is getting to a lot of us
People are so stressed out that they are grinding their teeth until they crack.