Local Reporting Network Archive
In a Notoriously Polluted Area of the Country, Massive New Chemical Plants Are Still Moving In
Data from an EPA model indicates that communities along the lower Mississippi River corridor already face severely elevated cancer risks from industrial activity. Massive new chemical plants are slated to be built there anyway.
Welcome to “Cancer Alley,” Where Toxic Air Is About to Get Worse
Air quality has improved for decades across the U.S., but Louisiana is backsliding. Our analysis found that a crush of new industrial plants will increase concentrations of cancer-causing chemicals in predominantly black and poor communities.
Alaska’s Uneven Rural Law Enforcement System Often Leaves Remote Villages With No Cops
A tiny Alaskan village got a police officer. He’s never had to make an arrest. Meanwhile, larger communities with more crime have often been left behind as the state’s two-tiered policing crisis gets worse.
After the Last Cop Killed Himself, All the Criminals Have to Do Is Hide
Days before his death in 2005, Simeon Askoak told officials how an Alaskan rural policing program was broken. His village hasn’t had another permanent cop since.
How We Identified the Frat Brothers Holding Guns in Front of an Emmett Till Memorial
We searched through property records, tips from Instagram users, and dozens of Instagram and Facebook photos and videos to figure out their names.
A University Committee Urged Changes to the Handling of Sexual Harassment, but Leaders Haven’t Said When They’ll Adopt Reforms
A new report from a University of Illinois panel on faculty misconduct seeks a broader definition of sexual harassment and more transparency. But a university spokesperson couldn’t say when the reforms would be adopted or how much they would cost.
This Governor Still Guides His Billion-Dollar Business Empire, Even Though He Said He Wouldn’t
Jim Justice promised West Virginians he would focus on public service, and not his businesses, once he was elected. But he’s frequently used his power as governor to promote his own corporate entities while running the state.
ProPublica Will Fund More Local News Investigations in 2020
ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network produces impactful accountability stories that wouldn’t be done otherwise. Now, we’re looking for six more partners to work with in 2020.
How a Politically Powerful Family Muscled a Nonprofit Out of Some of a City’s Most Valuable Land
Tax breaks were supposed to lead to a rebirth for one state’s poorest city. But the city has also been reshaped by the rich and influential Norcross family in ways that benefit it and its allies.
An Inmate Needed Emergency Medical Help. The Jail’s Response: See if She Has Insurance.
Audio obtained by AL.com and ProPublica shows the jail administrator wanted to see if they would be responsible for an inmate’s medical bills before sending her to the hospital. She died a day later.
These Sheriffs Release Sick Inmates to Avoid Paying Their Hospital Bills
Inmates suffering heart attacks, on the verge of diabetic comas and brutalized in jail beatings have been released so sheriffs wouldn’t have to pay for their medical care. Some were rearrested once they had recovered.
This Lawyer Fought Housing Segregation. Now Wealthy Suburbanites Want to Fire His Firm.
Westport is the second Connecticut town this year to pressure one of the state’s leading law firms to abandon its affordable housing work — or risk losing the local school system as a client.
We Reported on a Nonprofit Hospital System That Sues Poor Patients. It Just Freed Thousands From Debt.
After an investigation by MLK50 and ProPublica, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is erasing debt for unpaid hospital bills owed by more than 6,500 patients. Our reporting found the hospital had profited by aggressively pursuing patients who couldn’t pay.
Justice Department Will Fund More Prosecutors, Jails and Cops in Rural Alaska
To improve what it calls a public safety emergency, the DOJ detailed how it will spend $10.5 million. Alaska Native advocates want long-term reforms to increase their role in local justice systems as well.
Thousands of Poor Patients Face Lawsuits From Nonprofit Hospitals That Trap Them in Debt
Across the country, low-income patients are overcoming stigmas surrounding poverty to speak out about nonprofit hospitals that sue them. Federal officials are noticing. Help us keep the pressure on.
Assaults, Bullying, Rape: A Lawsuit Against One Professor Claims a University Didn’t Stop Him
Former University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professor Gary Gang Xu assaulted and threatened students while university officials downplayed complaints, a lawsuit says. He ultimately resigned, taking $10,000 as part of his separation agreement.
We Reported on Troubled Prisons. Now, Officials and a Gang Have a Shared Goal: Reform.
Following our reporting, top Republicans and Democrats want to take a closer look at Mississippi’s prison system. Meanwhile, one gang says it has turned in more than 250 weapons to show it’s against violence.
She Leapt From a Moving Car to Escape Her Rapist. Then, She Waited 18 Years for an Arrest.
Anna Sattler’s rape kit sat untested since 2001 as Alaska’s backlog got worse. Now, an ex-Iditarod musher faces charges, and she’s speaking publicly about the attack for the first time.
Lawmakers and Students Say Professors Who Sexually Harass Should Face Stronger Consequences
After NPR Illinois and ProPublica found that several University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professors who violated policies were allowed to quietly resign and take paid leave with their reputations intact, lawmakers called for reforms.
How Kentucky Gambled for Hundreds of Millions of Dollars From a Broadband Program It Didn’t Qualify for
Former Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration was warned multiple times that its rural broadband bet wouldn’t get certain federal funds. Meet the officials and conflicted consultants who didn’t listen and doomed the plan.
