This Icebreaker Has Design Problems and a History of Failure. It’s America’s Latest Military Vessel.
The builder of the icebreaker Aiviq has given more than $7 million to political campaigns, parties and committees since 2012. Under pressure from Congress, the Coast Guard purchased the vessel late last year.
Reporting From the Northwest
Our Northwest hub covers Washington, Idaho, Alaska and Oregon. The six-person reporting team includes three Local Reporting Network Distinguished Fellows and is committed to partnering with local media.
For Decades, Calls for Reform to Idaho’s Troubled Coroner System Have Gone Unanswered
Idaho’s patchwork of 44 coroner’s offices leaves grief-stricken parents without answers in their children’s deaths and creates disparities in coroners’ investigations.
A Timeline of Failed Efforts to Reform Idaho’s Coroner System
Idaho lawmakers have come close to instituting reforms to the state's coroner system. Every attempt has failed. Often, the reason is simple, experts told ProPublica in recent months: Nobody wants to spend money on death.
Despite Biden’s Promise to Protect Old Forests, His Administration Keeps Approving Plans to Cut Them Down
In Oregon’s Coast Range, mature forests can absorb more carbon per acre than almost any other on the planet. Yet logging here continues at a steady pace, putting the environment at risk.
Northwest News Staff
- Northwest Editor
- Steve Suo
- Reporters
- Rob Davis, Audrey Dutton and McKenzie Funk
- Local Reporting Network Distinguished Fellows
- Kyle Hopkins, Lulu Ramadan and Tony Schick
Local Reporting Network Partners
ProPublica is supporting local and regional newsrooms as they work on important investigative projects affecting their communities. Some of our past and present partners in the region:
- Anchorage Daily News
- Anchorage, Alaska
- High Country News
- Multi-state
- Idaho Statesman
- Boise, Idaho
- Oregon Public Broadcasting
- Portland, Oregon
- The Seattle Times
- Seattle, Washington
Hydroelectric Dams on Oregon’s Willamette River Kill Salmon. Congress Says It’s Time to Consider Shutting Them Down.
The newly signed legislation follows reporting from Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica that underscored the risks and costs associated with a plan to migrate salmon past hydroelectric dams using a giant fish collector and tanker trucks.
The Neverending Case: How 10 Years of Delays Have Prevented a “Horrendous” Sexual Assault Allegation From Going to Trial
Four different judges have agreed to delay the trial more than 70 times in total. We pieced together a timeline of the delays using audio recordings and logs from every hearing.
Anchorage Police Say They Witnessed a Sexual Assault in Public. It Took Seven Years for the Case to Go to Trial.
In Alaska, where the time to resolve most serious felony cases has nearly tripled over the past decade, one case was delayed so long that both victims died. A former prosecutor called it “a travesty of justice.”
An Idaho Baby’s Unexplained Death Got No Autopsy and a Scant Coroner’s Investigation. State Law Says That’s Fine.
With a lack of regulation for coroners, a child who dies unexpectedly or outside of a doctor’s care in Idaho is less likely to be autopsied than anywhere else in the United States.
After Mass Dismissals in Anchorage, Alaska Officials Step in to Help Prosecute Crimes
The state offered to send up to 10 prosecutors to Anchorage days after the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica reported that hundreds of misdemeanor cases had been dropped since May because the city couldn’t hit court deadlines for speedy trials.
Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and DUI Cases Are Being Dismissed en Masse in Anchorage
An effort to clear a backlog in the court system, combined with a lack of prosecutors, has led hundreds of people charged with an array of criminal misdemeanors in Alaska’s most-populous city to have their cases dropped without a trial.
We Reported on Nike’s Extensive Use of Private Jets. The Company Just Made It Harder to Track Them.
Since our story, the company has added its planes to a popular Federal Aviation Administration program that makes it harder to see where they’re going.
We Enlisted a Community to Help Us Report on One State’s Crumbling Schools. Here’s How You Can Do the Same.
Do you want to document problems with school facilities around your state? Reporters from ProPublica and The Idaho Statesman offer some tips.
At Indigenous Sacred Sites, Seeing Things I’m Not Supposed to See
Western journalism tends to value transparency as a public good. But as an Indigenous reporter, I face a unique set of challenges: Include too-specific cultural details, and I risk endangering my community.
The Department of Energy Promised This Tribal Nation a $32 Million Solar Grant. It’s Nearly Impossible to Access.
Washington’s Yakama Nation received both the grant and a $100 million federal loan. Held up by a series of bureaucratic hurdles, the funding could expire before the government lets the tribal nation touch a dime.
Oregon’s Largest Natural Gas Company Said It Was Going Green. It Sells as Much Fossil Fuel as Before.
NW Natural told Oregonians it had a new source of clean energy: renewable natural gas. Industry documents obtained by ProPublica reveal how the company has, for years, perpetuated its core fossil fuel business while painting a picture of going green.
Nike Shareholders Want to Force Actions on Environmental and Worker Protections. They Face Long Odds.
At their annual meeting, Nike investors will decide on proposals about the company’s approach to climate change, gender equity and labor rights. If history is any guide, none of them will pass.
After Nike Leaders Promised Climate Action, Their Corporate Jets Kept Flying — and Polluting
Nike has staked a claim as a corporate leader on sustainability. Yet company disclosures show that its jets emitted almost 20% more carbon dioxide last year than in 2015. It’s one small factor in Nike’s failure to slash emissions as promised.
Washington State Solar Project Paused Amid Concern About Native Cultural Sites
The decision comes after an investigation by High Country News and ProPublica found that a land survey funded by the developer omitted more than a dozen sites of archaeological or cultural significance.
How a Washington Tax Break for Data Centers Snowballed Into One of the State’s Biggest Corporate Giveaways
Companies have saved $474 million since 2018, with most of the windfall going to Washington-based tech giant Microsoft. Lawmakers repeatedly expanded who qualifies, and they lowered the number of jobs expected in return.
