Local Journalism Initiative
PARTNER INVESTIGATIONS
After George Floyd
The killing of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis sparked a nationwide reckoning on racism in America — and renewed calls for change. FRONTLINE partners with award-winning Star Tribune reporters as they cover the aftermath of Floyd’s death, Chauvin’s trial and the impact on both the city’s police and communities of color.
Breakdown: Investigating Maine's deadliest shooting
In October 2023, a local Army Reservist opened fire inside two family businesses in Lewiston, a small city north of Portland. Within minutes, 18 were killed and 13 wounded – and the largely pro-gun state was left reeling. The Portland Press Herald and Maine Public examine the failures and aftermath in collaboration with an upcoming…
COVID-19 in America
The latest from our local journalism partners on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting communities across the U.S.
Dairyland in Distress
For years, Loyal, a city in the heart of Wisconsin's dairy country, has been struggling with an ailing farm economy. Then COVID-19 hit the state. A collaboration between Milwaukee PBS and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Fractured
The mental health care system in North Carolina has been failing for years. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than those who get caught up in the criminal justice system, out of sight, therefore out of mind for the general public and policymakers. But their plight — and the brokenness of the mental health system…
Groundwater War
New Mexico PBS' investigation into PFAS contamination at military installations in the state and its impact on groundwater.
Poisoned
Hundreds of workers at a Tampa lead smelter have been exposed to dangerous levels of the neurotoxin. The Tampa Bay Times investigates the profound consequences. Part 1: The Factory | Part 2: The Failings | Part 3: The Fallout This investigation, carried out with support from FRONTLINE's Local Journalism Initiative, won a George Polk Award, a Pulitzer Prize…
Rural Health Care: The Other Texas Drought
Rural communities in the Texas Panhandle have struggled to keep up in the fight against the coronavirus. The Texas Newsroom examines the shortage of health care resources people living in those communities face.
Sugar Land
In 2018, a few months into building a new school in Sugar Land, Texas, construction crews uncovered 95 unmarked graves — evidence of a particularly dark period in our country’s history. The Texas Newsroom explores who these 95 people were and what happened to them in the podcast “Sugar Land.”
The Disconnect
In February 2021, days-long blackouts in Texas left millions shivering in the dark. Hundreds died. How has the Texas grid changed since then? And how has it changed how people think? KUT/KUTX Studios and The Texas Newsroom explore those questions in season two of “The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout.”
Uncovered
A first-of-its-kind effort to expose questionable government conduct and corruption throughout South Carolina. The Post and Courier has teamed with 17 community newspapers in this effort, which aims to strengthen accountability of taxpayer dollars and democracy in the Palmetto State.
Underage and Unprotected
A two-year investigation by The Public’s Radio reveals how some migrant teens end up working in risky jobs at seafood processing plants in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Underage and Unprotected examines the role of staffing agencies, which many teens said hired them and sent them to jobs at processors. The series also exposes weaknesses in the…
When Police Shoot
Police across Utah shot at 30 people two years ago. And then in 2020, the state tied that record. With no government entity collecting such data, The Salt Lake Tribune will expand its own data gathering on police shootings.
Youth Suicide in Colorado
Colorado has one of the country’s highest suicide rates, a crisis only deepened by the pandemic. Rocky Mountain PBS examines a statewide prevention effort and finds stories of healing and hope.
Our Partners
Latest Reporting from Our Partners
At George Floyd's Treatment Center, Recovering Clients See Racism in Addiction Assumptions
"Do you know how many times that could have been me?" Staff at a Minneapolis rehab facility that George Floyd attended see themselves in Floyd — and racism in theories about his drug use — the Star Tribune, our local journalism partner in Minneapolis, reports.
Star Tribune
April 11, 2021
Chauvin Trial Again Casts Spotlight on Minneapolis Police Department's Training Program
Over 19 years with the Minneapolis Police Department, Derek Chauvin, the now-fired officer on trial in the death of George Floyd, racked up 17 misconduct complaints and was involved in four on-duty shootings or other fatal encounters. Despite that, Chauvin continued to serve as a field training officer.
Star Tribune
April 3, 2021
POISONED: Part 2: The Failings
Equipment designed to control poisons inside Gopher Resource kept breaking down, creating more dangers for workers. As violations mounted, regulators have been absent.
Tampa Bay Times
March 29, 2021
Chauvin Case Draws Inevitable Comparisons to Another High-Profile Police Murder Trial in Minnesota
Derek Chauvin is the second Minneapolis police officer to stand trial for murder in the last few years, but that is where similarities to Mohamed Noor end, our Local Journalism Initiative partner the Star Tribune finds.
Star Tribune
March 27, 2021
POISONED: Part 1: The Factory
Hundreds of workers at a Tampa lead smelter have been exposed to dangerous levels of the neurotoxin. The consequences have been profound.
Tampa Bay Times
March 24, 2021
Not an Either/Or: Minnesota Police Officer and Dad Find Common Ground on Race and Policing
The fault line that cracked open last summer between Jai Hanson and his father, retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Sam Hanson, is not a unique story in this divisive era.
Star Tribune
March 20, 2021
Chauvin Trial Brings a Challenge: How to Choose an Impartial Jury
The trial is set to start, but ruling on 3rd-degree murder charge brings uncertainty.
Star Tribune
March 7, 2021
After a Bruising, Exhausting Pandemic Year, a Shard of Hope for Some in Tampa Bay
March 1 marked a year since Florida confirmed its first case of COVID-19. Tampa Bay Times spent the day with a grieving mother, a tired teacher, an optimistic outfitter, a frustrated florist and a woman still struggling to recover.
Tampa Bay Times
March 5, 2021
The Tension Between Border Town Police and Navajos is Real. And These People are Trying to Change That.
Research traces the conflict between Navajo Nation members and border town police back to the 1840s, when white settlers began occupying areas of Navajo land. These outcroppings became the border towns of today.
The Salt Lake Tribune
March 1, 2021
A Desert Shootout Spills Into Utah, Leaving One Man Dead and a Sergeant Facing Charges
A Colorado sheriff’s sergeant chased a car into Navajo Nation land in Utah and killed a man. Feds in Utah said the fatal shots were justified, but Colorado state prosecutors are now pressing charges tied to the shootout.
The Salt Lake Tribune
March 1, 2021
As Texas Struggles to Get COVID Vaccines, Rural Communities Are Hit Especially Hard
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, rural communities in the Texas Panhandle have struggled to keep up in the fight against the coronavirus. Early on they faced limited testing supplies and personal protective equipment. Now they can’t seem to get vaccines into arms fast enough.
The Texas Newsroom
January 29, 2021
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.