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.
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
Street Outreach Teams Get Caught Between Protesters, Police
Grassroots security and anti-violence groups in Minneapolis are increasingly targeted as proxies for law enforcement, our local journalism partner the Star Tribune found.
Star Tribune
July 10, 2021
Federal Lawmakers Call for Penalties for Tampa Lead Factory
Regulators, prompted by a Tampa Bay Times investigation, found Gopher Resource ran afoul of environmental standards.
Tampa Bay Times
July 10, 2021
Tampa Lead Factory Ran Afoul of Environmental Standards, Report Finds
The inquiry was spurred by a Tampa Bay Times investigation into hazardous conditions at the plant.
Tampa Bay Times
July 1, 2021
Tampa Lead Factory Gets Credit Downgrade
An ongoing federal probe, prompted by a Tampa Bay Times investigation, was a key factor in the decision, the credit-rating agency said.
Tampa Bay Times
June 29, 2021
In Time of Greatest Need, Minneapolis Struggles to Recruit New Police Officers
Pursuing diversity, new culture amid departures is an uphill climb for the Minneapolis Police Department.
Star Tribune
June 26, 2021
Derek Chauvin’s Sentencing Sparks Relief But Also Resolve to Keep Fighting Injustice
While news of Derek Chauvin's guilty verdicts in April brought hundreds of people to Minneapolis streets and George Floyd Square with fireworks, cookouts and other signs of jubilation, the sentencing drew smaller crowds whose initial reactions were mixed and subdued.
Star Tribune
June 25, 2021
Number of Gunshot Victims in Minneapolis is Up 90% From Last Year; Solutions Elusive
As Minneapolis struggles to develop a new approach to public safety amid intense scrutiny of its police department, it faces a depressingly familiar problem: how to curb surging gun violence as the weather warms.
Star Tribune
June 19, 2021
The Doctor is Out: Texas Community Worries About Future Without Local Healthcare
The problem the residents of Bowie, TX, face is one that has become more prevalent around the U.S. as at least 136 rural hospitals have closed in the last decade.
The Texas Newsroom
June 18, 2021
Former Worker Sues Tampa Lead Smelter Over Son’s Exposure
The worker alleges dusty conditions at Gopher Resource, Florida’s only lead factory, resulted in his son’s lead exposure.
Tampa Bay Times
June 2, 2021
Their Brother Catalyzed a Movement in Utah Last Year. Now Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal’s Siblings Just Want Relief.
Last summer, activists in Utah chanted Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal’s name alongside George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
The Salt Lake Tribune
May 28, 2021
Tampa Lead Factory Incurs More Problems
Regulators have spent nearly two months at a Tampa lead smelter in the wake of a Tampa Bay Times investigation that found hundreds of workers were exposed to high amounts of lead and other chemicals.
Tampa Bay Times
May 28, 2021
Even Before Latest Probe, Feds Deeply Familiar With Minneapolis Police
The Justice Department has launched inquiries into Minneapolis Police Department practices dating back decades.
Star Tribune
May 24, 2021
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.