The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Minneapolis" ...
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Under Suspician at the Mall of America
The story lifts the veil for the first time on one of the nation's leading programs for fighting terrorism: federal officials have been spurring private businesses to report potential terrorists to law enforcement agencies. The investigation focuses on a program that's been cited by the press and members of Congress as a model -- the private counter-terrorism unit at the Mall of America near Minneapolis, one of the biggest malls in the U.S.
Tags: FBI; Mall of America; terrorism; law enforcement
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Fallen Angel: Joe Gustafson lives above the law in North Minneapolis
Using public documents, confidential sources and internal information from law enforcement, the reporter told the secret history of one of North Minneapolis' organized crime rings.
Tags: Hell's Angel; bondsman; Big Joe; Little Joe; Beat-Down Posse; kidnapping; drug ring
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"Homegrown Terror"
In this 60 Minutes broadcast, CBS investigates "homegrown terrorism." The war on terrorism has been heavily focused on Al Qaeda, but individual terrorist who are raised in the U.S. often have little or not contact with the organization. These people often avoid the "law enforcement's radar." This report is intended to provide new insight on the topic of terrorism on U.S. soil.
Tags: terrorism; Al Qaeda; Taliban; Somali; Obama; Minneapolis; al-Shabaab
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Lisa Knows Best;The Perks of Office
City Pages takes a hard look at the Minneapolis City Council members' questionable behavior. Lisa Goodman for instance is a formidable power player who oversees downtown development. Her friends benefit from her position while her enemies are targeted. Councilwoman Barb Johnson meanwhile spent campaign funds on laundry, cell phone bills and haircuts which helped rack up more than $100,000 in her campaign expenses.
Tags: corruption; Minneapolis; City Council; Councilwoman; Lisa Goodman; Barb Johnson; municipal; campaign; haircuts; dry-cleaning;
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Bridge Tracker
After 13 people died in August 2007 when a freeway bridge fell into the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, governors across the nation rushed to calm fears. Using almost identical language, states assured the public that bridges are safe, because federal regulations require inspection of "every bridge at least once every two years." In fact, at lest 17,000 bridges in the U.S. went more than two years between safety inspections, according to federal records obtained by msnbc.com. Obtaining new records from the National Bridge Inventory under the Freedom of Information Act, bill Dedman of msnbc.com gave the public a look at inspection records through 2006. The series of articles documented several lapses in state and federal oversight bridge inspections. The interactive staff at msnbc.com created the Bridge Tracker, an interactive map of bridges, allowing readers to look at the inspection information for bridges they cross. The map shows the condition and inspection dates for more than 100,000 bridges with traffic of at least 10,000 vehicles a day.
Tags: bridge inspection; Minneapolis 35W bridge collapse; mapping; Freedom of Information Act; National Bridge Inventory; Department of Transporation
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Toxic Traces Revisted
The first story in the series shows that the Minnesota Dept. of Health knew about the contaminated drinking water in the Twin Cities almost a year before releasing the information to the public. The second story reported that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency ignored the fact that perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in the soil near the 3M Company building were spilling into the Mississippi River and ground water. Last in the series, MPR News reported on how pressure from the public drove the investigation in regulating the flow of PFCs into the city's water.
Tags: contamination; Minneapolis; St. Paul; PFBA
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Minnesota Department of Transportation
In response to the collapse of Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis, the Star-Tribune investigated whether it could have been prevented. The series examined what caused the collapsed, "and raised serious questions about oversight of the state's transportation infrastructure."
Tags: transportation; bridge; Minneapolis; department of transportation; traffic; construction;
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NWA Collision
A year of asking federal agencies for access culminated in this report, in which KSTP showed security footage of a collision between two commercial airliners at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. The Transportation Security Administration finally agreed to provide the tape after the station filed many requests and contacted members of Congress.
Tags: Airline; crash; collision; plane; Transportation Security Administration; TSA; airport
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The Hit Parade Revisited
This story is about the multi-million dollar legal settlements the City of Minneapolis has had to pay out in recent years because of allegations of misconduct by members of the city's police department. Since 1995, taxpayers have paid out $10.4 million in 190 cases regarding Minneapolis police action.
Tags: city government; police; taxpayers; public safety
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Borrowing Trouble
This series looks at how corporations like Payday America use payday loans to target the poor and charge phenomenal interest fees. These stories also look at how traditional banks have helped to keep these businesses going, acting as the main source for business loans for payday lenders. At the same time, these banks are pulling their own branches out of lower income areas and violating the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 by not "serving the credit needs of all communities where they operate, including low- and moderate-income communities." Another story looks at RALs, or Refund Anticipation Loans from places like H&R Block, which also rack up interest rates and fees of 70-700 percent.
Tags: refund anticipation loans; loans; payday loans; Payday America; check-cashing businesses; Community Reinvestment Act; H&R Block