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 "library fund" ...
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Wired for Waste
A Charleston Gazette investigation found the state of West Virginia used $24 million in federal stimulus funds to buy oversized routers that weren't needed. The high-end routers were designed to serve research universities, corporations and major medical centers, but the state installed the pricey devices primarily in small schools and libraries. The routers cost $22,600 each. The newspaper discovered that a high-ranking state technology office administrator warned that the routers were "grossly oversized," but the state's homeland security director and commerce secretary ignored the warning and authorized the purchase.
Tags: Federal funds; routers
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"It's Your Money"
Several agencies in Kentucky that are funded by taxpayer money came under fire last year when the Herald-Leger revealed records of agency official's extravagant travel costs and other outrageous expenditures. The agencies, including the Lexington Public Library, the Kentucky Association of Counties and the Kentucky League of Cities, were operating with "little oversight" until their excessive use of taxpayer money was exposed.
Tags: Kentucky League of Cities; Lexington Public Library; Lexington's Blue Grass Airport; Kentucky Association of Counties; expenditures; Sylvia Lovely
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Bush Library Scandal
The three parts of the series deal with indications that senior White House officials in the administration of George W. Bush were being made available to foreign politicians and making policy announcements in return for donations to the Bush library fund.
Tags: lobbying; Bush administration; misuse of funds; money laundering; library fund; politics; international policy
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Sinkhole
"Sinkhole" examines how public pensions are drastically underfunded all over the country. In order to meet legal obligations to cover pension funds for teachers, firefighters, police and other public employees, local governments are facing some very tough budgetary decisions. Tax increases, cutting teaching staff and closing libraries are some of the measures being taken.
Tags: employee pensions; public employees; retirement; city government; county government; state and federal government
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Millions Idle in Escrow
"For more than a decade, Oklahoma County officials maintained millions of tax dollars in an escrow account without disturbing the money to local schools and libraries. The Oklahoman questioned the amount of money being held, why it hadn't been distributed, and forced an accounting of hte funds that led to the release of $7.1 million to schools and libraries."
Tags: taxes; coruption; protested taxes; open records
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World Business Review Investigation
Bob Garfield reports that the "World Business Review" television program hosted by former Secretary of State Alexander Haig was not the business-news magazine it was posing as to colleges and universities in order to keep tapes of the programs on their library shelves. This was rather a weekly infomercial, charging "interviewees" for their appearance and collaborating with those paying clients in fashioning "interview" questions. Garfield also found that the show was using a slush fund, with a fictitious corporate title, to circumvent federal regulations about paying time and advertising on public TV.
Tags: Alexander Haig; universities; libraries; infomercial; public television; corruption; TAPE; RADIO; transcript
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Jackson's protests benefit his family, friends
The Sun-Times reports on the Rev. Jesse Jackson's questionable finances and deals. The investigation reveals that Jackson "has been able to parlay his crusade for minority empowerment into lucrative contracts for his close friends and even members of his family." The main findings are that: Jackson blessed major telecommunications and media mergers after his, as well as his friends' organization received multi-million-dollar contracts from the industry; that Jackson's sons received one of the most lucrative distributorships from Anheuser-Busch, the company that their father boycotted in the 80s for its record on race; that the sons will not say how many minorities work at their business; that Jackson received $50,000 from the state of Illinois for a Civil Right Library that was never built; and that Jackson paid through his nonprofit organizations $110,000 to a mistress who bore him an out-of-wedlock child.
Tags: FOI requests; fund-raising; tax-exempt; nonprofit; charity; civil rights; minorities; affirmative action; Ameritech; Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
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A widening gap
"Twenty-five percent of Minnesota's bridges and 28 percent of North Dakota's bridges are older than their designed life span of 50 years... Across the United States, one bridge in nine needs to be replaced." Federal funds are available once a bridge scores a sufficiency rating of less than 50 (out of one hundred.) In the Grand Forks area, aging bridges pose a problem for farmers who can't move new, heavy farm machinery across them to their farms. Another issue is the fact that even though federal funds are available for as much as 80 percent of the cost of a replacement bridge, often poor counties have trouble paying the balance.
Tags: transportation; roads; safety; inspections; North Dakota Department of Transportation; Minnesota; weight limits; Red River Valley; engineers; CAR