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 "state testing" ...
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Freed Without the Possibility of Life
A man, who was wrongly imprisoned, was freed from prison after a DNA test revealed he wasn’t the murderer. Though, he was freed the murder conviction has never been cleared from his record. This makes him unable to get a job and live a normal life. The prosecutor and the court can legally choose to never clear his name because it is not a legal requirement.
Tags: David Scott; sentence; jail; law enforcement; arrest; Vigo County; Indiana State Police; case; evidence
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"House for Sale"
After retiring as "speaker of the Missouri House," Rod Jetton focused on his political consulting business and raised money for many "Republican lawmakers." An in-depth investigation into Jetton's business revealed cases "during the 2009 legislative session that seemed to test the tolerances of state and federal law."
Tags: Rod Jetton; Speaker of Missouri House; Ethics Commission; Rex's World; Rex Sinquefield; Steven Tilley
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"Schoool Radon"
The state of Pennsylvania does not require schools to test for radon, a cancer-causing chemical. In fact, the majority of school districts in the western part of the state had not "done any radon testing." Testing in other districts registered levels many times higher than the "EPA maximum safe level." One district that tested positive for radon did not share the information with parents.
Tags: Howe Elementary; Mount Lebanon; Gateway school district; Aliquippa; Allegheny County; Beaver County; Rochester; EPA
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San Jose police: Misdemeanor Justice
The San Jose police are the most aggressive city in California when it comes to misdemeanor crimes and the arrests. They have the largest per capita of arrests in the state and many of these arrests are for petty crimes or resisting arrest where no crime was actually involved. Many of these crimes involve the attitude of those being arrested, public intoxication without proper tests, and disturbing the peace. A number of these arrests are based on color and a great deal of force was used in these arrests.
Tags: law enforcement; police department; enforcement; laws; communities; crime; Hispanics; Latinos; statistics
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Above the Law
And Inside Edition investigation exposed an inept investigation and possibly a cover-up by the Pennsylvania State Police when they investigated a fatal accident involving Dean O'Halloran, a state police officer's stepson.
Tags: cover-up; drunk driving; field sobriety test; confidentiality laws; blood alcohol test; Pennsylvania State Police
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Fly Ash: Coal-Fired Dilemma
This series of stories showed how a virtually unknown state environmental policy, blessed by the EPA, let developers sculpt an 18-hole golf course with 1.5 million tons of "fly ash," a contaminant-laden residue left from the burning of coal for electricity, posing a threat to the wells of adjacent homeowners. Fly ash contains heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury, which can pose environmental threats through air and water. Although the EPA has been studying the the environmental;ecological impacts of fly ash for decades, it has twice determined that it doesn't warrant classification as "hazardous waste." The result is that there are no national guidelines for fly ash disposal; regulation is left up to the states, resulting in a hodge-podge of policies.
Tags: environment; EPA; contaminant; coal industry; fly ash; testing; site assessment; homeowners
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Meth Home Cover-Up
The story reveals that former meth houses, already cleaned up and declared safe to live in by the Salt Lake City Health Department are still contaminated. KSL hired a certified lab to conduct its own meth tests on two of the so-called clean homes. Both sites tested positive for meth residue, with levels reaching 14 times what the state considers safe in a child's room
Tags: meth; meth lab; methanphetamine; drugs; DEA; health department; health hazard; contamination; toxicity;
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Toxic Trinkets
After national coverage of toy recalls in the United States, KVOA wanted to localize the story. Using an X-ray gun to examine toys, they found some with lead content over 600 parts per million. They then took all the toys back and did lab testing. "By using lab testing, the entire toy's paint is scraped off and dissolved in acid- then an overall reading is obtained." This resulted in some toys having different lead levels. They found that for some toys, certain parts had over the 600 ppm, but overall the toy was under the amount.
Tags: consumer reports; consumer safety; toy recall; lead content; health; children; lab testing; testing; Consumer Product Safety Commission; Gabrielle Giffords
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Muerte en el desierto: El Regreso de Jesus
Identifying the dead migrants that try to cross the border from Mexico to the United States has proven difficult because half of the bodies are found with fake or borrowing identification.
Tags: border patrol; immigration; foreign relations; Yuma County; DNA testing; border crossing; illegal immigrant; illegal immigration; green card; Mexico
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The Teachers Who Cheat
This investigation found that at least 123 public schools in California have admitted to cheating or other testing irregularities over the last three years. One problem with the system is that school districts are supposed to voluntarily report incidents of cheating. The Chronicle's analysis found cheating to be more widespread than state records say.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; education; teachers; cheating; standardized tests; CAR; statistical analysis