Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD)

"From Michigan to Nebraska, Midwest States Face an Early Wildfire Season"

"The blazes come after a record dry winter in the region. “Year to date, we've had close to 300 wildfires statewide,” a Wisconsin official said. “The normal year-to-date 10-year average is about 40 fires.”"

Source: Inside Climate News, 03/29/2024

"FBI Sent Several Informants To Standing Rock Protests, Court Documents Show"

"Up to 10 informants managed by the FBI were embedded in anti-pipeline resistance camps near the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation at the height of mass protests against the Dakota Access pipeline in 2016."

Source: Grist, 03/19/2024

How Ice Fishing Can Break the Ice on Your Local Climate Story

What does dragging an old car onto an ice-covered lake have to do with informing your community about the perils of climate heating? Potentially a good deal. The latest TipSheet explains how waning winters and the potential impact on the entertaining tradition of ice fishing can serve as an entry into more serious matters. A dozen story ideas and resources to get you started.

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'Gaslit' Project Spotlights Challenges of Teaching Investigative Journalism

Research, collaboration, human-centered storytelling and the ineluctable element of time — all these were among the facets of a complex, award-winning investigative report run by a team of students at Arizona State University on excessive and harmful natural gas flaring. How the project came together, and the lessons learned, in the new EJ Academy from column co-editor and longtime educator Bob Wyss.

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February 21, 2024

SEJ Webinar: How To Use Data From Grist's Land Grab University 2.0 Investigation

In this SEJ webinar, you'll learn how to use state trust land data from Grist's latest project, a follow up to the 2020 High Country News investigation, which examined how land grant institutions got their land and money. We'll show you how to use our data set on Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. 1-2pm ET.

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Drainage Infrastructure Leads to Wet Basement Stories

Nothing may seem more personal than a home flooded by heavy rains. But the latest TipSheet points out that for local environmental reporters, there’s a bigger story to be told: how your community regulates stormwater and storm sewers, especially in the face of climate change-driven extreme precipitation. More than a dozen reporting ideas and resources.

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Clearing the Smoke — Collaboration Exposes Impacts of Wildfire Pollution-Reporting Rules

Climate change is fueling the frequency and severity of wildfires, but a little-known Clean Air Act rule lets environmental agencies downplay the impacts of wildfire smoke. A collaborative investigation into this loophole connected dots that even the experts didn’t know about. Journalists Dillon Bergin and Molly Peterson explain their reporting process and offer advice for following your own local leads.

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Appeals Court Reinstates 2 Iowa 'Ag-Gag' Laws Banning Trespass On Hog Farms

"Iowa Republicans scored a big win in their yearslong battle with animal rights group as a federal appeals court reversed prior decisions striking down two state laws aimed at activists who target livestock feedlots and other agribusinesses to expose alleged animal abuses."

Source: Des Moines Register, 01/09/2024

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