Government

May 21, 2025

Red tape, rising costs slow efforts to rebuild businesses burned after Floyd’s murder

Five years after George Floyd’s killing set off nights of destruction, vacant lots and broken buildings remain along Lake Street and other Minneapolis business districts. Some business owners say money woes and city zoning rules have made it hard to rebuild.

April 9, 2025

Inspection shortfalls, political pressures leave low-income renters vulnerable in greater Minnesota

MPR News found problems tied to inspections and local political pressures that leave low-income renters in potential danger across greater Minnesota. In Bemidji, those problems have pushed their way to the surface.

February 5, 2025

How some Alaska Natives lost their right to fish commercially

A permitting system designed in the 1970s was supposed to make Alaska’s commercial fishing industry more sustainable and more profitable. But over the past 50 years, it has hollowed out many Indigenous coastal villages where residents no longer can earn a living by harvesting salmon.

October 21, 2024

Native women fought for years to expand Plan B access. But some tribal clinics remain resistant.

In spite of years of pressure from advocates, access to emergency contraceptives remains difficult for women who rely on the health care systems run by or on behalf of their tribal nations. APM Reports spent more than six months surveying tribal clinics and pharmacies around the country. Dozens refuse to provide Plan B — or impose restrictions.

September 30, 2024

Tim Walz’s experience in China could help him as veep, but he barely mentions it as a candidate

When Tim Walz first ran for Congress in 2006, his campaign proudly touted his extensive experience in China. In fact, earlier in his political career, he occasionally exaggerated it. But now that he’s running for vice president, Walz barely mentions China. And Republicans have tried to turn those connections into a political liability.

May 6, 2024

This oil platform stopped pumping 30 years ago. Alaska still won’t make the owner tear it down.

Once offshore oil platforms drain their wells, the government has the power to force the companies that own them to tear the structures down. But the owners can put off that costly process using a strategy one critic calls “delay, deny and diddle around.” And in Alaska, the state has let them do it — for decades.

April 22, 2024

How NH Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut used his office in the culture war

Frank Edelblut pledged to stay “nonpartisan.” But as head of New Hampshire’s education department, he’s used his platform to pursue conservative grievances against the education system and individual educators.

April 22, 2024

A trans teacher asked students about pronouns. Then the education commissioner found out.

New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut criticized a middle school art class slideshow for discussing gender. For the teacher who made the presentation, it was the last straw.

March 20, 2024

Judges use ‘arbitrary,’ ‘horrendous’ reasons to keep teens in adult court

Maryland automatically charges more teens as adults than almost any other state. An analysis of recent decisions found that some judges rely on what juvenile justice advocates say is unfair reasoning to keep those young people in adult court.

February 14, 2024

Ghost guns ‘not a big issue’? Las Vegas police records say otherwise

During his campaign for governor, then-Sheriff Joe Lombardo claimed the Las Vegas police department he led seized just six ghost guns in one year. But officers actually seized 252 of the weapons during that time.

February 2, 2024

An appraiser told Anchorage its property was worth $3M. The city sold it to the former mayor for $2M.

The municipal board that approved the sale — and a below-market lease — includes two members with ties to former Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, who also used to represent Alaska in the U.S. Senate.

November 19, 2023

Segway inventor’s private companies reap millions from the federally funded nonprofit he runs

More than $215 million in federal money is pouring into ARMI, a nonprofit that promises to revolutionize medicine and revitalize Manchester, New Hampshire. At least $34 million is flowing through ARMI to for-profit companies controlled by its executive director.

July 17, 2023

St. Louis police data: Nearly 60% of homicides committed since 2017 are unsolved

Newly released data reveals no resolution for the families of hundreds of homicide victims. Police refused to release homicide clearance data, so we sued to find out.

May 30, 2023

Alaska Gov. Dunleavy policy adviser who said ‘divorce is worse than rape’ resigns

Jeremy Cubas resigned from his $110,000 a year job as Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s pro-family policy adviser after Alaska Public Media and APM Reports revealed that Cubas defended Hitler, used racist slurs and said a man raping his wife is "an impossible act."

May 16, 2023

City contracts drive millions in pandemic profits for Anchorage soup kitchen

Bean’s Cafe cashed in big running the Sullivan Arena homeless shelter.

March 24, 2023

GPS tracking and gumshoe surveillance: How private investigations are transforming Nevada politics

Surveillance of politicians in the Reno area was more extensive than previously known, and one private investigator had ties to prominent local Republicans.

October 18, 2022

GOP donor trying to reshape Nevada politics pushes radical conspiracy theories, repeatedly cites antisemitic propaganda

Robert Beadles made his name by making unfounded election claims and backing candidates who share his radical beliefs. But an investigation found that he has repeatedly cited antisemitic propaganda and outlandish conspiracy theories.

June 15, 2021

At the height of pandemic, Kentucky’s Democratic governor eased Covid restrictions despite mounting deaths

An investigation finds that when Gov. Andy Beshear rolled back restrictions in December, health officials were already worried about a surge and were overwhelmed by a growing backlog of deaths.

December 7, 2020

How private money helped save the election

After Congress failed to aid local election offices, a nonprofit provided critical funds — including $350 million from Mark Zuckerberg — that paid for staff, ballot-scanning machines, protective gear, and rental space that helped the presidential election run surprisingly smoothly.

The last days of Wisconsin's pandemic election

October 30, 2020