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Curtis Gilbert

Curtis Gilbert

Senior Editor

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Curtis Gilbert is a senior editor at APM Reports and Minnesota Public Radio. His 2022 podcast Sent Away, produced in partnership with KUER and The Salt Lake Tribune, won the top national prize in investigative business journalism, the Barlett & Steele Award. His work has appeared on NPR, Reveal and public radio stations around the country as part of APM's Public Media Accountability Initiative. Along with his colleague Tom Scheck, he produced a series of stories in 2016 that led to the closure of the largest privately run juvenile correctional facility in Minnesota. He also contributed to the Peabody Award-winning podcast In the Dark. In addition to his work in audio journalism, Curtis has also won three regional Emmy Awards for a series of viral web videos designed to demystify complex issues in the news. In 2007, he was one of 10 American journalists awarded an Arthur F. Burns Fellowship, which allowed him to spend two months reporting at Deutsche Welle in Bonn, Germany. Curtis is a graduate of Macalester College, where he also teaches a class in narrative journalism. He grew up in rural central Maine and now lives with his wife and son in St. Paul, Minnesota.


Stories

June 26, 2018

The other suspects: Who law enforcement did and didn't investigate in the Tardy Furniture murders

What an Alabama crime spree might reveal about the Curtis Flowers investigation.

January 31, 2018

Minneapolis increases psychological testing for police officers

The city's police department has hired a new psychologist to improve the way it screens recruits after an APM Reports investigation revealed that its procedures didn't meet national standards.

December 14, 2017

Minneapolis police recruits get less psychological testing than they used to

The protocol is less rigorous than best practices nationally and the evaluator lacked the proper license. Police leaders are moving to replace him for another reason: They believe he screened out too many minority candidates.

July 19, 2017

Trump's desire for private infrastructure money will narrow his choices to mostly urban projects

Rural America, which supported Trump in the election, could be left out of water and road building investment as states and the president leverage private investment. Trump's plan offers little detail on federal spending and timing. Adding to the uncertainty, a presidential adviser has indicated that states should help themselves.

May 5, 2017

Most states neglect ordering police to learn de-escalation tactics to avoid shootings

In 34 states, training decisions are left to local agencies. Most, though, conduct no, or very little, de-escalation training. Chiefs cite cost, lack of staff, and a belief that the training isn't needed.

May 26, 2016

State, county and federal supervision didn't convey worry about Mesabi Academy

A flawed, confused system prevents judges, social services officials and guardians from discovering critical information about the condition of the residential treatment facilities regulated by the Department of Corrections. Mesabi Academy, scheduled to close next month, is a case study. Since opening in 1998, the juvenile correctional facility had been seen as a reliable jobs provider, receiving subsidies from government and tens of millions of dollars in loans from its parent. But attempts to sustain the business may have compromised resident and worker safety.

May 20, 2016

Closure of juvenile center reveals Minnesota's lack of adequate treatment

The decision to close Mesabi Academy raises short-term questions about where troubled boys will be sent but also longer-range questions about whether the state's system is sufficient.

May 19, 2016

Facing removal of kids, Mesabi Academy to close

The parent company of an Iron Range juvenile residential treatment center said it planned to close the facility by the end of next month. The decision came after several counties pulled residents and the state froze new admissions, actions that followed several APM Reports stories about Mesabi Academy.

May 12, 2016

Mesabi Academy agrees to temporarily halt admissions

The Minnesota Department of Corrections said the juvenile corrections facility agreed to suspend new admissions while an investigation proceeds into allegations of maltreatment.

May 11, 2016

Lawmaker on Mesabi Academy: State, counties overreacting

DFL Sen. David Tomassoni, who represents the area that is home to Mesabi Academy, says agencies pulling boys from the facility are endangering jobs.

May 10, 2016

State agency pulls boys from Mesabi, warns other states

The Minnesota Department of Human Services is removing five boys it has jurisdiction over at the Iron Range residential treatment facility Mesabi Academy. It also told other states with boys there of its action.

May 9, 2016

Ramsey County to remove all youth from Mesabi Academy

Ramsey County officials said Monday they would pull the remaining 21 boys the county's courts have sent to the private correctional facility in Buhl, Minn. The action follows similar steps by Hennepin County on Friday and comes a week after APM Reports published results of an investigation into the facility, Mesabi Academy.

May 6, 2016

Claims of maltreatment, meager staff training and inadequate programs at Mesabi Academy

Interviews and records indicate troubling incidents and practices. Twin Cities counties are looking more closely at a facility where they've sent boys who need help.

May 5, 2016

Ramsey County freezes some placements at Mesabi Academy

Ramsey County social services authorities said Thursday they are not placing any more boys in the care of Mesabi Academy, a treatment facility in Buhl, Minn., in the wake of an APM Reports investigation into the center.

May 2, 2016

County reopens Mesabi Academy sex abuse inquiry

St. Louis County investigators asked for a tape recording a woman made of her son, talking about whether he had sex with a staffer at Mesabi Academy.

May 2, 2016

Private juvenile center conceals abuse inquiries and pressures county to keep its business deal

On the Iron Range, investigations have created tension between Mesabi Academy and St. Louis County. Job loss, though, was the main concern when county commissioners discouraged a health and human services leader from ending a critical contract with the company.


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