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 "Colorado Springs" ...
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Would you pay $840,925 for this house?
Colorado Springs Utilities has spent over $6 million to purchase property for a reservoir that has yet to be granted a federal permit. The purchase prices were much higher than the appraised and market values, while including additional payments for "relocation costs."
Tags: realty; housing; over priced; reservoir; grant; permit; rent; auditor; jimmy camp creek
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Mental Anguish and the Military
Army studies show that 20-25 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq show symptoms of serious mental health problems, including depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. Government officials say that the military has programs to treat these soldiers, but National Public Radio's investigation at Colorado Springs' Fort Carson found that "these programs are not working." Soldiers who are desperate and suicidal even have trouble getting the necessary help. Furthermore, "evidence suggests that officers at Ft. Carson punish soldiers who need help, and even kick them out of the Army." In the wake of the report, three senators - Barbara Boxer, Christopher Bond and Barack Obama - wrote a letter to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs seeking clarification of the reports.
Tags: Post-traumatic stress disorder; Iraq War; Fort carson; Department of Veterans' Affairs
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Fetish Cost Cop Job
The author investigated claims that an officer was indulging his fetish of photographing young men without their shirts, and occasionally only in their underwear.
Tags: police; police officer; official misconduct; Charles Broshous; Colorado Open Records Act; Colorado Springs Police Department
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Hardly a Home; Crime, pests plague tenants; Many tenants want out; 'If nobody cares,' why bother, police wonder; Apartment woes are news to council members
This four-part investigative story focuses on a group of apartment complexes in Colorado Springs owned by Terry Ragan. The complexes, which are primarily occupied by low-income families, were not only found to be extremely dangerous, but were also found to provide unacceptable living conditions to tenants. The article describes problems in the complexes such as lack of heat, water leaks, cockroach infestation, sewage backups, drug dealing, and violence with weapons, among others. Due to yearly police and fire code inspections and court services, Ragan's complexes end up costing taxpayers about $1 million each year.
Tags: FOIA; sub-standard housing; Cedar Creek Apartments; El Vecino Apartments; Mountain Country Estates; Pine Creek Village Apartments; Pinons Apartments; Shannon Glen Apartments; South Pointe Apartments; The Timbers
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No Way Out: When a child reports abuse at school, then kills herself, what is the school's responsibility? Kerby Casey Guerra's parents want to know.
The Independent tells the story of Kerby Casey Guerra, a 13-year-old Colorado Springs girl who was incessantly tormented by her peers at Eagleview Middle School. According to her parents, she and her friends were pushed into lockers, cussed at and threatened. Guerra, her parents and her friends parents all spoke with school administrators about their treatment, but the abuse continued. In March of 1999, Guerra killed herself with a deer rifle, driven, presumably, by the constant harassment. Guerra's parents believe the school should have done more to help their daughter because peer abuse has become worse in the late 1990s.
Tags: Kerby Casey Guerra; teaching; school; education; violence; Columbine; death; Colorado Springs; Colorado; Eagleview Middle School
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Shifting Standards at AFA
A Colorado Springs Gazette investigation reveals that the United States Air Force Academy "let's in an increasing number of students who don't meet its academic minimums even as it rejects thousands of applicants who do. The largest share of waivers goes to to recruited athletes. A confidential Air Force report says waivered cadets are less likely to graduate, become pilots, move into critical high-tech jobs and rise to the service's top echelons. The report concluded the academy is 'losing its competitive edge.'"
Tags: Air Force Academy; cadets; academics; school; university; military; planes; pilots; training; war; bombs
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Children Hurting Children. Some sex offenders not much older than their victims.
About 1,075 people have been put on the Colorado Springs sex offenders' list from 1994 to 2000. Of those approximately 200 were juveniles, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.
Tags: Center for Sex Offender Management; teenagers; child abuse; sex; kids
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2002 IRE National Conference Show and Tell Tape #1,
2002 IRE National Conference (San Francisco) Show and Tell Tape #1 features the following stories: 1) Mark Greenblatt (KOAA-Colorado Springs) Knives and other weapons are brought into area schools, but local authorities do a poor job of keeping track of the infractions. 2) Joe Ducey (KRON-San Francisco) A loophole in food transportation laws in California allows small wholesalers to truck food that should be kept cold in hot vehicles without facing any penalties. 3) Anna Werner (KHOU-Houston) presents short clips of broadcasts that illustrate good use of graphics and sound. 4) Dave Savini (WMAQ-Chicago) Area firefighters and police officers are allowed to continue patrolling the streets despite DUI convictions. 5) Jim Strickland (WSB-Atlanta) The American Biographical Institute sells dubious awards like "Man of the Year" to Regular Joes for exuberant prices. 6) Dan Noyes (ABC 7-San Francisco) A local towing company illegally tows cars that have been parked for only a half hour, instead of waiting the required hour before towing. 7) Tony Kovaleski (ABC 7-Denver) Jefferson County school bus drivers are forced to drive unsafe buses. 8) Bill Sheil (Fox 8-Cleveland) A local Muslim leader is found to have an indirect tie to an organization linked to Osama Bin Laden. 9) Twenty-five clips from various broadcasts showing camera techniques. 10) Mark Lagerkvist (News 12-Long Island) Malpractice lawsuits have a statute of limitations of two year and six months. This can harm certain patients who don't know they've been injured until five or 10 years later. 11) Darcy Spears (KVBC-Las Vegas) A local lasik eye surgery clinic recommends the surgery to all its patients -- even those who shouldn't undergo the procedure. 12) Phil Williams (WTVF-Nashville, Tenn.) A local county clerk makes one of his employees buy him beer and mow his lawn. 13) Sandra Chapman (WISH-Indianapolis) A local doctor gives out highly addictive narcotics to patients without examining them. Many of her patients are simply "dopers" who've found an easy place to buy their drugs. 14) Glen Meek (KTNV-Las Vegas) The former UCLA men's soccer coach, Todd Saldana, received his undergraduate degree from a fake university. Saldana resigned after the story broke. 15) Larry Yellen (WFLD-Chicago) Security guards at a local federal building sleep on the job.
Tags: TAPE; San Francisco; conference; no transcripts; IRE
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Colorado Farmers Find Their Water Is Worth More Than Their Crops
The Wall Street Journal reports on new developments of water struggles in the West, as burgeoning urban areas need more and more water. The story reveals that farmers in Colorado are giving up their water rights to the municipalities of Denver and other large cities in the state. The articles looks at how the City of Aurora has taken over the Rocky Ford Ditch, and how ditch shareholders have been forced to sell their water rights and shares to the city. "As more and more Rocky Ford water goes to the city, some fear that the local economy will collapse like a rank melon," the Journal reports.
Tags: farmers; agriculture; ranchers; municipalities; city government; urban development; land; Denver; Colorado Spring; canals; rivers
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Show & Tell: IRE 2001 National Conference (Chicago)
Compilation tape of investigative stories presented at the 2001 IRE national conference in Chicago: Tape 1 1.) KVBC-TV (Nevada) - "Honor Thy Father" 2.) KHOU 11 (Houston) - "Highway Health Hazard" 3.) Inside Edition - "Drink Up" 4.) KOAA-TV (Colorado Springs) - "Mother Goose daycare investigation" 5.) WSTN-TV (Syracuse) - "Pipeline to Crack" 6.) WAGA-TV (Atlanta) - "On the net; on the clock" 7.) KSAZ-TV (Phoenix) - "Capital Credit" 8.) Inside Edition - "Televangelists" 9.) WJW (Fox 8 Cleveland) - "Coats for Kids" 10.)Kelo-TV (Sioux Falls) - "Painful Steps" 11.) WNBC-TV (New York) - "Help on Hold" 12.) WFLD-TV (Chicago) - "Aggressive Drivers" 13.) WXYZ-TV (Detroit) - "Get Out Alive" 14.) WCPO-TV (Cincinnati) - "Airport Security" 15.) KMOL-TV (San Antonio) - "Slum Lords" 16.) WDIV-TV (Detroit) - "Stealing Power" 17.) WSMV 4 (Nashville) - "A few deadly breaths" 18.) WTVF (Nashville) - "Who's Policing the Police?" 19.) KDFW (Dallas) - "Spot Delivery" 20.) WTVJ (Miami) - "The Price of Beauty" 21.) WXYZ-TV (Detroit) - "Weight Loss Scams" 22.)KETV (Omaha) - "Police Complaints" 23.) KDFW (Dallas) - "Identity Theft" Tape 2 1.) WABC-TV (New York) - "Caught Off Guard" 2.) WTMJ-TV (Milwaukee) - "Get out of jail free" 3.) KTVT-TV (Fort Worth) - "INS Application Scam" 4.) KRON-TV (San Francisco) - "Moving Violations" 5.) WSPA-TV (South Carolina) - "Goodwill Firings" 6.) KWTV 9 (Oklahoma City) - "Lemon on the Lot" 7.) WLOS-TV (Asheville) - "Save or Slaughter" 8.) WISH-TV (Indianapolis) - "Tipped off" 9.) WAMI-TV (Miami) - "AIDS Charity Scam" 10.) WITI-TV (Milwaukee) - "Marine Corp Toxic Water" 11.) WFLD-TV (Chicago) - "No prescription, no doctor" 12.) XETV 6 (San Diego) - "Port Perks" 13.) KSTP-TV (St. Paul) - "Lasik Surgery" 14.) News 12 Long Island (Woodbury, N.Y.) - "Bad Medicine" 15.) News 12 Long Island (Woodbury, N.Y.) - "Double Dipping" 16.) KVBC-TV (Las Vegas) - "Mud Slinging Exposed" 17.) KVBC-TV (Las Vegas) - "What Lies Beneath" 18.) KHOU 11 (Houston) - "Sex Offender Teachers" 19.) KHOU 11 (Houston) - "Highway Health Hazard" 20.) WISH-TV (Indianapolis) - "Inspecting the Inspectors" 21.) WCPO 9 (Kentucky) - "NKU Rape Investigations"
Tags: TAPE