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 "Kansas Department of Transportation" ...
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Kansas' Deadliest Highway
This investigation looks at one of Kansas' most deadly highways, U.S. 50. According to the article, during a six year period from 1999 to 2003, 97 people were killed on the two lane highway. Many of the local residents and commuters attribute the high number of deaths to the increasing amount of tractor-trailers using the highway as a shortcut coming out of Kansas City.
Tags: U.S. 50; highway accidents; highway fatalities; Kansas Department of Transportation
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Dead Tired: On the Road with Weary Truckers
The Kansas City Star reports on the effects of deregulation on the trucking industry. As truckers work long hours for low pay, the result is disturbing: "Fatigue behind the wheel of 40-ton rigs is now so pervasive on American highways that drivers regularly nod off and drift into oncoming lanes or slam into the backs of slower-moving cars." The series reveals that federal regulations have not solved the problem with truckers' fatigue, and that the NAFTA agreement has left unaddressed the exhaustion of Mexican drivers, who sometimes drive for more than 24 hours. The analysis of accident databases has shown that many transportation companies with known safety problems have not been inspected by the government.
Tags: CAR; highway traffic safety; accidents; injuries; crashes; American Trucking Association; hauling; freight; FARS
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More than a quarter of U.S. bridges deemed inadequate, records show
"More than a quarter of the nation's bridges are too weak, dilapidated or overburdened for their current traffic, according to federal records." The Kansas City Star investigated Missouri and Kansas bridges, and found that "as of last year, nearly four out of 10 Missouri bridges were 'deficient.' In Kansas, nearly 26 percent of bridges rated as either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete." However, "relief is coming. The Missouri General Assembly has approved selling up to $2.25 billion in bonds over several years to accelerate road and bridge projects already in the works. . . And in Kansas, the Legislature passed a 10-year, $13 billion transportation program in 1999. About $356 million of the money is earmarked for bridge work."
Tags: bridges; construction; Federal Highway Administration; Kansas Department of Transportation; budgets; transportation; highways; traffic
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Priorities Rule the Roads
Missouri ranks second to the last in the condition of its major roads while Kansas ranks seventh nationally. "Several experts say the reason for the difference is simple: money per mile. The less a state spends per mile, the longer roads go without repair, the more they deteriorate and the harder they are to fix. Missouri's 1999 road budget provided just $12,399 in capital investments per lane mile that year, compared with $29,227 in Kansas. The national average was $23,967. The legislature has at least five pending bills and Gov. Holden has sought as much as $650 million for new funding. However, transportation experts says for every $1 the state pays to keep a good mile of road, it takes $10 to restore a mile of bad road." Missouri now must struggle to pay for the new technologies in road repair that they had so long put off.
Tags: Missouri Department of Transportation; road maintenance; American Association of State Highway and Transportation; Kansas Department of Transportation; road improvements
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1999 IRE National Conference Show and Tell Tape #2
1999 IRE National Conference (Kansas City) Show and Tell Tape #2 is the second in a nine-part series. This tape includes: 1.) Bill Gephardt/Angela Hunter (KUTV-Salt Lake City) 1-Tracking down deadbeat tenants. 2.-Testing the dog-chaser...a device meant to keep dogs from attacking. 2.)Tony Pipitone (WKMG-Orlando) State employees found using office computers to view and sell pornography. 3.)Jennifer Snell (WTXF-Fox Philadelphia) "Troubled Transit" Investigation into the unreliable service of the transit system reveals dangerous mechanical problems with buses. The reason: mechanics sleeping in buses during shifts instead of making repairs...but reporting the problems as fixed. Buses break down and strand passengers. 4.) Drew Griffin (KCBS-Los Angeles) "The Real ConAir" Investigation reveals department of corrections transporting convicts on commercial flights. Passengers are not told who's sitting beside them. Planes are forced to land because of disturbances during the flight. A girl is sexually assaulted by one of these convicts. 5.) Christina Punza (KCOP-Los Angeles) Uncovers plan to reuse radioactive metals from U.S. nuclear power plants. The metal will be made into household items such as silverware. Experts say the metal can never be entirely cleaned of its radioactive contents. 6.) Morgan Loew (KOLD-Tuscon) Investigation on the black- market sale of Rohypnol, "the date-rape drug." 7.)Hoffer/Glemosky (WABC-New York City) "Dispensing Danger" Investigates pharmacies dispensing drugs without required prescriptions. 8.) Ray Parisi (WNYW-New York City) Travelling to foreign destinations for sex with kids.
Tags: TAPE; Kansas City; conference; no transcripts; IRE