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 "Oklahoma" ...
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Women in Prison
The series examined reasons leading to Oklahoma's No. 1 U.S. ranking for its rate of incarcerating women. The Tulsa World found that while the state ranked in the mid-range for arrests of women, it jumps significantly when it comes to sentencing.
Tags: prisons; female prisoners; women in prison
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Birthdates Controversy
Government agencies and legislators in Oklahoma had fought unsuccessfully to make the birth dates of public employees confidential despite state open records laws. The investigation found that the state makes millions of dollars selling birth dates of regular citizens.
Tags: birthdates; open records; public employees; union; public
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Joint Investigationby Oklahoman and Tulsa World
Reports from the Oklahoma Health Department found more than 830 violations at the residential group homes for the mentally ill and elderly. The reports showed residents were found covered in feces, stolen from, or sleeping on dirty mattresses.
Tags: mentally ill; mentally disabled; oversight; elderly; group home
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Watchdog website and its web pages
The Oklahoman/NewsOK.com started this project in 2008 with the Right to Know page, a collection of databases developed internally to go along with stories and links to relevant public information. That site became part of the Watchdog page in 2009. In 2010, the staff continued to evolve the Watchdog page with "mini-sites" of investigative topics, such as a political corruption case at the Oklahoma Legislature; the staff's FOI fight over the birth dates of public employees; and allegations of bid-rigging with a married lawmaker and lobbyist for a private company seeking a state juvenile justice contract. Other "mini-sites" under Watchdog include ongoing coverage of the state Department of Human Services and the federal stimulus package.
Tags: continuous coverage; online; watchdog; bid-rigging; Department of Human Services; federal stimulus; FOI; Right to Know
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"Burning Through Money"
Oklahoma City firefighters claim they are "busier than ever," therefore the millions of dollars made working overtime is justified. The Oklahoman, however, finds that the majority of their calls are false alarms suggesting firefighters are appearing busier than they are to "justify" higher salaries.
Tags: firefighters; overtime; raise; Keith Bryant; Oklahoma Fire Department
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Burning Through Money
Oklahoma City firefighters are asking for millions in overtime pay due to their busy schedules, but the city fears they are artificially boosting their workload by responding to more medical calls and chasing false alarms. "Burning through Money" investigates the sour relationship between the city and the firefighter union.
Tags: firefighter; oklahoma city; union; overtime; pay increase; false alarms; money; firefighters; salaries;
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Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy
"The book uncovers three labor environments where modern-day enslavement or near-enslavement of immigrants has taken place on American soil." Bowe looks at outsourcing, unpaid and illegal immigrant workers, and other loopholes in the American business system.
Tags: immigrant; immigration; outsourcing; India; Kuwait; Saipan; Florida; Oklahoma; employee; employer; PepsiCo; Tropicana; John Pickle Company; clothing; factory; Gap; Target;
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Sexual Abuse of Native American Women
A look at the serious flaw in law enforcement and prosecution regarding the sexual abuse of Native American women in South Dakota and Oklahoma.
Tags: Leslie Ironroad; reservation; Indian; Bureau of Indian Affairs; sexual abuse; Native American
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Tribes pull in profits, grants
While Oklahoma Indian tribes earn more money than ever from gaming and other businesses, they continue to collect federal grant funds for housing, medical care, education and other needs at an increasing rate, federal records show. It turns out that there is no formula or relationship between a tribe’s ability to support itself and the amount the federal government decides to give it. Some of these grants, for housing and education, are required by treaties between tribes and the U.S. government, but many are not.
Tags: Indian tribes; gaming; business; FAADS; Federal Award Assistance Data System; Oklahoma; federal funding; grants
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Broken Promises
Tax-exempt deals that provided $7 billion in bonds for low-income housing or inner-city schools turned out to be another way for banks and advisers to make money. Bloomberg investigates situations such as a deal in which JPMorgan Chase and Co. and American International Group "pocketed fees, along with their advisers, totaling $12 million." AIG and CDR of Beverly Hills actually had a deal "in which the financial firms made more money and faced less risk if none of the $220 million in bond funds was used by the public. None of it was." There were 70 other such deals across the country in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri. The investigation also includes similar situations of schools being neglected while insurance companies, banks and advisers profit.
Tags: school bonds; Wall Street; JPMorgan Chase and Co.; American International Group; Bank of America; housing bonds