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 "mill" ...
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Hospital at Risk
My investigation of the Minnesota Security Hospital, a state-run facility that provides psychiatric treatment to nearly 400 adults deemed "mentally ill and dangerous," uncovered high rates of violence and injuries of employees and patients at the facility, a critical shortage of psychiatrists, and widespread confusion among employees about what to do when a patient becomes violent. I found that much of confusion was the result of the abrasive, threatening management style of head administrator David Proffitt, who was hired in 2011 to reform the facility. I began investigating Proffitt and found he was hired without a basic background check. I uncovered many troubling details from Proffitt's past, including domestic violence, a PhD from a now-defunct online degree mill, a forced resignation from his previous job as the administrator of a private psychiatric hospital in Maine, and other failings. The state ordered Proffitt to resign and the Minnesota legislative auditor began an audit of the department's hiring practices. The assistant commissioner of the Department of Human Services who led the hiring search also resigned. The governor proposed $40 million in renovations to address safety concerns. Regulators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration visited the facility for the first time in 21 years. The facility also implemented new training for employees to reduce violence. My investigation of the facility continues.
Tags: Psychiatrists; domestic violence; injuries
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Saving Grace: How One Dog Escaped the Shadowy World of American Puppy Mills
The book exposes the epidemic of puppy mills in the U.S. It documents large-volume commercial kennels where ill and often injured dogs are caged in squalor and forced to bear puppies until they are worn out.
Tags: animal abuse; puppy mill; dogs
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Puppy Pipeline
The Post tracked a puppy mill pipeline stretching from the Ozarks to South Florida, one that brought thousands of sometimes-sick puppies from mass-operations to local pet stores. At least 2,500 puppies were delivered to Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties from out-of-states breeders in an 11-month period. Roughly one in three of those came from breeders or distributors cited for problems by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees wholesale dog breeding. Citations varied from keeping animals in too-small and rusting cages with exposed nails or wires, to caked feces, to infestations of roaches and other insects that covered the walls and ceilings of kennels. In dozens of cases, kennel owners averted USDA inspection entirely.
Tags: puppy mill; puppies; USDA; dog breeder; breeding; Department of Agriculture; animal mistreatment
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"Safety for Sale"
The Federal Aviation Administration is under fire after WFAA-TV reveals that thousands of aircraft mechanics licensed by the FAA, had "questionable" training. The poor training and slow reaction by the FAA could be connected to two deadly airplane crashes. The series also revealed that repair facilities hired foreign mechanics through "immigration loopholes" who were unqualified and often could not speak English.
Tags: FAA; Federal Aviation Administration; diploma mills; U.S. aircraft mechanics; mechanic training; foreign mechanics;
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Toxic Legacy: The Story of Boat Harbor
An inlet from the sea in Nova Scotia is the site of an environmental catastrophe wrought by a Scott Paper Company mill. To attract the mill, officials approved using Boat Harbor as a toxic waste treatment pond. The investigation details the actions governmental bodies took in conjunction with Scott Paper that produced the health hazard that Boat Harbor creates for nearby residents today.
Tags: Nova Scotia; Boat Harbor; Scott Paper; mill; toxic; waste; water; residents; lagoon; environment; health; hazard; public;
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Crossing the Line
"We're coming after you." That was the Houston Police Chief's message to thieves when he launched the elite, $5 million a year Crime Reduction Unit. The problem? Some of the department's own officers alleged "we're coming after you" meant violating citizens' rights and search and seizure laws to build flimsy cases and rack up arrest numbers that ultimately did little to fight crime. KHOU-TV identified how CRU officers routinely stopped, handcuffed and interrogated citizens for petty infractions such as jaywalking or riding a bicycle without a light. The vast majority of the time these citizens were let go, but if police did make an arrest, it was usually for trace levels of drugs, which often resulted in plea bargain prosecutions for minimal jail sentences. One veteran defense attorney described the CRU as nothing more than "a mill to get convictions."
Tags: Houston; Texas; law enforcement; arrest; Texas Public Information Act; Crime Reduction Unit
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Fen-phen Horse
A diet drug names fen-phen was pulled from the market because it was linked to heart problems, and after a $200 million settlement case the injured patients' attorneys cheated them out of their money. The attorneys used the money to buy a race horse that won the Preakness, in addition to setting up questionable charities and included the judge in the case on the payroll after he retired.
Tags: Curlin; horse racing; settlement; class action; William Gallion; Shirley Cunningham; Melbourne Mills;
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NJ Educators free to use Diploma Mills
Top school officials and superintendents exploited state law to receive degrees from phony diploma mills. Taxpayers spent tens of thousands in bonuses until their actions were uncovered.dd
Tags: administrator; Freehold Regional; pay raise; Department of Education; tuition; Breyer State;
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Pasco 911
WTSP-TV found that Pasco County's 911 system had systematic failures. Operators were not trained for medical emergencies, supervisors were not doing their jobs and managers "padding their educational experiences through diploma mills."
Tags: emergency response; medicine; health; ambulance; fraud; management; neglect; Florida
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Diploma Mill
A series of stories from the Virgin Islands Daily News, "Diploma Mill" reveals that the V.I. government was working with and enabling a diploma mill to target V.I. teachers. The author's research indicates that the institution was not a school, but was instead a "diploma-generating business that had ties to a questionable online operation."
Tags: diploma mill; teacher certification; accreditation; Virgin Islands; buying diplomas; teacher's union