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 "rural roads" ...
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Fatal Experience: Teen Drivers and Rural Roads
This series explores the issues of teen drivers and rural roads. "The purpose is to raise awareness and prevent additional accidents, not just among teens, but people of all ages." Though, it is a known fact that teens take more risks when driving, which lead to higher fatal accident rates. Further, a majority of these fatal accidents took place in one specific school district, which led to additional research.
Tags: accidents; teens; Tazewell County; Illinois; driving; rural roads; deaths; crashes; cars; vehicles; traffic; tragedy
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Riverboat Casinos
Inside Edition investigates the proliferation of drunken driving incidents around riverboat casinos, and finds this to be a national problem. Using hidden-camera investigating techniques, the report reveals the lax alcohol policies at the casinos, which have lead to a number of accidents. Gamblers receive drinks free of charge and as many as they want. As most of the riverboat casinos are in rural areas with few accommodations, when "drunken drivers head home...most of them head right for the highway," Inside Edition reports.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; gambling; deaths; transportation; automobiles; highways; road accidents; intoxication; police; arrests
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Death marks the spot
A Phoenix Magazine investigation reveals that Arizona streets are among the deadliest in the country. "The chances of being killed in a car accident in Arizona are 40 percent higher that anywhere else in America," the magazine reports. The reporter finds that red-light runners, as well as illegal and drunken drivers are more common in Phoenix than in other cities. Another finding is that the Valley's many rural roads and high speed limits contribute to the fatality rate in car accidents.
Tags: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety; roads; car accidents; speed; DUI; drunken drivers; driving licenses; speeding; automobiles; CAR
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Bitter Battle Over Rural West
The Wall Street Journal looks at how Elko county officials in Nevada and the U.S. Forest Service have clashed "over a desolate road in test of Bush land policy." The story reports on the attempts of the federal agency to permanently close a 1.5 stretch of the South Canyon Road in order to prevent potential harm to a nearby river, while local officials are determined to reopen the road. The author sheds light on "the long-running record by state and local officials to wrest control of the region's vast public lands from the federal government." A major finding is that "the South Canyon case could serve as a precedent for thousands of similar road disputes between local and federal officials in ... Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Utah."
Tags: Jarbidge River; protesters; environment; settlement; politics; endangered species; Forest Service; rural West
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The Long Goodbye: Many Japanese Can't Let Go of Their Jobs-Even if the Job Goes
The Wall Street Journal reports on Japan's economic slump, where politicians have "stuck to a failed old formula for growth-pumping money into roads and other projects for fading rural areas." Bankers have had to foreclose on longtime clients in an effort to clear loans. "The result: a swelling national debt an a financial system unable to provide adequate credit." This has led to 59% of the population being affected by bankruptcies and a record-high 4.9% unemployment rate. Employees now are in denial of their company's bankruptcy, trying to hold on to jobs that no longer exist. And because Japanese companies can enforce age limits on hires, older workers are faced with the dilemma of starting over in a country where age discrimination is legal. Yumiko Ono reports on the efforts of Japanese employees to survive.
Tags: workers; bankruptcy; Japan Institute of Labor; unemployment; money; companies; banks; credit
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Just Deserts? Arizona's Rural Sprawl: Fast Growth Spans Wildcat' Subdivisions
The Wall Street Journal reports on rural sprawl in neighborhoods near Tucson, Arizona. The areas are known as 'wildcat' subdivisions-"sprawling tracts of land divided by a succession of owners in a way that leaves them exempt from basic county building requirements, such as putting in roads, sewers, and sidewalks . . . The problem has spread like cancer through Arizona, largely because of the tremendous demand for land here, and state law that prevents county officials from clamping down on wildcat growth." In addition, "while wildcat residents pay the same property tax rate as others in the county, the per-capita revenue from wildcat areas is far lower " due to the value of lots and the inequality of mobile homes versus Tucson houses. County officials in the area say that "bringing wildcat subdivisions up to code, including land surveys, roads, sewers and all the rest, could cost as much as $55 million a year. . . money the county doesn't have."
Tags: rural sprawl; subdivisions; neighborhoods; lot-splitting; homeowners; county requirements; developers
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High Rollers: At Riverboat Casinos, The Free Drinks Come With a Tragic Toll; Drunken Patrons Hit the Road and Cause Fatal Crashes; The Lawsuits Pile Up; No Help from Mr. O'Lucky
A Wall Street Journal investigation of riverboat casinos in rural areas reveals that most have a free drink policy that owners know contributes to drunk driving accidents. The Wall Street Journal was "able to prove that riverboat casinos, in pursuit of higher profits, plied patrons with free alcoholic drinks, often got them drunk, then allowed them to drive away. We showed that, because of the rural location of most riverboats, this policy often lead to fatal accidents; that the casinos knew of these accidents; and that they knew free alcohol helped impair the judgement of gamblers, thus tipping the odds in their favor."
Tags: riverboat casinos; drunk driving; alcohol; cars; automobiles; gambling; poker; slot machines; ethics; free; money; profits
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Where's Pudgy?
WOOD-TV's story "exposed a 'Pet Pickup' service, which promised to find unwanted dogs like Pudgy a good home, but it didn't. The investigation caught 'Pet Pickup' abandoning one dog on a rural road. It exposed the business' lies about the whereabouts of Pudgy and other dogs which left heartbroken former owners angry and grieving."
Tags: TAPE TRANSCRIPT hidden camera animal rescue pet dumping State Agriculture Department
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Accidents Waiting to Happen
A look at car accidents and what's causing them in Shelby County. Rural roads account for 60% of all traffic-related deaths. Intersection crashes on East State Road 44 are common due to "mixing traffic" situation. Inexperienced 16 & 17-year-old drivers are in more traffic accidents than older drivers. Not paying attention is the cause of most traffic accidents. Men crash more often than women.
Tags: automobiles; transportation; mortality; adolescent drivers; rural; accidents; CAR
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The Low Road
The St. Louis Riverfront Times reports how "Hazelwood officials cast their lot with the developer of a controversial project in the flood-prone Missouri Bottoms. Their gamble is tearing the North County community apart. In 1992, Hazelwood officials could see the future and in 1995 moved quickly to seize the land and reap the rewards of annexation. But their efforts have met with resistance; some landowners have banded together to fight the development with the same determination they would a flood. Others have opted to pursue their own interests. Arguments over the proposed development have caused neighbors to hurl insults and family members to quit speaking to each other."