Adrift in the Freeze
Through a hail of executive and court orders and related uncertainty over federal funding, Recycling Education and Outreach grant recipients worked to pick up where they left off.
I've written all varieties of stories: breaking and enterprise, hard news and human interest, community events and government at all levels. Please take a look at these clips, which are organized by subject area.
Public affairs
Filters & Sorting
Recycling's political paradoxes.
People from all political sides support recycling, but
partisan differences remain clear across the U.S.
Unclaimed remains
Most have names — Susan, Jeff, Bruce. All were at least in their 50s and died sometime in the last few years, said
Roger Morris, coroner. No one has come to pick them up.
Critics, taxpayers hesitant over proposed tax cut
To the typical Oklahoman, an income tax cut proposed by Gov. Mary Fallin and embraced by legislators won't mean much to the bottom line.
Homelessness battle fought by Samaritan's open door
Northwest Arkansas' regional push to end homelessness condenses under a single roof: one person helping another person get a home.
House announces impeachment investigation of Trump after Craig, others endorse move
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota and other Democrats played a prominent role in the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
History, politics power immigration fight as deportations continue
The circumstances of four brothers and their mother illustrate the decades-long political fight over legal and illegal immigration.
Science and health
Filters & Sorting
Federal rules take aim at coal
Almost every state reduced the yearly amount of carbon emitted between 2005 and 2012, according to the latest EPA estimates. Arkansas went in the opposite direction.
Rethinking our footprint: Local residents, groups strive to balance society and environment
For Earth Day, I looked at how human society has transformed Minnesota, what problems these changes have caused both for us and the state's non-human inhabitants, and what several groups of people are doing to help.
2023 Regional Recycling Report
Northwest Arkansas recycling programs processed more than 45,000 tons of cardboard, glass, tires, electronics and other recyclable materials in 2022, as described in this second annual report for the NWA Recycles program.
Shakopee climate change forum searches for common ground
A public forum Saturday meant to find common ground among a range of perspectives on climate change didn't turn up much, though it wasn't fruitless.
It isn't just like the flu: Coronavirus brings challenges, unanswered questions
A look at what we knew and didn't know about the coronavirus as it arrived in Minnesota.
Vaccine exemptions up in NWA amid nation's measles outbreak
Northwest Arkansas has more unvaccinated schoolchildren than any other region in the state, which several health care providers said could raise the risk for an outbreak of an otherwise preventable disease.
Senate bill could end Arkansas Works, restrict Medicaid growth
I bring readers up to speed on the latest of several Republican bills filed in Congress that year and what this one would mean for Arkansas; in this case, changes to the state's Medicaid and Obamacare programs that would leave thousands without coverage.
Exploring the science of self
Hundreds of thousands of Americans identify as transgender, and experts in biology and psychology across the country disagree on why.
Ground level
A brief exploration of ephemeral treasures called frost flowers.
Yamuna: India’s Fallen Goddess
In May 2012 several other University of Nebraska-Lincoln students and I traveled to India for about a month to work on individual photojournalism projects. I chose to focus on the Yamuna River, the sacred, critically important, horrendously polluted waterway that flows through the country's capital.
Meteorite-hunting in Minnesota entices and often disappoints
Fewer than a dozen genuine meteorites have been found in Minnesota in modern times, but hunters keep on searching.
Arts and entertainment
Filters & Sorting
Can a climate change movie be about climate change?
Netflix’s satirical smash Don’t Look Up continues an old trend. Bucking the trend could help us see climate in a new light.
Review: Cindi Mayweather ascends
A review of Janelle Monae's latest album, "Dirty Computer," in the context of her steadily rising career and sci-fi-heavy body of work.
'Magnet' for region, Crystal Bridges brings high art within reach
A look at the impact of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art six years after opening in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Minneapolis Institute of Art showcases Native American women's art
The Minneapolis Institute of Art was the first to host “Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists,” which showcased more than 100 works from members
of dozens of tribes.
Hundreds of dancers compete, celebrate Native American heritage at Wacipi
Coverage of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community's Wacipi, or powwow, in Minnesota.
Travel
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The western slopes of the Sierra
The foothills, mountains and forests of Sequoia National Park, home to many of the world's largest trees.
The Big Easy
By the time the ambulance arrived, the French Quarter intersection was completely clogged with revelers drinking and goofily dancing to the earsplitting jazz band playing on one corner. The police SUV with flashing lights got there first, but the officers were calm, hardly seeming to notice the party around them. Then the bus arrived, covered in black paint and inexplicably filled on a Saturday night with school kids who thumped the windows with the music.
That's New Orleans.
Through the Wall
We explore Badlands National Park, including the less-visited South Unit.