Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)

"Detroiters Grapple With Unknowns As Lead, Arsenic Found At Demo Sites"

"Arsenic and lead are among the contaminants found at dozens of Detroit neighborhood demolition sites, according to the first round of test results released by the city late last month amid state and local investigations — at least one criminal — into potentially toxic dirt used as backfill across hundreds of vacant lots."

Source: Detroit Free Press, 01/14/2026

"Trump Administration Moves To Reverse Mining Ban Near Boundary Waters"

"The Trump administration and northeast Minnesota Republican Congressman Pete Stauber are taking action to end a 20-year mining ban near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area that was imposed three years ago under former President Joe Biden."

Source: MPR, 01/13/2026

"Ohio Utility Corruption Defendants To SCOTUS: Bribes Are Free Speech"

"The only two individuals who have stood trial for their role in the largest utility corruption scandal in Ohio’s history have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review their cases and reverse their convictions."

Source: Canary Media, 01/09/2026

Federal Judge Blocks Whitmer From Shutting Down Pipeline Under Great Lakes

"A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ‘s attempt to shut down an aging oil pipeline running beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, finding that only the federal government can regulate interstate pipeline safety."

Source: AP, 12/19/2025

A Town Derailed, a Trust Obtained

The devastating 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, toxic train derailment left a legacy of illness and a town torn by competing understandings of the contamination’s aftereffects. A yearlong reporting initiative with photojournalist Rebecca Kiger and Time magazine writer Alejandro de la Garza worked to gain the community’s confidence and tell its story. Their prize-winning feature, in the latest Inside Story Q&A.

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"FirstEnergy Bribery Scheme Sank Lake Erie Offshore Wind, Lawsuit Says"

"The corruption that led to Ohio’s infamous HB 6 also torpedoed what would have been the Great Lakes’ first wind farm, the suit alleges. FirstEnergy is pushing back."

Source: Canary Media, 12/15/2025

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