Local Reporting Network

Hurricane Helene Killed His Wife and Destroyed His Mobile Home. New Tenants Are Now Renting the Same Flood-Prone Land.

Residents of a riverfront trailer park in the Appalachian Mountains have lost homes and loved ones in multiple storms. A policy gap puts mobile home residents in harm’s way again and again.

by Ren Larson, The Assembly

September 2, 2026, 5:00 am EDT

What is the Local Reporting Network?

Since its founding in 2018, the Local Reporting Network has grown into one of ProPublica’s marquee undertakings, bringing together local talented journalists and all the resources our newsroom has to offer. The journalism we create has changed laws, held bad actors to account and helped communities. It has strengthened the craft of local investigative journalism and created a network in dialogue with us and with one another.

In 2024, we launched the 50 State Initiative, a commitment to support yearlong projects in every state by 2029. We have also launched our Sustainability Desk, which allows us to work with former partners on shorter-term investigations. Are you a local journalist interested in collaborating? Please read more about all the ways to collaborate with us.

Join our mailing list to learn about application deadlines and updates.

Unfit to Teach

California Lawmakers Pass Bill to Punish Administrators Who Fail to Vet Teachers for Misconduct

The legislation resulted from a KQED-ProPublica investigation that found at least 14 educators were hired by new schools after their former employers determined they had sexually harassed students or committed other sexual misconduct.

by Holly McDede, KQED

August 31, 2026, 4:40 pm EDT
Criminal Justice Rollback

He Spent 27 Years on Death Row as a Wrongfully Convicted Man. What Comes Next?

23-hour solitary confinement. 115-degree heat. Jimmie Duncan is haunted by the decades he spent in Louisiana’s Angola prison — and how, even after being released, he still isn’t truly free.

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News, and Kathleen Flynn for ProPublica

August 31, 2026, 5:00 am EDT
“They’re Putting Kids’ Lives at Risk”: How Abuse in a Tennessee Businessman’s Juvenile Prisons Remained Under Wraps

Tennessee’s highest-security youth prisons are operated by a single private company. Former staff say they felt pressure to hide abuse and other serious incidents from the state and to handle medical emergencies without calling 911.

by Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio, and Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica

August 12, 2026, 5:00 am EDT
Buried Truth

Más del 50% de los hogares del este de Omaha tiene niveles inseguros de plomo. No significa que la EPA los limpiará.

La EPA no ha reevaluado sus directrices de limpieza residencial en el Superfund de Omaha, Nebraska, en 17 años, aunque las investigaciones muestran que hasta pequeñas cantidades de plomo pueden causar pérdida de CI en niños e infartos en adultos.

por Chris Bowling, Flatwater Free Press

August 10, 2026, 5:01 am EDT