Idaho Gave Families $50M to Spend on Private Education. Then It Ended a $30M Program Used by Public School Families.
A Republican lawmaker said ending an Idaho program that helped public school students buy laptops and other materials wasn’t linked to the creation of a private school tax credit. The state’s most prominent conservative group says it should be.
Reporting From the Northwest
Our Northwest hub covers Washington, Idaho, Alaska and Oregon. The six-person reporting team includes three Local Reporting Network Distinguished Fellows and is committed to partnering with local media.
Alaska Supreme Court Places New Limits on Pretrial Delays
The move follows an investigation by ProPublica and the Anchorage Daily News that found some cases have taken as long as a decade to reach juries, potentially violating the rights of victims and defendants alike.
This Hospital System Fought COVID, Then a Far-Right Leader. Now It’s Taking on Idaho’s Abortion Ban.
St. Luke’s, Idaho’s largest health system, was outspoken in defending its staff during a backlash against masks and vaccines. It also sued right-wing figure Ammon Bundy — and won. Now it’s backing its doctors on the abortion front.
As Idaho Pushes to Reform Its Coroner System, Counties Seek to Make It Less Transparent
A bill moving forward with bipartisan support is described as a first step to addressing problems highlighted in a state report and by ProPublica. Meanwhile, counties seek to end access to coroners’ records that were key to ProPublica’s findings.
Northwest News Staff
- Northwest Editor
- Steve Suo
- Reporters
- Rob Davis, Audrey Dutton and McKenzie Funk
- Local Reporting Network Distinguished Fellows
- Kyle Hopkins, Lulu Ramadan and Tony Schick
Local Reporting Network Partners
ProPublica is supporting local and regional newsrooms as they work on important investigative projects affecting their communities. Some of our past and present partners in the region:
- Anchorage Daily News
- Anchorage, Alaska
- High Country News
- Multistate
- Idaho Statesman
- Boise, Idaho
- Oregon Public Broadcasting
- Portland, Oregon
- The Seattle Times
- Seattle, Washington
NOAA Scientists Are Cleaning Bathrooms and Reconsidering Lab Experiments After Contracts for Basic Services Expire
A Seattle lab has lost janitorial services, hazardous waste support, IT and building maintenance as it waits for the Commerce Department secretary to personally approve all contracts over $100,000.
“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline
While much of the country is focused on the spiraling measles outbreak, experts warn that whooping cough and other preventable diseases could get much worse with falling vaccination rates and Trump’s slashing of public health infrastructure.
An ICE Contractor Is Worth Billions. It’s Still Fighting to Pay Detainees as Little as $1 a Day to Work.
GEO Group, whose stock is valued at $4 billion, says that state minimum wage laws don’t apply to the cleaning services that it’s asked detained migrants to perform at facilities where they’re kept.
Inside the Schools Alaska Ignored
Two inches of raw sewage. Black mold. A bat infestation. Reporter Emily Schwing shares what she uncovered as she investigated dangerous conditions inside Alaska’s deteriorating public schools.
A Rural Alaska School Asked the State to Fund a Repair. Nearly Two Decades Later, the Building Is About to Collapse.
Rural school districts depend on the state to fund construction and maintenance projects. But over the past 25 years, Alaska lawmakers have ignored hundreds of requests for public schools that primarily serve Indigenous children.
Alaska Judge Vows to Reduce Trial Delays: “We Must, and We Will, Improve”
Chief Justice Susan M. Carney’s comments follow ProPublica and Anchorage Daily News reporting that found the median time to resolve the most serious felonies in Alaska was three years in 2023 — triple the time it took a decade before.
How a Risky State Investment in Seafood Cost Alaskans Millions and Left a Fishing Town in Crisis
Leaders of the Alaska Permanent Fund, which pays residents dividends and finances public services, wanted to invest in Alaska firms. There were warning signs ahead of the bet on Peter Pan Seafood, which is expected to cost Alaskans over $29 million.
Idaho Passed $2 Billion in Funding for School Building Repairs. It’s Not Nearly Enough.
A new cost estimate and early reports from districts receiving state funds show that small districts are still struggling to meet their most dire needs, forcing them to turn to voters to approve additional funds.
Washington Governor Orders Team to Study Data Centers’ Impact on Energy Use, Job Creation and Tax Revenue
Last year, The Seattle Times and ProPublica reported on how the state created a massive tax break for data centers, encouraging the growth of an industry whose energy use conflicts with a goal for utilities to go carbon neutral by 2030.
This Icebreaker Has Design Problems and a History of Failure. It’s America’s Latest Military Vessel.
The builder of the icebreaker Aiviq has given more than $7 million to political campaigns, parties and committees since 2012. Under pressure from Congress, the Coast Guard purchased the vessel late last year.
Hydroelectric Dams on Oregon’s Willamette River Kill Salmon. Congress Says It’s Time to Consider Shutting Them Down.
The newly signed legislation follows reporting from Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica that underscored the risks and costs associated with a plan to migrate salmon past hydroelectric dams using a giant fish collector and tanker trucks.
The Neverending Case: How 10 Years of Delays Have Prevented a “Horrendous” Sexual Assault Allegation From Going to Trial
Four different judges have agreed to delay the trial more than 70 times in total. We pieced together a timeline of the delays using audio recordings and logs from every hearing.
Anchorage Police Say They Witnessed a Sexual Assault in Public. It Took Seven Years for the Case to Go to Trial.
In Alaska, where the time to resolve most serious felony cases has nearly tripled over the past decade, one case was delayed so long that both victims died. A former prosecutor called it “a travesty of justice.”
A Timeline of Failed Efforts to Reform Idaho’s Coroner System
Idaho lawmakers have come close to instituting reforms to the state's coroner system. Every attempt has failed. Often, the reason is simple, experts told ProPublica in recent months: Nobody wants to spend money on death.
For Decades, Calls for Reform to Idaho’s Troubled Coroner System Have Gone Unanswered
Idaho’s patchwork of 44 coroner’s offices leaves grief-stricken parents without answers in their children’s deaths and creates disparities in coroners’ investigations.
