Despite rising child labor violations and new Senate demands to investigate the nation’s largest meat processor, the U.S. Department of Labor remains silent on whether it has the staff to conduct future probes amidst a major reduction in its workforce. At a May 22 congressional hearing, newly appointed Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said 2,700 department […]| Investigate Midwest
This story was originally published by Grist. Two years ago this week, the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. the Environmental Protection Agency significantly limited the agency’s ability to use the 1972 Clean Water Act to safeguard the nation’s wetlands from pollution and destruction. The decision determined that wetlands — waterlogged habitats that help filter […]| Investigate Midwest
This story was originally published by The Sentient. At the end of their studies at San Carlos University in Guatemala City, Fredy Alvarado Contreras, Sergio Escobar Gonzalez and Dennis Najera Barillas were recruited to participate in a special opportunity: a year-long internship at a swine operation, where they would learn from experts, partake in American […]| Investigate Midwest
LA MOTTE, Iowa — Ray Bickel spent over a decade driving a truck through giant corn and soybean fields in Clinton County, Iowa, applying pesticides. He says it was good work, while it lasted. In 2017, he had a heart attack. The doctors ran tests to find out what caused it and found something else. […]| Investigate Midwest
Around 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve in 2022, flames ripped through the bowels of an industrial facility in Fremont, Nebraska. Elevators were scorched. Conveyor belts collapsed. Metal doors melted. As smoke filled the sky, employees scrambled to escape. One dialed 911. “The plant’s on fire,” he hurriedly breathed. “Is everybody out of there?” The dispatcher […]| Investigate Midwest
