Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)

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Fish & Fisheries

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SEJ Calls on DOJ To Expand Investigation of Minneapolis Police Department

April 22, 2021 — Today, SEJ wrote a letter to Attorney General of the United States Merrick B. Garland calling on the Department of Justice to expand its investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department to include violations of civil rights and of the First Amendment stemming from police targeting journalists in Brooklyn Center and anywhere else in Minnesota that occurred during the recent protests. Read the letter.

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"Judge Nixes Civil Rights Bid to Block Chicago Metal Shredder"

"A federal judge in Illinois has refused to halt city permits for a contested metal recycling plant slated to be built in a pollution-burdened neighborhood in South Chicago."

Environmental Health

Environmental Justice

Laws & Regulations

Workshops and Fellowships

Source: Bloomberg Environment, 04/16/2021

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January 15, 2025

DEADLINE: Richard C. Longworth Media Fellowships

These fellowships, a collaboration between the Pulitzer Center and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, aim to promote international reporting by Chicago and Midwestern journalists. One or two fellowships of $10,000 to $20,000 will be awarded in this round. Apply by Jan 15, 2025.

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#SEJSpotlight: Greg M. Schwartz, Freelance Investigative Reporter

#SEJSpotlight graphic for Greg M. Schwartz

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Environmental Justice

Nuclear Power & Radiation

Journalism & Media

Military

Pollution

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Flexibility in the Face of the Unexpected

When a Chicago-based freelancer was just about to hit the road to report a three-part story and TV segment on the potential impacts of two proposed copper mines in the Great Lakes basin, there was a little hitch: The COVID-19 pandemic hit. The new FEJ StoryLog has the story of how Lorraine Boissoneault found the flexibility to complete her grant-supported project.

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FEJ StoryLog

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Energy & Fuel

Environmental Health

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Replacing the Nation’s Lead Lines Begins With Locating Them

One especially ambitious element of the Biden infrastructure plan would swap out millions of lead pipes. It’s a massive, costly endeavor, but could remove from the country’s water supply a neurotoxin that harms human health, especially of kids and the poor. TipSheet looks at the new plan and offers ideas for reporting the story in your area.

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TipSheet

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Environmental Health

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Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV)

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"Wind Energy Is a Big Business in Indiana, Leading to Awkward Alliances"

"Hotly debated legislation would open the state to renewable energy projects, trumping local restrictions."

"A debate over renewable energy in Indiana is scrambling some of the usual politics of energy and the environment.

The wind industry is working with leaders in the Republican-run state government to pass statewide rules for where wind and solar systems can be built, which would allow for more development by replacing the often-restrictive rules now set at the county level.

Understandably, county leaders don’t like that.

Climate Change

Energy & Fuel

Laws & Regulations

Source: Inside Climate News, 03/31/2021

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Line 3: "Need For Disputed Pipeline Argued In Minnesota Appeals Court"

"MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday heard arguments over Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 replacement project in northern Minnesota, which opponents are calling unnecessary due to an eventual decline in the demand for oil.

Activism

Climate Change

Energy & Fuel

Source: AP, 03/25/2021

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Quagga Mussels — Worse Than Zebra Mussels and Maybe Headed Your Way

An invasive species of mussel — no, not zebra mussels, but quagga mussels — are wreaking havoc not just in the Great Lakes, but have now spread through the Mississippi and Colorado basins, as far west as Lake Mead. The latest TipSheet runs down the extent of the problem, how quaggas may be even worse than zebra mussels, and ideas for reporting on your local waterways.

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