When the Dams Broke in Midland, Michigan
In May, the failure of the Edenville and Sanford dams—resulting from negligence and ineffective regulation—threatened to wash away more than just buildings.
Buffalo’s Vanished Maritime Past
The city was once a bustling and infamous Great Lakes port. How should it be remembered?
Give Your Money to Mary Lane
The legendary Chicago blueswoman has never gotten her due.
The People’s Free Food Project
Black and brown Chicagoans are making sure everybody eats—while holding space for revolution and joy.
In Minnesota, A Thirty-Year Biological Survey Nears Completion
Fieldwork is done, and scientists are at work on their final reports. What do we know so far?
Portraits of Gary, Indiana
Photographs of everyday life for young people in the city.
Remembering David Cornelius Smith
Nearly ten years before the killing of George Floyd, officers from the Minneapolis Police Department suffocated another Black man to death.
Protest and Power
Scenes from a moment of reckoning.
What Happened to Northeast Ohio’s ‘Chemical Shore’?
In the middle of the twentieth century, industrialists tried to rebrand the coast north of Cleveland. Like many marketing ploys, it straddled the fuzzy line between aspiration and actuality.
Racism, Rebellion, and Police Violence in the Midwest
Stories on the long history of racism and police violence in the Midwest—and what to do about it.
The Contradictions of a Progressive Police Chief
Newly-appointed CPD Superintendent David Brown left a complicated legacy in Dallas. Will he have his second chance in Chicago?
Reviving Detroit’s Historic Blue Bird Inn
Once “the nerve center” of the jazz scene in Detroit, the venue is now in shambles. But the Detroit Sound Conservancy and neighborhood leaders have plans to change that.