My writing has appeared in The Guardian, Smithsonian magazine, The New Republic, American Prospect, the Chicago Tribune, and more.
Below are selected clips — some of my favorites. For a more complete list of my published works, click here.
The Uphill Battle to Stop Peru from Building a New Airport Near Machu Picchu
Smithsonian magazine
Reporting from Peru, I dove into the heart of the controversy over the Chinchero international airport.
Former Gov. Arne Carlson is 88 and battling a massive mining conglomerate
Minnesota Reformer
Unlike many other PolyMet opponents, Carlson’s focus is on what he sees as an even more sinister element than sulfide mining poisoning Minnesota politics: The growing influence of “monied interests,” i.e. Glencore, the Swiss conglomerate that owns PolyMet.
How America’s First Banned Book Survived and Became an Anti-Authoritarian Icon
Smithsonian
The Puritans outlawed Thomas Morton’s “New English Canaan” because it was critical of the society they were building in colonial New England. But far from being erased from history, the book has appeared again and again in other works of literature and has become an anti-authoritarian symbol.
Kids of Color in Minnesota Foster Care Are Most Likely to Live With White Foster Parents — And Why There are Concerns
The Imprint
A rare data set obtained by The Imprint from Minnesota’s Department of Human Services reveals the state has struggled to diversify its pool of foster parents — years after criticism from federal officials. (Co-reported with two other journalists)
Kids face the greatest risk of eviction of any age group. The consequences can last a lifetime.
Youth Today
Children represent nearly 40% of individuals facing the prospect of being forced out of their homes due to non-payment of rent or other factors. “I think we’ve overused words like ‘resilient,’” said Dr. Diana Cutts, a pediatrician.
Can Indiana Crack the Code on Swiss-Style Apprenticeship?
Work Shift
The United States is not Switzerland. Neither is Indiana. But the state has an ambitious plan to finally succeed where others have barely gotten started.
In Minnesota, a New Model Challenges the Widespread Mistreatment of Construction Workers
Capital and Main
The Building Dignity and Respect campaign offers a template for unions to engage the vast majority of construction workers who are not organized. The strategy is to target the developers at the top, rather than the dicey subcontractors signing the checks.
In big win for Enbridge, most of its old Line 3 pipeline will remain in the ground
Minnesota Reformer
Despite the threat to the environment and property values, Canadian oil company Enbridge managed to convince most property owners to keep a deactivated pipeline in the ground — to their own financial benefit.
Why migrants who speak indigenous languages slip through cracks in US schools
The Guardian
Indigenous students, often migrating alone from Central America, arrive at schools in the U.S. that are unprepared and often unaware of how to help them.
Eight Years After Federal Law to Improve School Stability for Foster Youth, States Still Scrambling
The Imprint
Many states have fallen short on implementing the foster care provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act. And the pandemic has only exacerbated one of the biggest logistical challenges: finding and paying for enough buses and drivers to transport the children from foster homes to their original schools.
Students at NYC’s only public culinary high school find ways to keep cooking in the pandemic
Chalkbeat NY
Students and teachers at Food and Finance High School had a particular challenge learning from home in the pandemic, but with some creativity and a caring community, they thrived.
What we’ve learned about the child brain
The Imprint
A Q&A with MacArthur Genius award winner Damien Fair on the counterintuitive way the brain develops and how that relates to child welfare and juvenile justice practices
From ‘just a mom’ to immigration activist: Salvadoran TPS holder fights to keep her family together
Latin America News Dispatch
Salvadoran Cecilia Martínez found her calling in fighting to keep her family — and thousands of others — together after Trump threatened to end Temporary Protected Status for several countries.
Anatomy of a Challenge: A Book Ban in Leander, Texas Presaged a Pattern of Challenges Nationwide
School Library Journal
The book ban in Leander, Texas, was among the first to make headlines in 2021. Here’s what happened before and after.
Border Wall Desecrates Native American Lands in Southern California and Arizona
The American Prospect
The U.S.-Mexico border already bisects the ancestral land of several Indigenous groups, and Trump’s proposed border wall further has threatened their sacred spaces and access to them.
What the heck are wallabies doing in Ireland?
Smithsonian magazine
A remote island off the east coast of Ireland is home to some unexpected creatures — wild wallabies.