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Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 15h

Meet Lauren Cross, our assistant editor & audience engagement manager. She helps strengthen the newsroom’s connection with readers. Her past reporting on East Chicago’s lead poisoning crisis earned national recognition.

Explore her work: investigatemidwest.o...

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 1d

Dive deeper into Big Ag giants — subscribe to our newsletter: investigatemidwest.o...

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 1d

Most U.S. corn & soybeans start with seeds owned by Bayer. Known for aspirin, it’s also a major ag giant controlling seeds, selling Roundup, and lobbying on pesticide laws — while facing cancer lawsuits.

Read more in Dave Dickey’s column: investigatemidwest.o...

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 1d

Investigations on ICE can be found in your inbox every week with our newsletter. Sign up: investigatemidwest.o...

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 1d

Thousands of food production warehouse workers live under a threat: ICE raids could happen any shift. With protections like DALE gone, many fear speaking up about unsafe conditions risks deportation. Families who power our food system face uncertainty: investigatemidwest.o...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter. - Investigate Midwest

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 2d

Stay up to date on the weekly ag policy changes here:

Free weekly newsletter featuring the latest investigations into Big Ag. Sign up anytime, unsubscribe anytime.

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 2d

At Des Moines’ 50th farmers market, vendors face rising costs from tariffs, inflation & falling crop prices. Arturo Reyes of Reyes Tamales says corn husks from Mexico are up 50% & meat prices have surged. Keeping prices steady has cut his earnings by ~20%.
investigatemidwest.o...

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 2d

Rural communities are facing growing food insecurity as residents grapple with rising costs & government cuts. Sowing Resilience, a series from the @inn.org Rural News Network and @apnews.com highlights how communities are navigating and reimagining a food system that has left them hungry.

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 2d

In Greenbush, MN, KC’s Country Market stocks “Marty-style” ham & pickle wraps — local touches that keep neighbors like teacher Susan Lieberg coming back. But losing a rural grocer can mean 40-50 mile trips for basics & rising food insecurity.

@minnpost.bsky.social: investigatemidwest.o...

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 5d

ICYMI: How dangerous is a pesticide? It depends on who you ask. Our investigation shows how U.S. regulators, industry & global agencies use different rules — sometimes allowing chemicals banned elsewhere — leaving farmworkers & rural communities at risk.
investigatemidwest.o...

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 5d

We are thrilled to join @pulitzercenter.org’s
2025-26 StoryReach cohort! Investigate Midwest’s Ben Felder will work alongside six journalists partnered with local newsrooms across the Midwest.

Learn more about StoryReach: bit.ly/4nxG9qt

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Reposted by Investigate Midwest

Pulitzer Center @pulitzercenter.org · 5d

Please welcome Ben Felder to the StoryReach Midwest Fellowship!

@benfelder.bsky.social is the editor-in-chief for @investigatemidwest.bsky.social. He leads national investigations into corporate agriculture and food systems.
👉 bit.ly/StoryReach25

2025 Pulitzer Center StoryReach Midwest Fellow - Ben Felder - Investigate Midwest - Focus: cancer and pesticides

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Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 5d

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with leadership gaps here: investigatemidwest.o...

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 5d

The commission that hears OSHA appeals has been leaderless for 5+ months. Reviews now take 2+ years, leaving 31 cases unresolved, letting companies delay fixes and fines.

Read John McCracken’s report on how leadership gaps put workers at risk: investigatemidwest.o...

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Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 6d

Every dawn, David Huerta checks for ICE before heading to a Chicago-area warehouse. Even on the dock, he keeps watch.

IM’s Jennifer Bamberg spoke w/ Huerta & others on how new immigration crackdowns are reshaping the food supply chain.

Story coming soon: investigatemidwest.o...

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 6d

View our Data Harvest each week. Sign up for our newsletter:

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Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 6d

Farmers are feeling squeezed as the DOJ joins the USDA in examining why prices for essentials such as fertilizer, seed and fuel remain high. USDA projects farm production expenses to hit $467.4 billion in 2025, up $12 billion from last year.

Read more: investigatemidwest.o...

Sign up for our weekly newsletter. - Investigate Midwest

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 7d

Catch Dave’s column in our newsletter every week:

Free weekly newsletter featuring the latest investigations into Big Ag. Sign up anytime, unsubscribe anytime.

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 7d

Bayer is two votes from a legal shield. Section 453 of an EPA spending bill could block states from requiring pesticide labels that differ from the EPA — potentially ending thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits & delaying new safety warnings.

Read more:
investigatemidwest.o...

How Illinois’ ‘fragmented system’ of monitoring pesticide exposure ‘allows individuals to get poisoned over and over without any brakes’ - Investigate Midwest

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 7d

One of his most impactful stories revealed how Illinois’ pesticide monitoring gaps exposed farmworkers and infants to harmful chemicals, driving awareness and legislative change: investigatemidwest.o...

More of Sky’s reporting:

A crew of farmworkers claimed they were sprayed with pesticides. What should have been a “rapid response” was a “big mess.”

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 7d

Meet Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest’s Senior Reporter. Since joining in 2019, he’s held corporations & government accountable in agriculture, covering USDA leadership, DEI changes, and immigration/visa policies.

Tips? Email [email protected]

Investigate Midwest @investigatemidwest.bsky.social · 8d

Rural communities are facing growing food insecurity as residents grapple with rising costs & government cuts. Sowing Resilience, a series from the @inn.org Rural News Network and @apnews.com , highlights how communities are navigating and reimagining a food system that has left them hungry.