Our Reporting

February 21, 2017

Final investigation reveals 'fight club,' lack of oversight among problems at Mesabi

Findings released after investigation into charges of maltreatment, safety violations, poor supervision and training. Governor wants oversight system changed. The center closed June 30 after an investigation by APM Reports.

February 1, 2017

Bill targets Minnesota political appointee severance

A Minnesota House committee moved to reduce severance payouts to political appointees after Gov. Mark Dayton gave $80,000 to three appointees.

January 9, 2017

Ryan Larson files federal lawsuit against Stearns County sheriff, attorney and others

Update from Episode 8: The man falsely suspected of killing a police officer claims his constitutional rights were violated.

December 30, 2016

It took nearly 27 years to solve a notorious child abduction. Why?

Reporter Madeleine Baran, host of the podcast In the Dark, writes the story of how the 1989 abduction of Jacob Wetterling in central Minnesota baffled local, state and federal investigators for years. In four chapters, she reports why it shouldn't have.

$EPA reverses course, highlights fracking contamination of drinking water$

December 13, 2016

EPA reverses course, highlights fracking contamination of drinking water

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued a final report on the connection between hydraulic fracturing and contamination in drinking water. After stressing in June 2015 that there was no "widespread, systematic impact" on water, the agency now is emphasizing that fracking can affect drinking water under some circumstances.

$EPA's late changes to fracking study downplayed risk of polluted drinking water$

November 30, 2016

EPA's late changes to fracking study downplayed risk of polluted drinking water

Early versions highlighted contaminated drinking water and vulnerabilities from fracking. The final version turned out differently: Fracking had not "led to widespread, systemic impacts." Oil and gas cheered the findings.

October 11, 2016

Rita Reker

The woman Patty Wetterling didn't want to see.

October 11, 2016

Joseph Ture Jr.

Just days after the shotgun killings of Alice Huling and three of her children, he was interviewed by Stearns County sheriff's deputies and then let go.

October 4, 2016

Sex-offender registries: How the Wetterling abduction changed the country

The number of people on the nation's sex-offender registries has exploded to hundreds of thousands. But researchers question the registries' effectiveness, note their inconsistencies and suggest they might be doing more harm than good. Even Patty Wetterling has changed her views.

October 4, 2016

Child kidnappings that captured our attention

They don't happen often, but when they do, child abductions by strangers can capture Americans' attention like few other crimes. A look at notorious kidnappings over the past century and a half shows how attitudes have changed.

September 27, 2016

In a trap: What it means to be a 'person of interest'

The police twice used the label "person of interest" in the Wetterling case. It's an imprecise term that stops short of calling someone a suspect but can leave a person in a long-term limbo.

September 27, 2016

The questionable science of tire track and shoe print analysis

They can rule out a suspect, but shoe prints and tire tracks in the dirt lack solid standards for use as forensic evidence.

September 27, 2016

What did Dan Rassier say when he called 911 the night of the abduction? We don't know

APM Reports tried to get a transcript of Dan Rassier's 911 call. First the Sheriff's Office said no; then it said it didn't have it.

September 20, 2016

Dayton provided severance to appointees who resigned

Gov. Mark Dayton authorized nearly $80,000 in severance payments to three outgoing top officials, a departure from past practice and an action Republican lawmakers are criticizing.

September 20, 2016

Inconclusive: The truth about lie detector tests

Investigators in Jacob Wetterling's disappearance used lie detectors "a lot," one of them says. But some research suggests they're not much more reliable than flipping a coin.

September 20, 2016

Does hypnosis help solve crimes?

Wetterling investigators used hypnosis to prod memories, but some experts fear the process can cause people to remember things that didn't happen. So while it may help investigations, courts have been wary to accept it as evidence.

September 20, 2016

Not photographs: The misunderstood police composite sketch

Early on, investigators circulated a number of police sketches, hoping they would generate better leads in Jacob Wetterling's abduction. But sketches can be tricky and lead potential witnesses down the wrong path.

September 13, 2016

DNA and the Wetterling abduction

DNA profiling has grown up since the Wetterling abduction, becoming both more powerful and, sometimes, as much art as science. It played an important role in shaping the case against the man who led authorities to Jacob's remains.

September 13, 2016

It's a match. Or is it?

DNA analysis has come to be one of the most relied-upon tools in forensic criminology. Here's a look at when it's simple and when it's not.

September 8, 2016

Higher education behind the bars of San Quentin

California's San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco is one of few prisons in the nation to offer a college education to inmates. Here's a look at the Prison University Project behind the prison walls.

September 8, 2016

Prison history assignment yields surprise, passion for research

When inmates at Indiana Women's Prison got an assignment to write the institution's history, the project dug up unknown details and instilled a love of research in inmates.

September 8, 2016

College behind bars: Keeping an idea alive

After an abrupt reversal 20 years ago, some prisons and colleges try to maintain college education for prisoners.

September 7, 2016

Patty Wetterling

More than anyone else, she has been the face and voice of the search for Jacob.

September 7, 2016

Jerry Wetterling

More reserved than his wife, Jacob's father struggled with the investigation and turned to psychics.

September 7, 2016

The Jacob Wetterling 911 call: Audio and transcript

Stearns County sheriff's office transcript of 911 call from Merlyn Jerzak, a neighbor of Patty and Jerry Wetterling. His daughter, who had been babysitting at the Wetterling house, called him to come to the Wetterling house when she learned of Jacob Wetterling's abduction from Jacob's brother, Trevor, and their friend, Aaron Larson.

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