Longform
Gabriel Jabbour just wants to go home: ISIS ransacked his town and destroyed his church. This is the story of what that feels like. Click here for a PDF copy.
What Life Is Like in a Village with No Children: After a drought devastated La Cienga, Ecuador, every working family packed up and left. Just twelve somber senior citizens linger with the ghosts of their former lives.
'A quiet wave' of grandparents in Nebraska are stepping in to raise their grandchildren: According to 2016 census data, more than 10,000 grandparents in Nebraska — 2,500 in Omaha alone — were responsible for grandchildren under age 18. That’s why five years ago, after conducting a community needs assessment, the Nebraska Children’s Home Society launched a class and a support group for grandparents raising grandchildren in Omaha. Click here for a PDF copy.
A mother feels the clock ticking in her efforts to halt a rare disease she knows too well: Neena Nizar spent years fighting for a correct diagnosis for her and her two sons. Now she’s pushing for a cure. Click here for a PDF copy.
At home in America: 'I am so thankful': A young girl's harrowing journey to the U.S. from the slums of El Salvador. After nearly dying in the desert, she found the life she had dreamed of in a suburb outside of Omaha, Nebraska. Click here for a PDF copy.
Education Stories
2020-2024
A background check didn't catch a high school coach's sexual assault record. Then he did it again.
Why metal lockers are going the way of chalkboards in Minnesota high schools
For Minneapolis North High seniors who know tragedy all too well, triumph reigns at graduation
Minnesota schools see influx of Latin American migrant students
Minneapolis schools bet millions on career education. Now they need students.
How Minnesota schools are trying to stop students from vaping in bathrooms
Minnesota schools work to combat rising levels of chronic absenteeism
Should Minnesota students have cell phones in class? It's often up to principals and teachers
Bringing librarians back: Minneapolis district aims to reinstall licensed librarians at each school
As Minnesota kids go back to class, school choice pushes districts to up their marketing strategy
Amid budget crunch, enrollment drops, what is the right size for Minneapolis Public Schools?
Minneapolis school board faces daunting decisions on enrollment, budget. Can it find a fix?
'Crash! Bang! It Sank!' Minnesota preschoolers make own version of Titanic movie
Cyberattacks on school districts — like the one in Minneapolis — are on the rise
Stillwater students get engineering lesson with assist from 3-legged dog
Rising number of homeless students challenges Minneapolis schools
After Minneapolis teachers strike reveals divisions, 'all eyes are on the district'
Minneapolis school board members under intense pressure; board member resigns citing 'broken trust'
'Violence interrupters' at 3 Minneapolis high schools work to provide safety, build relationships
Specialists diverted, kids shortchanged in pandemic-stressed Minnesota schools
Omicron surge adds additional stress on understaffed Minnesota schools
Schools face challenges in teaching students in quarantine
Minnesota schools work to respond to growing student mental health needs
Pandemic, hot weather prompt Minnesota schools to take a new look at their HVAC systems
Parent-led equity groups in Minneapolis aim to address racism in their own schools
Roll call: Minnesota schools face challenges of counting students from afar
Minnesota school districts providing emergency child care face changing demand, staffing shortages
First-year teachers in Minnesota prepare for the challenges of school amid a pandemic
Minnesota parents rush to create 'learning pods' for distance learning
Minnesota parents, too, are tested as education moves back home
General Assignment
'It's absolutely terrorizing': Residents near Brooklyn Center unrest rattled by clashes, tear gas
Kathy Cargill finally reveals her plan for Park Point and the reason she's scrapping it
Scandia striving to be more than a Swede spot
In West Lakeland Township, a home is born for those with traumatic brain injury
Two children, parents dead in apparent triple murder-suicide in south Minneapolis
From one heart to another: Families of donor, recipient meet at last
Stretched thin, Minnesota volunteer fire crews sound the alarm
A Minnesota politician for four decades, Don Fraser dies at 95
Minneapolis homeless camp now confronts the cold
A year later, bridge brings change for better, worse to St. Croix Valley
Downtown Robbinsdale becoming a 'little Eat Street'
Two bodies pulled from Chaska pond after frantic search for missing cousins
Orono prosecutes 74-year-old, saying she rented her lakeshore dock illegally
State Fair opening day: They came, they saw, they ate Pronto Pups
Cottage Grove man keeps the fading art of yodeling alive
Concerns raised about changes, inside and out, planned for Frank Lloyd Wright home
Eaglet named Freedom recovering from high-stakes Minnesota rescue (2016)
International/Immersion Reporting
La Cienga — Published by Latterly and Narratively, this piece profiles a childless village in Ecuador. I also assisted with the reporting on a short multimedia piece about the village.
Divers’ Plague — I assisted with reporting for a team multimedia piece filmed in the Miskito Keys of Nicaragua.
Culture of the Climb —I assisted with reporting for a team multimedia piece filmed in the Sherpa villages of Nepal.
With little fanfare, Whiteclay's four beer stores shut down
Police as front-line responders to mentally ill in crisis
Omaha man accused of killing convenience store clerk flashed anger in previous dispute
Arrest in southwest Omaha homicide brings relief but woman still doesn't feel safe
Metro volunteers comb Omaha metro area to count the homeless
Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska sees surge in volunteers after Trump order
The devil is gone': News of Fidel Castro's death stirs emotions in Omaha
In emergency shelter's Buddy Program, kids who have experienced trauma play the stress away