Our Reporting

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.

September 7, 2016

Transcript of Heinrich testimony

At a plea hearing on Sept. 6, 2016, Danny James Heinrich admitted kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing Jacob Wetterling on Oct. 22, 1989.

August 25, 2016

Investigators find four cases of maltreatment at defunct Mesabi Academy

Nearly two months after a juvenile correctional facility in northern Minnesota was closed, county officials found evidence of maltreatment in the actions of Mesabi Academy employees.

August 25, 2016

Restorative justice: A new approach to discipline

Schools facing dilemmas over disparities in discipline policies are turning to an approach known as restorative practices, focusing on how to repair harm done.

August 25, 2016

St. Paul: New discipline policy sows dissatisfaction

In St. Paul, administrators dealt with disparities in discipline by reducing suspensions and expulsions. In the end, the superintendent was fired and few were happy with the result.

August 25, 2016

Using new approach, Denver cuts suspensions by half

In 2008, Denver schools abandoned their zero-tolerance approach to discipline and opted for other ways to deal with school behavior. Suspensions and expulsions are way down and the racial gap in discipline has narrowed.

August 25, 2016

Two centuries of school discipline

How to discipline students has been debated in American schools since the country was founded.

August 25, 2016

What exactly should school cops do?

Police officers have been in schools for years, initially brought in as a means of student protection. But some say they have become too involved in school discipline.

August 18, 2016

States attack college readiness in high school

Using a solution as obvious as it is rare, a few states have begun designing remediation course work while students are still in high school.

June 8, 2016

Where to go? The stories of three families after Mesabi Academy

Families and counties are scrambling to place children after Mesabi Academy said it would close its doors June 30. Hennepin and Ramsey counties have sent more complaints about the correctional facility.

May 26, 2016

State, county and federal supervision didn't convey worry about Mesabi Academy

A flawed, confused system prevents judges, social services officials and guardians from discovering critical information about the condition of the residential treatment facilities regulated by the Department of Corrections. Mesabi Academy, scheduled to close next month, is a case study. Since opening in 1998, the juvenile correctional facility had been seen as a reliable jobs provider, receiving subsidies from government and tens of millions of dollars in loans from its parent. But attempts to sustain the business may have compromised resident and worker safety.

May 26, 2016

Incidents and complaints at Minnesota DOC juvenile centers, 2009-2016

Minnesota's Department of Corrections tracks reports about the 60-plus juvenile residential treatment centers it licenses. But it does little to disseminate that information. APM Reports obtained the data about what the department calls incidents and complaints for 2009 to March 2016 and sorted it in this searchable table.

May 20, 2016

Closure of juvenile center reveals Minnesota's lack of adequate treatment

The decision to close Mesabi Academy raises short-term questions about where troubled boys will be sent but also longer-range questions about whether the state's system is sufficient.

May 19, 2016

Facing removal of kids, Mesabi Academy to close

The parent company of an Iron Range juvenile residential treatment center said it planned to close the facility by the end of next month. The decision came after several counties pulled residents and the state froze new admissions, actions that followed several APM Reports stories about Mesabi Academy.

May 12, 2016

Mesabi Academy agrees to temporarily halt admissions

The Minnesota Department of Corrections said the juvenile corrections facility agreed to suspend new admissions while an investigation proceeds into allegations of maltreatment.

May 12, 2016

Israel: Using technology, engineering to cut reliance on Galilee

Water has been a matter of national security for Israel since the nation's inception. Drought and growth have pushed the country to use desalination, wastewater recycling and other technology and engineering feats to address the demand. But it's a different picture where Palestinians are involved.

May 12, 2016

Numbers elusive when it comes to trafficking

Estimating the number of human trafficking victims in the United States is notoriously difficult.

May 12, 2016

India: Delivering water by hand

In much of India, getting enough water is a low-tech affair. In some places, women draw water by hand; in others suicide rates among farmers have risen because drought and dropping water tables make their lives difficult.

May 12, 2016

Victims, not criminals: Rebranding teen sex trafficking

The nation is changing the way it thinks about teen sex trafficking. States have decriminalized it for teens and offered help, and some are attacking the demand for commercial sex.

May 11, 2016

Lawmaker on Mesabi Academy: State, counties overreacting

DFL Sen. David Tomassoni, who represents the area that is home to Mesabi Academy, says agencies pulling boys from the facility are endangering jobs.

May 10, 2016

State agency pulls boys from Mesabi, warns other states

The Minnesota Department of Human Services is removing five boys it has jurisdiction over at the Iron Range residential treatment facility Mesabi Academy. It also told other states with boys there of its action.

May 9, 2016

Ramsey County to remove all youth from Mesabi Academy

Ramsey County officials said Monday they would pull the remaining 21 boys the county's courts have sent to the private correctional facility in Buhl, Minn. The action follows similar steps by Hennepin County on Friday and comes a week after APM Reports published results of an investigation into the facility, Mesabi Academy.

May 6, 2016

Hennepin County removes 20 children from Mesabi Academy after reports; Ramsey considering same

Hennepin County officials said Friday they're removing 20 children from a juvenile correctional facility on the Iron Range — Mesabi Academy — that's been the subject of two investigative news reports this week.

May 6, 2016

Claims of maltreatment, meager staff training and inadequate programs at Mesabi Academy

Interviews and records indicate troubling incidents and practices. Twin Cities counties are looking more closely at a facility where they've sent boys who need help.

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