See our best photos capturing 2025 in the Midwest
Dec. 21, 2025
The clock is winding down for us to reach our stretch goal of $30,000 by midnight on Dec. 31. You can help us get there.
Your support keeps our journalism visible — not just through words, but through the images that bring every story to life.
For more than a half century, I’ve worked as a visual journalist — and I know how essential photographs are to telling the whole story.
Whether it’s documenting an oat farmer in Minnesota during harvest, a small rural farmer in Tennessee fighting for reliable internet access to remain competitive, or the Chicago immigrant worker navigating the fear of deportation while trying to keep his job — photographs help us see and understand their reality.
Photographers have to be there to capture these images, and that takes resources. Investigate Midwest works hard to obtain accurate, truthful images to explain the forces shaping our food and farming systems.
Your donation helps us tell the complete story by hiring talented, trustworthy photographers across the U.S. and covering the expenses it takes to get the image to you.
Help us tell the complete story by giving us the resources to do this important work. Your
gift helps us hire trustworthy talented freelancers throughout our coverage area and pay their expenses to get the image to you.
If you find our coverage worthwhile, we invite you to join us now, during our year-end fundraising campaign.
Thank you,
Darrell Hoemann
Photo Editor
Investigate Midwest relies on donations, and fundraisers like this one, to exist. We appreciate your patience with extra emails during these times. Thanks for being a part of the Investigate Midwest community.
