Investigate Midwest staff
Raids ramp up, and farm fields stay empty
Essential report on the impact of raids on farms
Rural internet access: Barriers and community solutions
Understanding the obstacles and solutions for rural broadband access.
Walmart enters the beef business. Ranchers are worried.
A closer look at the next front in America’s battle over food system consolidation.
ICE raids, seafood workers, bird flu fallout
Read our latest stories on how the threat of immigration raids shadow every food warehouse shift in Chicago.
Behind our reporting: what we built together in 2025
You helped fuel 90+ stories, new audience growth, and stronger watchdog reporting across the Midwest.
Stalled justice, empty plates, and soaring bills
Why farmers, families, and workers are all feeling the heat
Rural hunger, farm aid lifelines, and why labels still mislead
Inside: rising hunger in farm country, USDA’s profit forecast, and why 'Product of USA' labels remain misleading.
Dicamba, immigration and USDA’s anti-DEI push
The farms and farmers caught in the USDA's War on DEI
RSVP for our free live panel on immigration farmwork
Thursday, Sept. 18 at noon CST — join experts on laws, labor, and policy.
Immigration, farm ownership, and the fight over ag data
From Beardstown’s immigrant workforce to the sharp drop in Black farm ownership and a fight over ag statistics.
'Porkopolis' in peril
Revived by immigrant labor, this IL town is caught in the crosshairs of federal immigration crackdown policies





