ProPublica has traced these mass-mailed newspapers to a “pink slime” news network known for misinformation and its financial ties to right-wing super PACs and billionaires.
Author Archives: Megan O'Matz / ProPublica
Megan O’Matz is a reporter at ProPublica, where she covers issues out of Wisconsin.
O’Matz comes to ProPublica from the South Florida Sun Sentinel, where she worked for two decades as a general assignment, government and investigative reporter. She wrote about children missing from the state’s child welfare system, fraud in federal disaster relief aid, dangerous loopholes in Florida's concealed weapons law and foolish undercover police stings in which officers sold cocaine at a discount at suburban malls. Her work has led to the resignations of public officials and program reforms. O’Matz was a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting on fraudulent FEMA aid and was a significant contributor to the Sun Sentinel’s reporting on the Parkland school shooting, which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for public service. She has worked as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, the Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the Pittsburgh Press. She graduated with honors from Penn State University.
Posted inEconomy
Desperate times led Wisconsin tribe to high-interest lending, dubious partnerships and legal jeopardy
Facing financial ruin, the Lac du Flambeau tribe began offering short-term loans online with annual rates often over 600%. But as the tribe rose in an industry derided for predatory practices, it put its reputation at risk and drew costly lawsuits.
Posted inEconomy, Health & Welfare
A Wisconsin tribe built a lending empire charging 600% annual rates to borrowers
Over the past decade, the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has grown to become a prominent player in the tribal lending industry, generating far-reaching impact and leaving a legacy of economic despair.
Posted inGovernment
Wisconsin’s legislative maps are bizarre, but are they illegal?
Wisconsin’s gerrymandering case has garnered national attention. But a little-explored aspect of the suit — the pervasive presence of “Swiss cheese” districts — could have huge ramifications for the outcome.
Posted inGovernment
Bullied by her own party, a Wisconsin election official’s GOP roots mean nothing in volatile new climate
Republican elections commissioner Marge Bostelmann refuses to support false claims that Trump won the state in the 2020 presidential election.
Posted inJustice & Safety
A black teen who had tried to shoplift died from asphyxia. Why was no one ever charged?
Customers at a Wisconsin corner store subdued 16-year-old Corey Stingley, who died after allegedly being placed in a chokehold. A decade later, the youth’s father still fights for justice and awaits the findings from an unusual new inquiry.
Posted inJustice & Safety
She said her husband was abusive. A judge took away her kids and ordered her arrest.
The judge in Julie Valadez’s custody case found her disruptive, questioned her credibility and put out a warrant for her arrest. A rare appellate victory is now giving her case a fresh look, but Valadez still is fighting for her four children.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Justice & Safety
He beat her repeatedly. Family court tried to give him joint custody of their children.
Wisconsin is considered a leader in the movement to treat fathers as equal caregivers when parents separate. Shared parenting is usually better for children — but the model fails for many women forced to co-parent with their abusers.