Recent content from James Eli Shiffer
E-mails, public records reveal what happened before Third Precinct was abandoned
Three days of rage culminated in the burning of the Third Precinct, an event unprecedented in modern American history.
64 years later, neighbor of mystery girl in haunting photos introduces himself
The revival of Janet Lee Dahl's memory sparked a flurry of e-mails and phone calls. A former neighbor remembers her life and death.
Discarded photos reveal the haunting story of a Minnesota girl
More than 200 snapshots discovered in a California flea market trace the life of a Minnesota child.
On an accidental safari, a park in Uganda boasts a wealth of wildlife
During a surprise safari, Queen Elizabeth National Park offered up a host of sights.
Review: 'Dirty Doc Ames and the Scandal That Shook Minneapolis,' by Erik Rivenes
NONFICTION: Minneapolis Mayor "Doc" Ames was known for his visits to brothels, rigged poker games, and free-flowing booze.
Minnesota open records law needs a name equal to its purpose
The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act needs a new title. Desperately.
UFOs and aliens thrive in the vacuum created by secrecy
Lack of government transparency plays a big role in propagating wild theories of alien landings and coverups.
Star Tribune offers new ways to send us news tips
Your eyes and ears are especially important to us in an era of growing government secrecy.
Sexual harassment shielded by secrecy at Minnesota Capitol
The sexual harassment scandal has brought new attention to the different disclosure practices that apply to Minnesota institutions.
Minneapolis' posting of 'deleted' EPA pages is a bit overheated
One problem: The web pages in question are still on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website. You can find them linked from the EPA home page.
Mille Lacs County sues feds to get FOIA response
And since November 2016, county officials have been waiting.
Opening the JFK files would have been a triumph of transparency. If only.
Instead it confirmed to the cynics and conspiracy theorists that the government can never come clean.
Trump White House confounds, confuses transparency advocates
Data purges and secrecy confounding transparency advocates.
Minnesota man appears in newly declassified JFK assassination files
A man living in Crystal in 1965 was repeatedly named as an FBI informant in the trove of documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy released by the National Archives on Thursday.
University of Minnesota's hunt for leaker was a $74K red herring
In May, the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota learned that another high-ranking athletic department employee had been placed on leave for misconduct. This was supposed to stay secret.
A trip to Duluth proves City Hall isn't sinking under data requests
So back in July, when the Duluth city staff presented the idea of charging $35 an hour for any data request that takes more than 15 minutes, I decided to ask: How big a burden are these?
![Minneapolis Police Chief JaneÈ Harteau. ] GLEN STUBBE * gstubbe@startribune.com Monday, November 2, 2015 ORG XMIT: MIN1511021459390798 ORG XMIT:](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/GH656ITAVJE5ZQ33BKAINGISPY.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Former police chief's hush clause stymies a needed public debate
There's something so Minnesotan about the idea of nondisparagement.
Search for father's birth parents runs into bureaucratic tangle
What's the public interest in hiding a court record created 108 years ago?
Hotel room bust of high-end prostitute leads to $20,000 windfall for Minn. police
Adrienne Chapa was arrested and spent a few days in jail before she went home to Las Vegas. Her bag of $24,425 in cash was here to stay.
![Sara, who found but was unable to establish a relationship with her birth mother, still hopes to locate her birth father. ] MARK VANCLEAVE � mark.va](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/UMICU6D66U7ZM23W5RBGJNEON4.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
How Minnesota law prevents many adoptees from learning about their roots
Despite a nationwide movement to open up access to adoption records, Minnesota's laws place the privacy of birth parents ahead of the desire of adoptees to know their origins.
Thousands of unexploded bombs are another "secret war" legacy
The landscape of Laos was sown with cluster bombs that continue to maim and kill, more than 40 years later.
Minnesota veterans of the CIA's 'secret war' seek an honorable burial
A Brooklyn Park veteran of the CIA's "secret war" has been stymied by the federal government's refusal to hand over classified documents about its proxy army, or even acknowledge that they exist.
Duluth proposes charging for public records, after 15 minutes
The city says it's costing too much to keep up with public records requests.
Two little words that mean so much
The First Amendment's guarantees of the freedom of speech and the press take on a special meaning in light of 2017 politics.
Painful as it could be, some files must be made public
Some fear this case could mark the end of Minnesota's laudable openness about how its law officers investigate crime.
Inside one woman's fight to expose Minn. health care investigations
Sheila Van Pelt's yearslong campaign underscores the enormous challenges facing everyday citizens in an era when powerful interest groups push laws that ensure greater levels of secrecy.
Growing police tech arsenal watches criminals, citizens
Law enforcement agencies have more tools to gather information than ever before. Laws safeguarding that data and guaranteeing public access to it are failing to keep up.
Survivors of CIA's secret airline gather in Twin Cities to reminisce, organize
Officials still say they were not affiliated with U.S. government during the Vietnam War.
Prince's FBI file includes reported threat to sell his personal info to media
It took a year for the FBI to release four redacted pages, describing threats to the pop star, from their vault.
In Minneapolis, no rush to obtain body cam video
Since the city began outfitting each patrol officer with a camera last summer, the police received only 25 requests for information that included body camera video.
Sheriff Stanek's new anti-crime program will remain undercover
The Shield program will not produce public reports, despite a statement to the contrary last week.
Minneapolis scrubs its records to hide site of Super Bowl command center
Mpls. scrubs info, leaving public in dark on landlord.
Former NSA executive urges public vigilance against government overreach
NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake said he chose defending the law over loyalty to the agency.
The final cache of secret JFK records set for release this year
Documents that show what the government knows about John F. Kennedy's 1963 trip to Dallas have been kept secret for more than 50 years. Now, these records are among the remaining sealed documents about the JFK assassination set for release in coming months.
Inside law enforcement's high-tech toolbox
New technologies are giving law enforcement in Minnesota and across the country broad access to data on criminals and everyday citizens alike.
Governor to lawmakers: Kill transparency measures
Two measures sought by government openness advocates are criticized by Gov. Mark Dayton.
No Minnesota-bound travelers detained by Trump's order, feds say
Customs and Border Protection has no records of any detentions from the Ports of Minnesota.
Project opens the FBI files on the notably dead
For the past 16 months, when a notable person dies, Parker Higgins sends a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Each letter is the same, except for the name, and makes the same request: Hand over the FBI file for the deceased.
Lawmakers fume over blacked-out MnDOT records
A House committee talked about subpoenas after transportation officials gave them heavily redacted budget records.
Growing web of laws keeps Minnesotans in the dark
The state's public records law is riddled with hundreds of exceptions. Local governments and businesses are pushing to keep even more data secret.
Lawmakers propose limiting access to day care enforcement records
Providers want to protect reputations, but families want enforcement data.
Consumer complaints are searchable in Ohio, secret in Minnesota
States vary widely in the sharing, or withholding, of complaints that consumers file about companies.
'Top secret' CIA briefing: Vikings defeated in 1974 Super Bowl
This 1974 document was classified until 2010, and only made available online in January.
Gag order kept Bloomington's $45K settlement hush-hush
There's a reason the public didn't hear about the settlement last April in a lawsuit over "metadata."
Quiz: Do you know which records are public in Minnesota?
With at least 660 exemptions in the state's public records law, it can be hard to know what's available to you and what isn't.
Feds processing 51 new grape varietals for wine; two are Minnesota made
At least two made-in-Minnesota, cold-weather-tolerant grapes made the cut: Petite Pearl and Chisago.
U.S. House hearing finds federal government overdosing on secrecy
The number of new classified records fell to a record low in 2014, before rising somewhat last year.
![Members of the Minneapolis Police Department gang unit begin their shift with roll call. ] (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune) leila.navidi@startribune.com BA](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/ROL57IDGL4ONJYI4XEP7QUDAW4.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
