Corruption and theft had infected a prominent anti-poverty agency. A medical device maker withheld information about patient injuries from a government watchdog. A woman was kept in virtual captivity in a nursing home because of her guardian's abuse of power.
Those Star Tribune stories and many more began with tips passed to reporters. Readers and insiders are critical to alerting journalists about what's going on in their neighborhood, workplace or institution. Your eyes and ears are especially important to us in an era of growing government secrecy. Other ways we find out what's happening, including public records and open meetings, are increasingly restricted by officials who are overworked, overcautious or just obstructive.
So today the Star Tribune is unveiling new ways for people to contact our newsroom and pass on news tips. We are eager to follow up on what you think should be in the news, especially what problems we should investigate or what untold stories are going on in your community.
There are also more ways than ever to send messages and documents to us without it getting traced back to you, if that's what you prefer.
(Everything that follows, plus more detail, can be found by going to startribune.com/tips online.)
You can call the newsroom (612-673-4414) and ask for the reporter or editor who covers the community or subject that you're calling about. You can also look up our newsroom directory online at startribune.com/bios. You can call or send an e-mail to that person, or if you don't know who should get it, you can send it to whistleblower@startribune.com.
You can send records to us the old-fashioned way, through the U.S. mail, and we'll open it even if it doesn't have a return address. Over the years, we have received dozens of anonymous letters and heaps of documents this way, and some have resulted in news stories. If you don't know who to send it to, use this address:
News tips
