A new Michigan initiative, Our Strong Start, pairs child care entrepreneurs with a staffer from the state licensing agency who helps with paperwork and obtaining inspections. The program seeks to address problems raised in MuckRock’s “Disappearing Day Care” investigation, which found that Michigan’s child care supply is even more limited than experts thought.

Columbia University’s Documenting COVID-19 project, MuckRock and the Missouri Independent won two first-place prizes for its COVID-19 pandemic and health coverage in the 2022 Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

Democracy Day 2022 is almost here. MuckRock is excited to be one of an ever-growing list of organizations taking part in the coordinated initiative on September 15, spearheaded by the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. To help kick things off, here’s some FOIA inspiration to help you file your own requests.