Trisha Marczak

Trisha Marczak is a Mint Press staff writer and investigative reporter specializing in the oil industry, environment, education and immigration. She has worked in Australia with several NGOs, and as a staff writer, reporter and an award-winning editor at various newspapers, magazines, and public radio stations throughout the Midwest. Contact Trisha at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @TrishaMarczakMP.

Mining Industry Targets America’s Cherished Boundary Waters

The wilderness area on the border between Minnesota and Canada faces an onslaught of mining companies moving into the area.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

Since 1964, more than 200,000 adventure enthusiasts a year from throughout the nation flock to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, a 150-mile stretch of untouched wilderness along the border that separates Minnesota and Canada. Now, in the midst of a renewed resource-extraction boom in the U.S., that very area is being eyed by mining companies eager to

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Nebraska Law Granting TransCanada Eminent Domain Challenged As Unconstitutional

Residents in the Keystone XL pipeline’s path find themselves being forced by a foreign corporation to sell access to their land.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

Three Nebraska landowners are challenging legislation that put power in the hands of the state’s governor to decide whether or not to allow Canadian company TransCanada the authority to use eminent domain against state residents. The case was heard Friday in a Nebraska court, with Attorney David Domina arguing on behalf of Susan Luebbe, Susan

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North Carolina Officials Reject EPA Funds For Fracking Impact Study

State commissioners insist there’s no need to research fracking’s impact on water — all while laying the groundwork for a fracking boom.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

North Carolina’s mining and energy commissioners are in the midst of a fracking battle -- and they’re winning. They’re arguing that the state’s regulations for clean water protection are over-the-top and unnecessary, all while corralling anti-fracking advocates into the same category as Bigfoot believers. “We all know this,” Commissioner George

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Hurricane Sandy Victims Still Waiting On Federal Insurance Payments

One year after the storm, New Jersey residents report being “treated like criminals” for demanding their insurance payments.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

A year after Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on New Jersey’s shore, home and business owners are still wading through a mess of red tape, calling out the government for delaying payments and aid while refusing to answer complaints. The sentiment among those still waiting for flood insurance policies through the government’s National Flood Insurance

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Same-Sex Couples Still Denied Full Rights In Many States

Two Kentucky women in a civil union have been denied their spousal privilege to avoid testifying against one another.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

A Kentucky judge has claimed same-sex couples in the state are not protected under legal spousal privilege laws, expanding the confusion surrounding the spousal privilege legal debates throughout the U.S. The debate emerged in Kentucky, where two women engaged in a civil union have been denied protection under the Spousal Privilege law, which

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The ‘Canned Hunting’ Business Is Alive And Well In America

Meet Tarzan, a breeding buck who’s been kept in captivity for the past four years. For $9,400, you can hunt and kill him.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

Anyone with $9,400, a gun and a desire to nab a trophy rack can do so in Vergas, Minn. The rural northwestern Minnesota town is now known throughout the Midwest as the home of Tarzan, a breeding buck that for four years has been kept as a domesticated animal by a local hunting family -- the same family that is now putting a price on his

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Study: Facts Are Irrelevant To The Political Game

A Yale University study shows how people cease to be rational in the political arena.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

A new study alludes to a notion that the partisan political divide in America is inspired more by emotion and allegiance than fact. The study, authored by Yale University’s Dan Kahan, gives credence to the argument that when it comes to politics, the truth really doesn’t matter. Titled “Motivated Numeracy and Enlightened Self-Government,” the

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