For years, experts in Houston have been studying the idea of building massive tunnels to divert floodwaters and save lives and property. Now Elon Musk’s tunneling company wants a piece of the project.
North Dakota prohibits oil and gas companies from deducting expenses from the mineral royalties that are paid to the state. But lawmakers haven’t provided the same protections for the state’s roughly 300,000 private mineral owners, ProPublica and the North Dakota Monitor found.
Even using an oil industry lobbyist’s estimate, North Dakota mineral owners lost at least $322 million in withheld royalties to oil companies in 2023. “It’s a matter of fairness,” one owner said. “You feel like you’re being cheated.”
Officials from three oil companies that operate in North Dakota — Hess Corp., Slawson Exploration Co. and Zavanna Energy — said they follow the language in their leases with the private landowners. Most leases don’t explicitly mention deductions.
ProPublica reporter Audrey Dutton has been reporting on the troubled system for death investigations in Idaho, where a person’s cause of death is determined by elected coroners with no oversight or state support and, often, little training or education.
This week, Dutton published a story that outlines five concrete steps that Idaho coroners have suggested for how to fix a broken system. Their ideas include more autopsies, dedicated office space and higher pay.
