As a nonprofit, Investigate Midwest often relies on a small network of trusted freelance photographers across the U.S., as well as reporters who pick up their cameras in the field to help us document stories that stretch far beyond our newsroom.
We work intentionally with freelancers across the country whose expertise brings depth and humanity to complex issues. They captured the lived reality of agriculture, labor, and environmental policy in ways words alone cannot. Guided by our photo editor Darrell Hoemann, their images helped shape our reporting throughout 2025. This collection highlights their work and the moments that defined the year.
Most foreign-owned land in Oklahoma is held by Canadian and European companies for renewable energy projects, like this wind farm in northwest Oklahoma.
photo by Zach Lucero, for Investigate Midwest
David Huerta stands in front of a vacant house in the immigrant neighborhood of Little Village near his home in Chicago, Illinois, on Sept. 18, 2025. Huerta, one of the 68,000 workers in the Chicago region’s food and beverage manufacturing sector, spoke to Investigate Midwest about the fear of ICE raids shadowing every shift. photo by Carlos Baez, for Investigate Midwest
Martin Larsen (left) and Jess Offord (right) stand in the oat field and discuss the harvest on Aug. 3, 2025 in Byron, Minnesota. Larsen spoke to Investigate Midwest this year to discuss how Iowa and Minnesota farmers are investing in a new oat mill and pushing Quaker and General Mills to buy their product.
photo by Steven Garcia, Investigate Midwest
Dan Douglas, sitting on the porch of the house that his grandfather built in 1912, near Bentonville, Arkansas, and where his father was born. Dan Douglas told Investigate Midwest that Walmart’s accelerated development has driven land prices beyond what farm families can sustain. photo taken on Jan. 3, 2025. photo by Arisha Khan, for Investigate Midwest
Jess Offord cleans the combine harvester rotor which gets full of non-grain material from the field due to recent wet weather in the area on Aug. 3, 2025 in Byron, Minnesota. photo by Steven Garcia, Investigate Midwest
NeAnne Clinton, pictured at her home on March 2, 2025, is president of the Garfield County Conservation Coalition, a group of local residents who promote the conservation of farm and ranch land. Her group is pushing back on a local solar farm project south of Enid, Oklahoma. photo by Ben Felder, Investigate Midwest
Jill Trapp lives next to a poultry farming operation in McCurtain County, near the town of Garvin, Oklahoma. The PFO is visible behind her on May 1, 2025.
photo by Juan Vassallo, Investigate Midwest
At the Downtown Farmers’ Market in Des Moines, Iowa, Glenn Wigodsky sells his homemade granola. In conversations with Investigate Midwest, more than a dozen vendors described how inflation, falling crop prices and tariffs are reshaping their livelihoods. photo by Monica Cordero, Investigate Midwest
A sasquatch display at the Jack Link’s corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The world’s largest meat snack brand has spent millions on Trump campaigns and is advocating for support in the nation’s nutrition programs. photo by Steven Garcia, for Investigate Midwest
read more
Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
