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Brenda Wintrode

is a local government reporter covering state agencies for The Baltimore Banner.

As a Roy W. Howard fellow and reporter for Wisconsin Watch, Wintrode investigated wrongful child abuse allegations made by a former Wisconsin doctor and prominent national expert in the child maltreatment field. Families from Wisconsin and Alaska came forward to tell their stories of being wrongfully accused of child abuse by this same doctor. The pediatrician, who most recently served as Alaska's top child abuse doctor, announced her resignation. The 2021 series won a Milwaukee Press Club gold award in the "Best Investigative Story or Series" category.

Wintrode graduated from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland with a 4.0 GPA and received the college's "Outstanding Master's Student" award. During the summer of 2020, she worked for the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism as a reporter and lead writer on a national story on illegal evictions during the CARES Act's eviction moratorium.

While working on the Howard Center's award-winning series on homelessness, she uncovered that members of the Tulsa County, Oklahoma, eviction bar upended a rental assistance program meant to keep tenants from becoming homeless during the pandemic lockdowns.

She's working from Madison through April 30, 2022, and will return home to Annapolis, Md., in May.

A controversial doctor. A disputed abuse diagnosis. Two convicted Wisconsin men say they are innocent.

Nearly nine years after her son, Brayden, died, Shannon Turnbill still replays the image of the 5-year-old lying on the bed, unresponsive. “It’s a picture I’ll never get out of my head,” she said of the encounter in October 2013. “His eyes were rolled back. It almost looked like he was having a seizure but not moving.”

WisconsinWatch.org • December 4, 2021

Wisconsin caregiver spent eight years, $250,000 in legal bills to exonerate herself from abuse charges

Stacy Hartje’s quest to clear her name took eight years. In 2007, the 22-year-old mother of one was providing child care for several children in her Mauston, Wisconsin, home. One day after eating his lunch, a 3-year-old boy collapsed in front of her. “He didn’t fall to the ground because I was able to catch him,” Hartje said. She called his parents, then called 9-1-1. She rode in the front seat of the ambulance that took him to the regional hospital. The boy was transferred to American Fa

Child abuse cases sparked by Dr. Barbara Knox rejected by Wisconsin judge, jury and prosecutor

Before child abuse allegations capsized his life in 2016, Alfonzo Clayborne had his first high-paying job and a new apartment in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, that he and his new family were turning into a home. He had bought himself and his girlfriend each a car. Life at then-22 years old was becoming more “stable,” he said.

Parents recount terror of wrongful child abuse diagnoses from former University of Wisconsin doctor

As a child protective services worker questioned them in their baby’s hospital room, Greg and Katie Shebesta of Janesville, Wisconsin, held their nearly 6-month-old upright, allowing the excess fluid to drip through tubes a brain surgeon had inserted beneath his skull. “He was trying to understand if I was a person who would hurt my child,” Katie Shebesta said.

A Babysitter and a Band-Aid Wrapper: Inside the Submarine Spy Case

WASHINGTON — On July 28, Diana Toebbe posted a Facebook message looking for a babysitter to take care of her children early on the coming Saturday morning for five to six hours. Later the post, visible only to friends, was updated with the word “*FOUND*.” And on that Saturday, Ms. Toebbe accompanied her husband, Jonathan, to south-central Pennsylvania. Unbeknown to Ms. Toebbe, she and her husband were being watched by the F.B.I.

What They Left Behind: Families Treasure Jewelry, Stethoscope, Voicemails and Worn-Out Lawn Spots Left by COVID Victims

Behind every COVID-19 statistic is a family and a community mourning a life cut short. To bring perspective to the massive loss, Maryland Matters focused on the little things left behind by COVID-19 victims that shaped their relationships and brought whole communities together.

Only 1 in 4 Baltimore schools set to reopen are now equipped with ventilation upgrades

It was almost midnight Friday when Danielle Hopper Dubasak got the news in an email from her employer, Baltimore City Public Schools: Dubasak had been selected to report back to work as a part of the district’s plan to bring more students back to buildings for in-person learning next month. But the mother of four young children had already told her principal she wouldn’t return to the building as long as the Covid-19 pandemic raged. “I would quit if it came down to it,” said Dubasak, who work

Brigadier General: Federal government covered $500K cost for National Guard’s D.C. deployment

During the D.C. protests ignited by the death of George Floyd, the federal government paid $546,360 to have 116 Maryland Guard troops stationed around three national monuments from June 2 through June 6, Brigadier General Adam Flasch said. The state of Maryland incurred no costs.

Confusion over CARES Act eviction ban leaves some families on the brink of homelessness

Confusion about the moratorium’s language, which played out in conflicting guidance from federal agencies and the courts, led to selective enforcement. A two-month investigation by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland found that cracks in the federal law appeared immediately.

Brenda Wintrode

Investigative Series for Wisconsin Watch

A controversial doctor. A disputed abuse diagnosis. Two convicted Wisconsin men say they are innocent.

Embattled former UW child abuse pediatrician resigns Alaska position

‘We were robbed’: Alaska couple loses custody of kids after erroneous abuse diagnosis from former UW doctor

Wisconsin caregiver spent eight years, $250,000 in legal bills to exonerate herself from abuse charges

Child abuse cases sparked by Dr. Barbara Knox rejected by Wisconsin judge, jury and prosecutor

Parents recount terror of wrongful child abuse diagnoses from former University of Wisconsin doctor

Mass exodus at Alaska child abuse clinic as former Wisconsin doctor accused of bullying, misdiagnoses

2021 Bylines: Wisconsin Watch, The New York Times, Maryland Matters, Baltimore Brew

‘Toxic work environment’ in Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office pushes employees to the brink

‘This is a charade’: GOP senator, voting experts urge Wisconsin Republicans to halt election attacks

A Babysitter and a Band-Aid Wrapper: Inside the Submarine Spy Case

U.S. Navy Engineer Charged in Attempt to Sell Nuclear Submarine Secrets

Mirroring National Trend, Maryland’s “Trump Counties” Are Slower to Get Vaccinated –

What They Left Behind: Families Treasure Jewelry, Stethoscope, Voicemails and Worn-Out Lawn Spots Left by COVID Victims

State Health Dept. Hires Adviser to Focus on Vaccination of Underserved Prince George's Residents

Nonprofit Leader Who Helps Maryland ‘Practice’ for Pandemics Creates Software That Helps Solve a Real One

Child Care Workers Say Lack of State Effort Leaves Them To 'Scramble' for Vaccines

County library system axes late fees, cancels customers’ debts

Only 1 in 4 Baltimore schools set to reopen are now equipped with ventilation upgrades

Baltimore schools to begin vaccinating teachers this week

Citing “dramatic” learning losses, Santelises expands in-person learning

2020 Bylines: Capital News Service, Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, Bay Weekly

Few reports of voter intimidation or harassment in Maryland

Anne Arundel Venison Food Relief Program Sparks Bounty Controversy

Disconnected: Students struggle with e-learning obstacles, lawmakers earmark solutions

Voters in GOP-majority county head to polls in ‘blue’ Maryland

Brigadier General: Federal government covered $500K cost for National Guard’s D.C. deployment

Substance-abuse deaths in Maryland spike during pandemic

Tulsa landlords offered rent to not evict, few took the deal

Confusion over CARES Act eviction ban leaves some families on the brink of homelessness

Boosting Potential for Chesapeake Bay Blue Catfish

Encampment clearing raises concerns about a return to Miami’s bad old days