As the obituaries start being written for the StarMetro papers, which will close in December, it should be remarked upon that they produced some wonderful longer pieces.
We shared several of these features and investigations here at Great Canadian Longform, including two pieces just this month.
Thanks to these reporters, our readers enjoyed in-depth slices of life in Edmonton and Vancouver that are a fading priority at city dailies. Hopefully in the new iteration of the bureau system the Star still gives these kinds of stories the amplification and attention they deserve.
Here are seven pieces for your reading pleasure, ranging from a cross-country journey, to the story of a strip club, to the resilience of families seeking justice for loved ones who have gone missing.
From StarMetro Edmonton:
What it’s like to ride the Greyhound for 27 hours, through three provinces and 55 stops
Hamdi Issawi, July 2018
How a fraudster got $12 million out of a Canadian university: They just asked for it
Claire Theobald, October 2018
Chez Pierre laid bare — how Edmonton’s oldest strip club is adjusting to a new era of adult entertainment
Omar Mosleh, September 2019
Visionary or villain, he’s the pied piper of Alberta’s Wexit. But is the movement heading in a dangerous direction?
Omar Mosleh, November 2019
From StarMetro Vancouver:
Their daughters vanished — and parents say police stopped looking. Now desperate families are searching on their own
Jesse Winter and Jeremy Nuttall, October 2018
Why B.C.’s atmospheric rivers are a growing concern
Ainsley Cruickshank, May 2019
First he mopped floors. Then this B.C. janitor put Canada’s potentially abusive employers on notice
Alex McKeen, November 2019
Featured image: via News Media Canada
Great Canadian Longform 