Courtney Collins
Courtney Collins has been working as a broadcast journalist since graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 2004. Before coming to KERA in 2011, Courtney worked as a reporter for NPR member station WAMU in Washington D.C. While there she covered daily news and reported for the station’s weekly news magazine, Metro Connection.
At KERA, Courtney is lead reporter for the series “ One Crisis Away,” about life on the financial edge. Courtney has won awards from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors, Texas Medical Association, Houston Press Club and last year received the inaugural consumer financial reporting award presented by the Public Radio News Directors Inc. and the National Endowment for Financial Education. “One Crisis Away” was also recognized by the Radio Television Digital News Association and National Endowment for Financial Education for excellence in personal finance reporting.
When she’s not at work, Courtney loves to read and play outdoors with her husband and wild toddler.
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As a father, Marc Wilson had his family firmly in the middle class. Then a drug conviction sent him to prison for seven years. -
A choir for homeless men and women in Dallas has inspired street choirs across the country to form and collaborate. Its founder has formed a multi-city... -
Calculating the exact cost of time behind bars is almost impossible. The meter starts running at the moment of arrest, and doesn’t stop after someone’s...
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Dallas City Hall Plaza had plenty of foot traffic Saturday, first from students and gun reform advocates in the morning — and later from counter...
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Low-income neighborhoods are more vulnerable to natural disasters, according to the Centers for Disease Control . And those poor neighborhoods are also... -
With less than six weeks until the Texas legislature convenes, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst says that he wants to improve the state’s education system -- and that there may be additional money for public education. Dewhurst outlined his priorities before the Dallas Regional Chamber Thursday, applauding the state’s record of cutting taxes, limiting spending and maintaining a light regulatory touch. And after a 2011 session that slashed more than $5 billion from public education, he said this about restoring the money: “I am well aware that some 400 of the 1,000 independent school districts are suing the state of Texas. So at the end of the day I would not be surprised if we have to put more resources in for this biennium, but at least I want to see us cover our enrollment growth and do what we can on inflation.” Dewhurst also wants to make it easier to shut down a school that’s not up to snuff. “Currently under Texas law, it takes six years to close down a failing school. That’s nuts! I’m going to move for legislation to make it two years,” he said. The lieutenant governor didn’t specifically address publicly funded private school vouchers. That’s a topic that’s expected to be polarizing this session. But he did speak about giving parents more options. “I’m for more charters, I’m for shutting down bad charters, I want to give parents more choice,” Dewhurst said. He also discussed the possibility of taking money from the state’s “rainy day” fund for new investments in roads and drinking water. With Texas population expected to double in the next 30 years, he said adding pavement and reservoirs is absolutely necessary. The 83 rd legislature will convene at noon on Jan. 8.
