Mario Koran joined Wisconsin Watch in July 2021. He was a New York Times local investigations fellow and was a 2021 Knight Wallace fellow at the University of Michigan. Previously, he was a west coast correspondent for the Guardian US and covered education for Voice of San Diego, where he was named 2016 reporter of the year by the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Appeal, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and he was a Wisconsin Watch intern in 2013. He holds a BA in Spanish literature and MA in journalism from UW-Madison.
Following initial progress, staffing vacancies are again rising in Wisconsin prisons. Improving training, safety and workplace culture would help retain officers, some say.