David Schaper
David Schaper is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk, based in Chicago, primarily covering transportation and infrastructure, as well as breaking news in Chicago and the Midwest.
In this role, Schaper covers aviation and airlines, railroads, the trucking and freight industries, highways, transit, and new means of mobility such as ride hailing apps, car sharing, and shared bikes and scooters. In addition, he reports on important transportation safety issues, as well as the politics behind transportation and infrastructure policy and funding.
Since joining NPR in 2002, Schaper has covered some of the nation's most important news stories, including the Sandy Hook school shooting and other mass shootings, Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, California wildfires, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and numerous other disasters. David has also reported on presidential campaigns in Iowa and elsewhere, on key races for U.S. Senate and House, governorships, and other offices in the Midwest, and he reported on the rise of Barack Obama from relative political obscurity in Chicago to the White House. Along the way, he's brought listeners and online readers many colorful stories about Chicago politics, including the corruption trials and convictions of two former Illinois governors.
But none of that compares to the joy of covering his beloved Chicago Cubs winning the World Series in 2016, and three Stanley Cup Championships for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, 2013, and 2015.
Prior to joining NPR, Schaper spent almost a decade working as an award-winning reporter and editor for WBEZ/Chicago Public Media, NPR's Member station in Chicago. For three years he covered education issues, reporting in-depth on the problems and progress — financial, educational and otherwise — in Chicago's public schools.
Schaper also served as WBEZ's Assistant Managing Editor of News, managing the station's daily news coverage and editing the reporting staff while often still reporting himself. He later served as WBEZ's political editor and reporter; he was a frequent fill-in news anchor and talk show host. Additionally, he has been an occasional contributor guest panelist on Chicago public television station WTTW's news program, Chicago Tonight.
Schaper began his journalism career in La Crosse, Wisconsin, as a reporter and anchor at Wisconsin Public Radio's WLSU-FM. He has since worked in both public and commercial radio news, including stints at WBBM NewsRadio in Chicago, WXRT-FM in Chicago, WDCB-FM in suburban Chicago, WUIS-FM in Springfield, Illinois, WMAY-AM in Springfield, Illinois, and WIZM-AM and FM in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Schaper earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications and history at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a master's degree in public affairs reporting at the University of Illinois-Springfield. He lives in Chicago with his wife, a Chicago Public School teacher, and they have three adult children.
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With restricted indoor dining and a need for social distancing, many cities closed streets to vehicles to allow for more walking, biking and outdoor dining. Some of those changes may be here to stay.
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About 30,000 pilots, flight attendants and other airline workers can tear up furlough notices. Federal stimulus money will help them keep their jobs, and transit agencies are getting a boost too.
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With many eager to travel again — teased in part by vaccines — the CDC is still urging people to stay home. As spring break season approaches, the forecast for booking trips looks cloudy.
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The quadrennial Infrastructure Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers is an improvement from the D-plus four years ago but shows federal investment is still lacking. -
Many of the world's airline pilots are out of work due to the pandemic. Those who are flying report deteriorating working conditions and higher stress levels, which some fear could lead to mistakes.
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Despite a slow vaccine rollout, Americans are hoping they'll be able to travel safely soon. And with relatively low airfares and flexible change policies, some are planning that next big trip.
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Boeing's 2020 earnings report shows financial losses at the company. But it may be turning a corner as various bans on its troubled 737 Max planes are lifted.
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President Biden set a mask mandate for interstate travel on Thursday. Airlines already have their own mask requirements, but enforcement has been spotty. They want federal officials to step in.
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The Federal Aviation Administration has vowed to take action against anyone who endangers flight safety after Trump supporters reportedly disrupted flights last week with chants and racist taunting.
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Investigators in Indonesia are trying to determine what caused a Boeing 737 airplane to crash into the Java Sea over the weekend, killing 62 people. The plane was a Boeing 737-500.
