AZPM News, Archive - AZPM News - Local, independent journalism from the NPR 89.1 newsroom

This map shows an area of land identified by locals as the 15 Circles. State data still shows this land as being leased by Fondomonte, the Saudi-backed alfalfa farmers.

Hedge funds and foreign farms get water, rural Arizonans get empty wells

Sep 4, 2024 A Saudi presence in La Paz County is already well known. So who else is using the area's water?

Grand Canyon pipeline repairs completed; overnight lodging set to resume

Sep 3, 2024 Four significant breaks in the 12.5 mile-long (20 kilometer-long) Transcanyon Waterline had caused the famous tourist destination to shut down overnight hotel stays beginning on Aug. 29.

AZ Dept. of Education survey: teachers leaving due to low pay and student behavioral issues

Sep 3, 2024 The state department's survey also found that a majority agreed that they did not feel respected as K-12 teachers and felt burnt out.

Phoenix officials are seeking public input on updates to the city’s Climate Action Plan, as the region grapples with human-caused climate change, including poor air quality, drought, and extreme heat.

Phoenix weathers 100 days of 100-plus degree temps as heat scorches western US

Sep 3, 2024 That's long since shattered the record of 76 days in a row set back in 1993, according to data from the National Weather Service.

A home for sale in the Sam Hughes neighborhood in Tucson, Arizona.

Southern Arizona's mortgage market rebounding

Sep 3, 2024 The number of loans for homes is among the fastest growth rates in the nation.

The Sonoran Corridor would link I-10 and I-19 south of the Tucson Airport.

ADOT to add 18 new EV charging stations in Arizona

Sep 2, 2024 They said this will help encourage the use of electric vehicles as an alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles.

Former border agent found guilty of kidnapping and assaulting a minor

Aug 30, 2024 A jury found former Customs and Border Protection agent Aaron Mitchell guilty of sexually assaulting and kidnapping a 15-year old girl, who he abducted in Douglas in 2022.

Stacks of hay bales sit beside an irrigation canal in Imperial Valley on June 20, 2023. Critics have called for reductions to the amount of alfalfa grown with Colorado River water. The particularly thirsty crop is mostly used for cattle feed.

The Buzz: Arizona/Saudi relations go back long before Fondomonte

Aug 30, 2024 We listen to an episode of AZPM's podcast Tapped that traces the link between the two deserts

A bilingual English/Spanish vote sign outside a precinct in Arizona.

Gallego retains strong lead over Lake in August polling

Aug 29, 2024 The Democrat has a seven-point lead over Lake in the latest AZPOP.

Sleeping area at a shelter that's part of the Casa Alitas program on March 1, 2024.

Tucson migrant operation to receive new funding while spending still in question

Aug 29, 2024 Pima County will receive nearly $19 million in federal funding to continue services for asylum seekers who come through Tucson.

Prosecutors in Arizona's fake electors case dispute defendants' allegations of a political motive

Aug 28, 2024 Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen is considering requests from at least a dozen of 18 people indicted in April to dismiss charges of fraud, conspiracy and forgery.

Breaks in only water pipeline for Grand Canyon prompt shutdown of overnight hotel stays

Aug 28, 2024 Visitors won’t be able to stay overnight in hotels at Grand Canyon National Park after a series of breaks in the only pipeline that serves the popular tourist destination.