2025 Local News Initiative of Southern Arizona Grant Recipients Announced

This grant means everything to a small but mighty nonprofit newsroom like Arizona Luminaria. It helps keep our lights on, our reporters in the field and our mission alive: delivering trustworthy, community-centered journalism to Southern Arizona. General operating support like this gives us the flexibility to respond quickly to urgent local stories, invest in emerging coverage areas like education and Indigenous affairs and publish our journalism in both English and Spanish.

— Irene McKisson, Principal Executive, Arizona Luminaria

In Arizona, we’ve seen how bad information and political pressure can cloud the public’s understanding of elections — and how that confusion affects both the people who run elections and the public. Our reporter, Jen Fifield, has deep roots in the communities she covers. She listens to election officials and to voters, pays attention to legislative hearings that others skip, and translates complex changes in election law into clear, accessible reporting. It’s not just about covering what happened — it’s about helping Arizonans navigate a fast-changing system under pressure and empowering them to participate in it with confidence.

— Carrie Levine, Editor-In-Chief, Votebeat (Civic News Company)

Receiving this grant means we can keep doing the work that matters—bringing local stories to light while creating real opportunities for students at Arizona Western College. The Student Newsroom has added fresh energy and new voices to our coverage, and it’s been a joy to watch those voices grow into trusted reporters. Thanks to the Local News Initiative, we launched a pilot that proved what’s possible when public radio and higher education work together.

— Lou Gum, News Director, KAWC-FM

Whether reporting on area non-profits or county issues impacting Eastern Santa Cruz County, this grant assures the work of the Patagonia Regional Times will continue and be enhanced. One such enhancement – vital to the safety of our citizens - is the implementation of a local SMS system that will provide emergency alerts. As a trusted community entity, the Patagonia Regional Times, the staff and Board of Directors has determined this to be an essential role for us to fill.

— Marion Vendituoli, Managing Editor, Patagonia Regional Times

Receiving the grant from the Local News Initiative of Southern Arizona is essential for strengthening the information and news landscape for Tucson’s Hispanic community. Somos Tucson, launched by LatinAz US LLC, creates and distributes useful, trustworthy content for Spanish-speaking residents—many of whom have lived in an information desert since the closure of La Estrella de Tucson.

— Liliana Lopez, Founder, Somos Tucson

Support from the Community Foundation means more independent watchdog reporting on Tucson and Southern Arizona — more digging into the desert dirt and more telling stories about the challenges we face as a community and how we're overcoming them in creative ways. With this investment, the Sentinel's nonprofit newsroom will tackle even more stories in both English and Spanish, and grow our coverage across the region.

— Dylan Smith, Editor & Co-Publisher, Tucson Sentinel

Receiving this grant is transformational for Tucson Spotlight. It allows us to sustain and expand our bilingual coverage, create more paid opportunities for local journalists and deepen our reporting on undercovered communities across Southern Arizona. With this support, we can continue producing high-impact journalism that informs, empowers, and reflects the people we serve, especially those who have long been overlooked by traditional media. This grant helps us grow our newsroom with intention, invest in our team’s development and ensure that diverse, community-rooted storytelling remains at the heart of everything we do.

— Caitlin Schmidt. Editor & Publisher, Tucson Spotlight