Ryan Heinsius
News Director & Managing EditorRyan Heinsius joined the KNAU newsroom as executive producer in 2013 and was named news director and managing editor in 2024. As a reporter, he has covered a broad range of stories from local, state and tribal politics to education, economy, energy and public lands issues, and frequently interviews internationally known and regional musicians. Ryan is an Edward R. Murrow Award winner and a Public Media Journalists Association Award winner, and a frequent contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered and national newscast. He's been featured on WBUR's Here & Now among other programs.
Before making the leap to public radio, Ryan spent more than a decade in print media as the editor of an alternative weekly paper. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University in political science and journalism and has also returned to teach at his alma mater.
Ryan is a Flagstaff-based musician and has performed and recorded with many bands in the Southwest. He spends as much time as possible hiking, running and cycling the amazing terrain of northern Arizona and beyond.
-
A grand jury in Coconino County has indicted a Flagstaff man on 60 felony counts related to a shootout and deadly DPS helicopter crash last week. -
Arizona’s U.S. senators plan to introduce a bill designed to fast-track reconstruction on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park following last summer’s Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires. -
For the last year the level of arsenic in the City of Williams’ drinking water was nearly double the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s safety standards. -
The Navajo Nation Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on the federal government to formally recognize tribal identification and the political status of its members. -
Hundreds of students in Flagstaff walked out of their classes Wednesday afternoon in protest of the Trump administration's growing immigration crackdowns. -
Many Navajo Nation citizens are anxious following the recent detainment of a tribal member near Peoria by ICE agents. KNAU spoke to Navajo Speaker Crystalyne Curley about how the escalation of federal immigration enforcement is impacting tribal members. -
Renowned Navajo community leader, matriarch and educator Louva Dahozy has died. She was called the Mother of the Navajo Nation. -
Navajo Nation leaders have condemned the arrest and detention of a Navajo citizen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week. -
Last summer’s Dragon Bravo Fire devastated the economies of many northern Arizona communities near the Grand Canyon. KNAU spoke with Rep. Eli Crane about his efforts to speed up rebuilding the North Rim. -
Twin bills introduced in the U.S. House and Senate would finalize a long-running Yavapai-Apache Nation water rights settlement and secure additional water sources in the Verde Valley.
