Ryan Heinsius
News Director and Managing EditorRyan Heinsius joined KNAU's newsroom as an executive producer in 2013 and became 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.
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 with his family hiking, running and cycling the amazing terrain of northern Arizona and the Southwest.
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The Navajo Nation Department of Justice has submitted comments to federal regulators opposing a controversial hydro-storage project slated for the reservation.
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The company that owns a now-active uranium mine 10 miles from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is calling on the Coconino County Board of Supervisors to retract a recent resolution urging the closure of the mine.
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Flagstaff-based poet Larry Stevens is perhaps best known for his five-decade career as an ecologist and Grand Canyon river-runner. He's inspired to write as he’s exploring Arizona’s landscape and shares a piece called “Dinosaurs, Snow.”
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Austin-based writer Joanna Klink reads her piece, "3 Bewildered Landscapes, " inspired by getting lost in the wilderness while backpacking. The ordeal created unsettled feelings of desperation and strangeness.
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Colorado poet Daiva Chesonis shares her poem, "Burn Out." She's the daughter of Lithuanian immigrants and was inspired to write about the weight of the region’s conflicts on a recent trip to the country, and how they could be a foreshadowing of humanity’s future.
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A uranium mine less than 10 miles from the South Rim of the Grand has begun production. It comes after decades of preparation work and amid resistance from tribal and environmental groups.
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Home rental prices in Flagstaff have increased more than 12% since early 2022 and it's putting a strain on local residents who are searching for affordable housing.
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Officials will begin a series of work sessions Tuesday on a plan to combat the growing danger of wildfire and flooding throughout Coconino County.
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Northern Arizona Healthcare’s Breast Care program has lost its accreditation with a national organization. It comes months after the company was forced to temporarily pause some services because of staffing shortages.
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Arizona lawmakers say they’ll unveil a plan to raise the salaries of the state’s K–12 public school teachers by about $4,000 a year.