When Mountain Sports Flagstaff owner Lisa Lamberson learned she was officially nominated for the 2024 Flagstaff ATHENA Leadership Award, she was in Mexico with a contingent of volunteers building homes for those in need at a community called Rancho Feliz. Meanwhile, Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona CEO Devonna McLaughlin, also a nominee for the prestigious award, was working to create affordable housing in Flagstaff. The two businesswomen, both working in different ways to provide shelter … [Read more...] about Lamberson, McLaughlin Honored for Flagstaff ATHENA Leadership
Local News
Emerging from Its Watery Tomb
It’s a story that deserves to be told: The burying of what some say is one of the most pristine places on Earth, Glen Canyon, often called “America’s lost national park.” The entombment came when the diversion tunnels of Glen Canyon Dam were screwed shut in 1963, causing the waters of the Colorado River to back up 186 miles to both flood the canyon and create Lake Powell. One prominent storyteller stepping forward to tell this story is Dawn Kish of Flagstaff, a conservation photographer and … [Read more...] about Emerging from Its Watery Tomb
Starlite Lanes Keeps Bowlers Rolling through the Years
Ten pins, 16 lanes and 66 years of bowling on Route 66. That’s the numbers game for Starlite Lanes, Flagstaff’s only bowling center and one of the state’s oldest bowling alleys. But old, in this case, does not mean outdated. Since buying the business in 2010, Starlite owner Ron Getto refurbished the building with a new roof, flooring, seating and other improvements. He also modernized Starlite with state-of-the-art pinsetters, cosmic lighting and a digital scoring system with lane-to-lane … [Read more...] about Starlite Lanes Keeps Bowlers Rolling through the Years
Could Pluto Become Arizona’s State Planet?
The rattlesnake is Arizona’s official state reptile, petrified wood is the state fossil, and the bola (or bolo) tie is the state neckwear. Now, if Arizona lawmaker Justin Wilmeth gets his way, Arizona will become the first state to boast an official planet: Pluto. Wilmeth, a republican state representative for District 15, introduced the bill into the House on Jan. 17. Last April, he was part of a legislative delegation that toured the construction site of Lowell Observatory’s … [Read more...] about Could Pluto Become Arizona’s State Planet?
Working with the World’s Biggest Telescopes
“Astronomers always want the biggest telescope to see the most detail, but it’s not possible, either physically or financially, to build a telescope mirror 300 feet across,” explained Gerard van Belle. “So, I cheat. I take many small telescopes and put them together to work like one big one.” Van Belle has been an astronomer at the Lowell Observatory since 2011, working on detecting exoplanets and mapping the surfaces of stars. This work is possible because van Belle uses the biggest optical … [Read more...] about Working with the World’s Biggest Telescopes
Ann Jackson Keeps Raggedy Ann Dolls Close to Hearts
Throughout the decades of American history, Raggedy Ann dolls have played a role in comforting both adults and children with a warm message of kindness and a simple “I love you” embroidered on their hearts. Created by American artist and writer Johnny Gruelle in 1915, the whimsical doll has become an American icon. Raggedy Ann and her brother, Andy, who was created a few years later, became so popular that a day was set aside to pay tribute to them. Their Facebook page beams with the dolls’ … [Read more...] about Ann Jackson Keeps Raggedy Ann Dolls Close to Hearts
How the Idea of a Man in a Kilt Built a Literary Empire
Noting that Mozart died at age 36, Diana Gabaldon, at 35, decided she’d better get on with it if she wanted to write a novel, her childhood dream. As a young girl, she had read her way through the entire Flagstaff Library. At age 8, she decided she was a novelist. A scientist with three degrees including a doctorate, Gabaldon was used to writing grants. She recalls her research about the pinyon jay as she set out to learn why the forest bird built nests in trees next to roads. Curiosity and the … [Read more...] about How the Idea of a Man in a Kilt Built a Literary Empire
The Garage Puts Music in Harm’s Way
The Garage recording studio producer Max Harms is proof that big things can happen in small places. Working out of his Camp Verde garage turned audio engineering production studio, Harms is drumming up business from as far away as Canada and New York. Just 26 years old, Harms was born in Evanston, Chicago, and his family moved to Camp Verde when he was 10. “I went to South Verde High School and after graduation enrolled in The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Science in … [Read more...] about The Garage Puts Music in Harm’s Way
Business Owner Passionate About Sharing Northern Arizona’s Outdoors
It was the perfect storm of events that launched Jessica van Zijll into entrepreneurship. The native Arizonan was living the corporate dream in San Antonio, Texas, as a salesperson traveling internationally when the pandemic hit. International travel came to a screeching halt. “I learned that doing sales over the phone from my San Antonio apartment wasn’t as fulfilling as traveling internationally to meet with clients,” the young business professional shared. At the same time, a small … [Read more...] about Business Owner Passionate About Sharing Northern Arizona’s Outdoors
Are You Off Balance?
When legendary Phoenix television anchorwoman Mary Jo West spoke to an audience of businesswomen in Sedona last month, she told them she did not know the “B” word when she was working in news. That word was “Balance.” In an interview with Jim Heath of JimHeath.TV, she described her typical workday in a big market with the pressure of ratings along with the added weight she felt to succeed for the benefit of other women at a time when glass ceilings were being shattered in newsrooms and other … [Read more...] about Are You Off Balance?