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.
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A new report from Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona shows rental costs in Flagstaff have stabilized over the last year but remain stubbornly high. -
As her first piece of legislation, Rep. Adelita Grijalva has introduced a bill that aims to protect Oak Flat and halt what would be one of the nation’s largest copper mines. -
The cost of wildfire recovery on public lands mostly falls to agencies like the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service. Several western U.S. senators have requested more federal help after a devastating fire year. -
Since 2021 Flagstaff photographer Dawn Kish has been documenting the reemerging Glen Canyon as the water levels at Lake Powell have dropped. She was inspired by Tad Nichols who photographed the canyon in the 1950s before it was dammed. -
The Environmental Protection Agency has begun the cleanup of uranium mine waste in the Lukachukai Mountains near Four Corners on the Navajo Nation. -
A man from Flagstaff and another man from Canada were injured in a lightning strike Wednesday near the summit of Humphreys Peak near Flagstaff. -
On Monday Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren submitted his state of the nation address in written form, marking the fifth time he did not deliver the speech in person to tribal lawmakers. -
Multiple chapters on the Navajo Nation were impacted by recent flooding from a tropical storm that caused dams to fail and cut off access to homes and farmlands for residents. -
The Dragon Bravo fire continues to burn in remote pockets of the park. Federal officials have not yet provided details on their response to lawmakers. -
Republican Rep. Paul Gosar has introduced bills in the U.S. House that would rescind the designations of two Arizona national monuments, including the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.
