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 with his family hiking, running and cycling the amazing terrain of northern Arizona and beyond.
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Gov. Katie Hobbs and Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego are calling for an independent investigation into how federal officials managed the Dragon Bravo Fire burning on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. -
A wildfire over the weekend destroyed a landmark hotel at Grand Canyon National Park. Now, Gov. Katie Hobbs is calling for a federal investigation, saying the response wasn’t aggressive enough. KNAU’s Ryan Heinsius appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered Monday with the latest details. -
The federal government forecasts above-normal wildfire potential in much of the West and some southeastern states. KNAU News Director Ryan Heinsius discussed the ongoing season on NPR's Morning Edition. -
West Virginia’s Dan Green and Colorado’s Rachel Entrekin each set new course records Wednesday in their respective wins of the Cocodona 250 ultrarunning event. -
Arizona Daily Sun Chief Photographer Jake Bacon has documented life in northern Arizona for more than three decades. Tonight, he takes the stage to talk about some of his favorite images and the importance of community journalism. -
Flagstaff photographer Mike Frankel has had experiences that most any rock ‘n’ roll fan would envy: he shot the Beatles on their first U.S. tour and turned his lens on the Who, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, and David Bowie, among many others. Now he's compiled dozens of never-before-seen images into a book called “Hurricanes of Color.” -
The U.S. Department of Defense says it plans to restore content on the Navajo Code Talkers recently scrubbed from the agency's website. -
The Trump administration plans to shutter two National Park Service offices in Flagstaff later this year as part of cost-cutting initiatives that have targeted 2 million square feet of federal office space throughout the country. -
Navajo Nation officials this week addressed ongoing concerns about the recent restart of uranium ore hauling through the reservation. -
Last summer, Congress allowed a program to compensate victims of Cold War-era radiation exposure to expire. Now, a new bipartisan effort to both revive and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act is picking up steam.
