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Selling Arizona – Flagstaff Business News

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Selling Arizona – Flagstaff Business News


Visitors want to experience how Arizonans live; winemakers are ready to show them.

“Arizona is loved by many, but a lot of it is also largely unknown,” said Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) Director Lisa Urias in her keynote presentation at the Fall Tourism Forum, hosted by NACOG (Northern Arizona Council of Governments), on Thursday, Oct. 10, in Camp Verde. “A lot of people don’t understand the full breadth of what Arizona has to offer.”

To change that, she discussed how AOT is considering ways to secure more funding for tourism promotion. She also revealed Arizona’s refreshed brand, which was released earlier this year, designed to better communicate the state’s “majestic beauty, vibrant culture and abundant diversity.”

AOT crafted the brand by traveling hundreds of miles across Arizona and asking more than 2,000 Arizonans in 57 communities what they love about their part of the state. “Arizonans built and own this story about who we are, what we hold dear and what we want amplified,” said Urias. “Every Arizonan can see a piece of themselves in the new brand.”

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The chosen color palette includes turquoise, copper, desert sage, pine green, sunset magenta and warm sand. The ponderosa pine signifies Northern Arizona, the saguaro represents Central Arizona, and the hummingbird stands for Southern Arizona and its desert wildflowers, she said.

Drawing from 2023 statistics, Urias gave these reasons for updating the brand: Arizona has 45.2 million overnight visitors annually; direct travel spending by visitors adds up to $29.3 billion; $4.2 billion is generated in taxes from visitor spending; and some 187,000 jobs are supported by tourism directly, while another 300,000 are supported by tourism indirectly.

Speaking to Northern Arizona business owners and community leaders who want to encourage and enhance tourism, Urias listed tourists’ top choices for visiting the state: the outdoors, entertainment, cultural experiences and sporting activities. “Visitors want to experience life the way you live it,” she said.

As if answering the AOT call for sharing their lifestyle, Verde Valley winemakers discussed how Arizona vineyards have burst onto the tourism scene in a big way with tours and tasting rooms.

People like to see where wine was made,” said Tom Pitts, founding president of the Verde Valley Wine Consortium. “You talk about the place, not the grape,” he said, noting that people won’t remember the particular grape grown, but will remember the region where the vineyards are, citing examples such as Bordeaux and Champagne, in France.

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The economic impact of Arizona’s rapidly expanding wine industry, which now is pouring onto the global wine-loving scene, has grown more than 500% since 2011, according to a recent study conducted for AOT by the Economic Policy Institute at Northern Arizona University.

The tremendous growth of Arizona’s wine industry can be attributed to several factors, including promoting the state’s unique grape-growing regions, development of Arizona’s wine-industry workforce, the proliferation of tasting rooms and visit-ready vineyards, and increasing promotion of Arizona wine country tourism experiences by AOT and others,” states an AOT news release.

I believe we can grow any grape on the planet in Arizona,” said Eric Glomski of Page Springs Cellars, noting the many micro zones and opportunities across the state. “The majority of people, even in Arizona, don’t know that Arizona’s wines are world class.”

Ginger Mackenzie, owner of Vino Zona with wine tasting locations in Jerome, Sedona and Cottonwood, expressed the joy of promoting the pioneer spirit of Arizona’s wine industry. “We get to be ambassadors for Arizona wines!” she said.

Forest Service representatives also spoke at the forum, sharing their efforts to enhance tourism experiences. “Recreation is the portal for understanding and caring for natural resources and public lands,” said Tom Palmer of the Prescott National Forest.

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Forum attendees also heard tips and strategies from members of the news media about how to promote their communities, attractions and businesses.

One of the biggest takeaways from the media panel were the comments from reporters and editors about being approachable and wanting to hear story ideas from the community,” said Discover Flagstaff Media Relations and Marketing Project Manager Ryan Randazzo. “Sometimes it can be a little intimidating reaching out to the media, but the fact that they took time away from covering news to be there in person and encourage people in rural Arizona to pitch them stories shows they are committed to finding the best stories for their audiences.”

NACOG-Economic Workforce Development Regional Director Teri Drew called the forum “an overwhelming success,” showcasing the Economic Development Council’s dedication to Northern Arizona’s thriving tourism sector. 

Attendees from four counties – Apache, Coconino, Navajo, and Yavapai – expressed positive feedback, appreciating the chance to connect directly with media contacts, like Quad Cities Business News,  as well as gain insights from top industry leaders,” said Drew. “With dynamic discussions on sustainable tourism, state and regional collaboration, a media panel, AOT, a wine panel and forest industry initiatives, the forum delivered both practical takeaways and an energizing impact.”

 The Fall Tourism Forum was sponsored in part by Flagstaff Business News. FBN

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By Bonnie Stevens, FBN

Photos by V. Ronnie Tierney, Fresh Focuses Photography: Business owners like “Big Mike,” of Route 66 Road Relics in Seligman, engaged with the media panel about promoting businesses and communities in rural Arizona.



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Arizona

ESPN FPI predicts Houston Cougars vs. Arizona Wildcats winner

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ESPN FPI predicts Houston Cougars vs. Arizona Wildcats winner


Houston has been here before.

Despite winning two of their last three games — including a stunning 24-19 upset of heavily-favored Kansas State — the Cougars are underdogs once again.

Heading into Friday’s Big 12 road game at Arizona, the Cougars are 1.5-point underdogs. Coming off a bye week, Willie Fritz’s squad needs two wins to become bowl eligible, which would be a remarkable turnaround in year one of Fritz’s tenure.

FPI Prediction for Houston vs. Arizona

ESPN’s updated Football Power Index (FPI), which is “meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season” also thinks the Cougars are going to lose on Friday. The ESPN FPI gives Houston a 42.7% chance to beat Arizona.

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Not only does the FPI not like Houston’s chances to beat Arizona — it also predicts the Cougars will go winless the rest of the season. Here’s a look at how the FPI predicts the remainder of the Cougars’ Big 12 games:

The FPI gives Houston a 2.4% chance of winning out, and a 22.2% chance of getting to six wins.

The Cougars leaned on their stingy defense and opportunistic offense in upset victories over Utah and Kansas State. That’s a formula they will try to replicate against Arizona. Houston’s defense is currently ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 in yards allowed at just 319 per game.

The Houston at Arizona Big 12 football matchup is scheduled to kick off Friday at 8:15 p.m. MST/9:15 p.m. CT and will be televised on FS1.



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Arizona Senator-elect Ruben Gallego on future of Democratic party

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Arizona Senator-elect Ruben Gallego on future of Democratic party


Arizona Senator-elect Ruben Gallego on future of Democratic party – CBS News

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Democrat Ruben Gallego beat Trump ally and Republican Kari Lake in Arizona’s Senate race. He drew suport from Hispanic men, a group that drifted toward President-elect Donald Trump in Arizona and nationwide during this election. Gallego spoke with Ed O’Keefe about immigration, Trump and what the Democratic party needs to do going forward.

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Arizona women’s basketball gets hot from outside, defeats UNLV

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Arizona women’s basketball gets hot from outside, defeats UNLV


During most of the Adia Barnes era, Arizona women’s basketball has scored primarily via the fastbreak. On Tuesday night in McKale Center, it was via the 3-point shot. The Wildcats (4-0, 0-0) went 9 for 17 from distance in a 75-66 victory over UNLV (2-1, 0-0).

The game certainly didn’t start that way. The two teams missed their first five 3-pointers with the Rebels going 0-3 and the Wildcats 0-2. Then, things started to heat up from outside for both teams.

UNLV connected on 5 of 8 long-distance shots in the second quarter after going 0 for 5 in the first. UA’s 0 for 2 start was followed by 4 of 6 made 3s in the first half. The Wildcats maintained that through the end of the game but the Rebels fell back into their slump to finish 7 for 23 from 3-point range.

Lauryn Swann led the way for Arizona. The freshman guard came off the bench to score 19 points in just under 19 minutes with all of her scoring coming in the second half. She went 6 for 6 before missing her first shot of the night, finishing 8 for 9 from the floor. She hit both of her shots from distance and went 1 for 2 from the free-throw line. She also had an assist.

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“I just feel like the energy throughout the whole game while I was in was just contagious, and I just fed off that, so got to thank my teammates for that,” Swann said.

Swann said she felt like the shot she missed was going to go in, too. As for whether she had ever gotten on that kind of run, there’s “a first time for everything,” Swann quipped.

Swann wasn’t the only one. Montaya Dew was 2 for 2, with both shots coming from outside. She has now hit three shots in her first season on the court with the Wildcats. All three shots have come from 3-point distance. Jada Williams was 3 for 6 from beyond the arc and Paulina Paris hit 2 of her 3 long-distance shots.

When all was said and done, Arizona had hit 52.9 percent of its outside shots and 53.3 percent of its 2-point shots. That helped three Wildcats reach double digits in scoring. In addition to Swann’s 19 points, Williams had 15 and Breya Cunningham had 12.

“Lauryn Swann, who was huge tonight, did not play in the first half,” Barnes said. “As a freshman, she could have hung her head. Came out firing, doing what she does, and just really proud of what she did. Without her doing that, without Jada making big shots, without Breya carrying us for most of the game and playing smart with foul trouble, we don’t win this game.”

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Skylar Jones narrowly missed the double-digit mark with nine points to go with her team-high five assists. She also had four rebounds, two steals, and one block.

“I love the fact that in the past, if she wasn’t making shots, she wouldn’t have done anything else,”Barnes said. “So I’m proud. She made her free throws, she got rebounds, she got five assists and two steals. So she’s figuring out how to do other things. It’s not all predicated on scoring. And Sky would not have been able to do that last year.”

Cunningham paced the Wildcats early. She had eight points, four rebounds, and one steal in the first quarter.

“They know that Breya is the dominant down there, so they’re going to double down and stuff,” Williams said. “So just working our butts off to make sure that we hit those shots. And kind of been in a drought a little bit, so everyone’s been in the gym a little extra. But I think when we can shoot, it gives the bigs more openings. And then we can shoot, it makes us open too, and it opens up the floor a lot more, instead of they can’t pack the paint.”

As Barnes alluded to, Cunningham picked up two fouls in the first half, one on a moving screen. It was a concern for the Wildcats because fellow frontcourt starter Isis Beh picked up three fouls in the first 20 minutes. She also had one on the offensive end of the court.

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“We have goals for the post group for nobody to foul out this season,” Cunningham said. “So, had us a little nervous the first half, but we pulled through.”

She and Beh both ended the game with four fouls, but the other stats for Cunningham were far more important. Once again, she closed in on a double-double with nine rebounds to go with her 12 points. She added three steals and an assist to her totals.

“Breya and Isis both, we need them tremendously—defense, offense, communication,” Williams said. “Breya is a good post presence. When they get downhill and stuff, she’s always there to block or just reject stuff. So her and Isis are two big keys to the team, and when we don’t have them out there, it hurts us.”

The Wildcats once again struggled with turnovers, committing 21 that led to 20 UNLV points. Many of them were of the bad pass variety where the Rebels just had to put their hands in the air when Arizona went to pass inside.

“We will not win a lot of games in the Big 12 if we don’t correct that,” Barnes said.

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Arizona also played deep into the shot clock on a number of occasions. Jones, Beh, and Williams all hit shots or got fouled with the clock about to expire.

The two teams stayed close in the first quarter with Arizona nudging in front 16-15 after the first 10 minutes. UNLV came back to outscore the Wildcats by five points in the second quarter, going into the locker room with a four-point lead. The two teams played an even 14-14 third period.

Arizona trailed by four going into the fourth quarter but outscored the Rebels 29-16 over the final 10 minutes to secure the victory. It was revenge for last season when the Wildcats lost to UNLV by 19 in Las Vegas.

“It felt good because they kicked our butts,” Barnes said. “They whooped us up and down around the floor last year. I mean, decisively. We had a better team last year, but we had a lot going on, and we did not play better. So we had a lot more talent. Think about how much the scoring we lost from that team. We’ve lost…like 97 percent of our scoring…and (have) a much better team (this year). So that tells you a lot.”

The Wildcats now take a break after playing four games in nine days. They next take the court when they travel to Chicago State on Saturday, Nov. 16.

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