Arizona

Trump endorses ally for AZ Republican Party chair after Jeff DeWit resigns over Kari Lake tape

Published

2 years ago

January 27, 2024

Trump endorses ally for AZ Republican Party chair after Jeff DeWit resigns over Kari Lake tape

On a day when Donald Trump was told he had to pay $83.3 million to a woman for defaming her, the former president took time to endorse one of his former campaign officials for chair of the Arizona Republican Party.

He picked Gina Swoboda, a conservative election activist and former Trump campaign official who is a current officer in the state GOP.

The nod to Arizona politics as the federal jury award came down in New York shows both how important the state is to Trump’s 2024 presidential hopes and how Trump felt he needed to quickly straighten out the mess caused by the Kari Lake-caused resignation of the former chair, Jeff DeWit.

DeWit resigned Wednesday after Lake, the Trump-endorsed candidate running for U.S. Senate in Arizona, released an audio recording she had made of DeWit telling her that “powerful people” wanted to give her a lucrative job in exchange for halting her Senate campaign. Though Lake secretly recorded the conversation in March, she released the recording days before the annual state Republican Party meeting on Saturday, creating a rush of candidates for the chair job.

Trump canceled his attendance at the state GOP’s planned FreedomFest rally after DeWit’s resignation, which led the party to cancel the rally. State party officials, including DeWit, had counted on the rally to help raise money.

Trump’s spokespeople said he had a court hearing on Friday and couldn’t make the event. Trump attended closing arguments on Friday, though he walked out briefly as plaintiff E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer was speaking. A jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages for defaming her in 2019 after she accused him of rape.

Former president loses lawsuit: Trump hit with $83.3 million in damages for defaming E. Jean Carroll

Trump’s campaign team said in a statement he spoke with Swoboda on Friday.

“Gina is a strong fighter for election integrity and will be relentless in her work to deliver Arizona for President Trump and Kari Lake in 2024,” the statement said.

Lake soon followed by also endorsing Swoboda.

Not filling the position immediately would mean a 45-day delay, because the party’s bylaws require that amount of time to arrange a special election meeting. That’s a long time in an election year when every month counts. Putting a poor fundraiser in the job could be an even worse move for the party.

‘Betrayal’: Arizona GOP Chair Jeff DeWit resigns after recording of ‘offer’ to Kari Lake

DeWit was elected last year as the state GOP faced a financial disaster some blamed on former party Chair Kelli Ward.

The unpaid job is primarily about raising as much money as possible for elections up and down the ballot, said Barrett Marson, a Republican political consultant.

“A problem with taking out Jeff DeWit is, who do you replace him with that can raise money and lead the party in an election year?” Marson said. “A Trump-endorsed chair could be good for fundraising. The Republican National Committee will likely funnel a lot of money to the Arizona GOP.”

But Marson said he’s not familiar with Swoboda’s fundraising ability.

Swoboda does have experience in helping Trump find suspected election fraud. As executive director of the Voter Reference Foundation, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Restoration Action Inc., she pushes the idea that elections aren’t secure and mailed ballots aren’t to be trusted.

The company has been accused in articles by OpenSecret.org of disseminating false claims about voting discrepancies, but the company says on its website its goals are to increase voter participation and ensure elections are “transparent, accurate and fair.”

Swoboda worked last year as the state Senate’s adviser on election matters and also worked as “election integrity director” for Lake’s failed 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

‘Disgusting’: Kari Lake assails former AZ GOP boss Jeff DeWit, doesn’t say why she released ‘bribe’ recording

Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

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Arizona

How Arizona’s beavers could be a secret weapon in fire prevention

Published

8 hours ago

July 18, 2026

Press Room

How Arizona’s beavers could be a secret weapon in fire prevention

Beavers are incredible engineers, building dams so they can deter land predators. Their construction helps the land retain water and attract biodiversity around their ponds.
Beavers help reduce wildfire risk and spread, as the wetlands they manage act as fire breaks and is less flammable.
Beavers used to populate the North American continent, but trapping in the 1800s drastically curbed their numbers. Today, beavers are often considered pests for tampering with human infrastructure.

Laura Roche understands the imperative of curbing carbon emissions to prevent climate change from supercharging wildfires to “megafire” status. But she’s also aware that such steps won’t solve the problem right away, even if the entire world got their act together on addressing climate change this instant.

“People get tired” just talking about reducing emissions, she said. Even as smoke lingers in the air from the Pocket Megafire that was burning less than 10 miles away, she knows it won’t be a helpful conversation. “But there are other things that can definitely improve the situation,” she added.

Roche, a Cottonwood resident who works in Sedona, has one suggestion in mind: reintroducing beavers.

Beavers are North America’s largest rodents, with a flair for dam building. Their structures create strings of ponds and vital belts of lush vegetation, which can help prevent and mitigate fires in the region, simply because beavers help wetlands stay wet.

Community interest in beavers is stirring among Sedona residents and workers, who have watched warily in recent weeks as the Pocket Fire raged. They’re circulating YouTube videos about the power of these humble animals to terraform landscapes and reduce fire risk in a fire-prone region.

As of July 15, the Pocket Fire has burned 27,400 acres and is 83% contained.

Roche herself has been sharing the science of beavers with government officials in forest planning meetings, customers, customers and friends across the political spectrum.

“I’ve had nothing but positive support for the idea,” she said.

The science seems to check out. Emily Fairfax is a beaver scientist at the University of Minnesota, and also a beaver evangelist.

“You cannot restore streams that were originally made by beavers and shaped by beavers —without also bringing back the beavers,” she said.

How beavers help mitigate wildfires

Beavers are slow creatures that sorely lack in the physical department — but make up for it with their brilliant minds. They build dams to create deep pools, and there they build island dens to deter land predators. They also construct a network of canals along rivers to facilitate forage without leaving the safety of the water. A single beaver family can service a mile-long strip of wetland.

“It’s incredible how large scale their engineering is,” Fairfax said. There’s a joke among her peers about these crafty animals: “If you have a problem, there’s a beaver for that.”

With a dam in the way, surface water, such as storm runoff, has time to seep into the ground, recharging groundwater in the process. The retained moisture encourages plant growth, especially crucial in times of drought. Studies have shown that beaver-managed streams have more abundant vegetation than a landscape without.

Beavers can thrive in all kinds of riparian ecosystems, including drylands. There, the rodents seek out groundwater springs and excavate their ponds to expand storage capacity.

Beaver families have been observed to frolic in the concrete hearts of California’s San Jose, Portland, Denver and even in metro Phoenix. As long as reeds and trees are present as a food source, beavers can make it work, using rocks, trash and whatever they can find as construction material.

Fairfax has found that beaver wetlands are more fire- and drought-resilient than any other kind of riparian zone bereft of beavers. That’s because beavers work incessantly to maintain their dams and ponds.

“It’s life or death for the beaver to have that wetland,” she said. “So every moment of the beaver’s day, it’s like, how do I make sure this place stays wet?”

During a wildfire, the footprint of beavers makes a difference. It’s harder for lightning struck fires to spread on beaver-managed wetlands, as green vegetation is much less fire-prone. The network of rivers and beaver-made canals can act as a fire break to slow the progression of wildfire.

The wet pockets of beaver habitat also provide refuge for animals fleeing from fires. In 2021, the Beckwourth megafire scorched more than 105,000 acres north of California’s Lake Tahoe but spared a web of lush riparian corridors on the floodplain — sites where beavers had dammed and dug and developed before the blaze hit.

Will beaver reintroduction work?

Beavers ruled North America for 7.5 million years, in numbers up to 200 million strong. Up to a billion beaver dams peppered the landscape. Pretty much every river on the continent had resident beavers, except for predator-plied places such as the Everglades, where there are alligators.

Fur trapping in the 1820s nearly caused beavers to go extinct. Today, only 10% of their historic population are found in waterways.

In Arizona, beavers are still widely distributed across the state, but in scant numbers. Reintroduction programs have helped sustain their populations, though their abundance is still far from their heyday.

Along the San Pedro River, also historically called Beaver River, reside an estimated 38 beavers. Arizona Game and Fish Department experts have been relocating beavers here since 1999. But the San Pedro’s beaver count is still declining, likely due to drought that has strained water levels, drying up their moated homes and suppressing cottonwood regeneration.

In the age of drought and megafires, Fairfax thinks beavers should be part of government agencies’ tools for managing fires. One rainy season is all it takes for reintroduced beavers to bring fire suppression and mitigation effects into their new home.

Can beavers make a dent on Arizona’s fire-prone landscape? Potentially, said Northern Arizona University community ecologist Stefan Sommer, especially along the riparian corridors where they den. But these strips make up just 0.5% of Arizona’s diverse landscapes. Moreover, 90% of the state’s surface waters have been wrangled into pipes and concrete canals, which are far from the ideal habitat of beavers.

But Sommer says beavers have the greatest promise for reducing flood risk in burn scars. Beaver dams and the riparian vegetation around them can act as sponges to hold back runoff after heavy rains.

Post-fire or no, other flood-frequent areas have already benefited from beavers. The Greenford Tube station in West London used to flood after every storm. But since beavers built a dam upstream three years ago, flooding no longer occurs.

Beavers’ dam-building bent isn’t broadly beloved. The industrious architects often plug up culverts, which can flood human infrastructure nearby.

As nature’s engineers, beavers bend rivers to their will, not unlike humans. For this reason, beavers are still considered nuisance animals. Beaver presence can interfere with the well-laid plans and long-term goals of human engineers who too want to work rivers to their own vision.

For all the benefits of bringing back beavers, reintroduction isn’t straightforward either. Beavers need to be moved with their entire family, as estranged individuals can die from depression.

The antics of beavers have garnered them fans — they’re known to be playful and prone to getting the zoomies. But their personalities need to be managed to prevent human habituation, Fairfax said. Beavers easily form bonds with humans, which complicates reintroduction success.

Ideally, work must be done in advance to make sure reintroduced beavers have all the resources they need to thrive. The process of planting willow and cottonwoods, the favorite snacks of beavers, can take years before denuded rivers become conducive enough for beavers to move in. Constructing analog dams helps beavers settle in, too, as it tricks them into thinking that other beavers have been there before.

Arizona’s translocation programs are geared toward removal from areas of human-animal conflict. According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, none of these projects and any future ones are specifically intended for fire mitigation, which the agency considers a secondary benefit.

“We do not utilize beavers … as our federal and state foresters have more effective tools in their toolbelt for management of the forested woodlands of Arizona,” wrote Shawn Lowery, the agency’s supervisor of habitat restoration and mitigation, in an email.

With the double whammy of wildfires and drought around the West, the movement to reinstate the beaver onto rivers is growing. In the southern Sierras in California, the Tule River Tribe has been leading the efforts of returning beavers to their reservation to help retain water. In Nevada and Utah, restored beavers have fashioned lush oases in the middle of the desert.

Beavers aren’t a silver bullet to the West’s fire and water woes, and it’s possible their vast impact of the landscape might not be enough to turn the tide against climate-change-fueled disasters, Sommer said.

Nevertheless, beaver reintroduction is pretty low-risk compared to the destructive scale of natural hazards that humans contend with.

“Let (beavers) do their thing, and if it works, great,” Fairfax said. “If it doesn’t, oh well, now you have biodiversity, carbon sequestration and all the other benefits.”

Back in Sedona, Rowe has been a long-time advocate for repopulating beavers in the watershed, though it still hasn’t translated into concrete action from government officials. Rowe hopes that the recent Pocket Fire will finally persuade land managers to reconsider, before the next wildfire arrives.

Shi En Kim covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to shien.kim@arizonarepublic.com.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram.

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Arizona

Arizona lacrosse leaders believe sport is poised to grow

Published

20 hours ago

July 17, 2026

Press Room

Arizona lacrosse leaders believe sport is poised to grow

by Tyler Piester, Cronkite News
July 17, 2026

Cronkite News offers an audio version of this story using an automated voice created by AI. Errors in pronunciation, pacing and intonation may occur. If you notice an error please contact cronkitenews@asu.edu.

IRVINE, Calif. – Every field at Great Park in Irvine, California, was filled.

Dozens of games unfolded as whistles echoed across the sports complex. Players carrying netted sticks hurried from one field to another while parents searched for shade underneath their pop-up tents.

Lacrosse, long viewed as an East Coast sport, has quietly and quickly established itself across the western United States.

Colorado and California lead the way with deeply entrenched high school programs and the highest concentration of NCAA and club talent in the region. Utah has experienced some of the fastest growth in the country over the last several years, driven largely by the Utah High School Activities Association officially sanctioning the sport.

The Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington have strong, dedicated high school leagues that have traditionally operated as club-varsity hybrids outside the main state athletic associations.

In Arizona, participation is heavily concentrated in the major Phoenix metro area, but organizers hope the sport can take another step via strong grassroots efforts, potential sanctioning by the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) and the return of the sport to the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles.

Arizona Lacrosse League commissioner Bryan Petillo believes that the issue isn’t convincing kids to play lacrosse. It’s making sure they know it exists.

“One of our biggest challenges is introducing the sport to communities where there currently aren’t any programs,” Petillo said. “If you’re a student in Buckeye, Queen Creek or another rapidly growing area without a lacrosse program, it’s difficult to even discover the sport.”

California leading the charge

The Pacific Lacrosse Festival, held June 20-21, was organized by Buku Events, a lacrosse event company dedicated to growing the sport.

“We’ve seen the growth of lacrosse on the West Coast firsthand, especially in Southern California,” said Austen Lison, sales and field operations manager for Buku. “When I first started, the company hosted around 10 events. Now we’re up to about 17 events throughout Northern and Southern California, along with an event in Las Vegas.”

In the 2024-25 school year, 20,016 high school students participated in lacrosse according to the California Interscholastic Federation. By comparison, 15,259 students participated during the 2014-15 school year.

Parents who have watched the game evolve say the difference is hard to miss.

“I grew up on the East Coast, and obviously it’s more popular over there,” said Chris Pretto, whose kid plays for the Huntsmen Lacrosse club program in Irvine. “But out here it’s really grown a lot. The skill level has improved, the kids are getting better and the sport is getting more recognition here in California.”

For coaches, the growth has been just as dramatic.

“I feel like over the last five years, the sport has really boomed,” said Leann Rosales, a girls coach with Harlem Lacrosse at Compton High School. “Growing up, I didn’t even know what lacrosse was until I got to high school, which is when I started playing.”

Now children are beginning to play at a younger age.

“I’m seeing kids start as young as third grade and continue playing year-round,” Rosales said. “We’ve seen so much talent come through our programs.”

The scene in Irvine shows just how far the sport has come in California.

Arizona is still trying to reach that point.

Arizona’s ambitions

The Arizona Lacrosse League has overseen high school competition since 2000, while operating independently through a partnership with USA Lacrosse.

Petillo, originally from Long Island, New York, played lacrosse at Tufts University outside of Boston before moving to Arizona in 2019.

“Coming from New York, where lacrosse is such a major sport, I saw what I thought was tremendous potential for growth here in Arizona,” Petillo said.

That growth hasn’t come as quickly as he initially thought.

“Unfortunately, I think the sport’s growth has stalled a little over the last several years out here,” Petillo said. “There is still a lot of enthusiasm in communities where lacrosse has traditionally been established and where schools have strong support systems around their programs.

“However, overall we haven’t seen the growth in terms of new teams and player participation that I would like to see.”

Last season, the Arizona Lacrosse League featured 28 varsity and junior varsity teams, with more than 550 players participating, but the sport still is not sanctioned by the AIA.

Petillo believes that supporters need to rebuild the connection between youth and high school programs.

“If your youth leagues aren’t thriving, your high school programs won’t thrive either,” Petillo said. “At some point, I think those two levels became disconnected.”

There are other independent lacrosse leagues in Arizona such as the Ahwatukee Lightning, Arizona Girls Lacrosse Association and Youth Lacrosse of Arizona, but the most recent statistics show that in 2023, about 1,000 high school students were registered with USA Lacrosse in Arizona.

When it comes to collegiate lacrosse, Arizona has just one NCAA Division I program: Arizona State’s women’s lacrosse team.

ASU, the University of Arizona, Grand Canyon University and Northern Arizona University all field men’s and women’s club lacrosse teams.

Relatability

Supporters say the appeal of lacrosse comes from it having similar elements to other sports.

“I think lacrosse takes the best parts of several different sports and combines them into one,” Petillo said. “You mix elements of football, basketball, soccer and hockey together, and I think you end up with a really exciting game.”

Huntsman coach Nick Henry sees the same appeal.

“It’s easy for families to find a commonality between the sports that they already play,” Henry said.

The climate out west also helps. Blake Wozniak, a California native, left home to play lacrosse at Southern New Hampshire University. He believes the weather may create an advantage for West Coast teams over those on the East Coast.

“With the sunshine, you’ll always be able to play,” Wozniak said. “You can keep the stick in your hand and continue to work and get better over time.

“Soon we’ll be miles ahead of them.”

Sanctioning

Seth Polansky, the AIA Director of Sports Information, said that the sport was close to being sanctioned more than a decade ago.

“About 11 years ago, one of the executive board members planned to bring forward an action item to have lacrosse added under the AIA umbrella,” Polansky said.

The proposal never reached a vote however, as the board member passed away the week of the meeting.

“As a result, what was supposed to be an action item became a discussion item, and eventually the entire issue was tabled and never came back before the board again,” Polansky said.

Despite this, interest remains.

“Has there been discussion about lacrosse? Yes,” Polansky said. “Has the AIA been approached about adding lacrosse since that effort 11 years ago? Also yes.”

Still, getting a sport sanctioned is a lengthy process.

“We don’t just decide to add a sport,” Polansky said, “It has to go through the proper channels, which is either an athletic director at a member school proposes it through their conference rep on the board or a board member decides to do it on their own.

“Basically it has to come about when a majority of schools are on board with it all together.”

Looking ahead

Petillo believes that lacrosse in Arizona is poised for a period of growth, especially with the return of the sport to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles after a 120-year absence.

“Our partners at USA Lacrosse have a lot of plans to take advantage of the Olympics and the exposure it will bring,” Petillo said. “Any time people get to watch something that’s exciting and compelling on that big of a stage, they’re naturally going to ask, ‘How can I do that?’”

The issue will be making sure interested kids have somewhere to play.

“That’s where we come in,” Petillo said. “We need to make sure those kids have opportunities to play on a team in their neighborhood and with their friends.”

In the short term, Petillo said organizers will focus on creating a more competitive environment while helping new programs develop.

“We’re continuing to evaluate our conference structure to make sure competition is as balanced as possible,” Petillo said. “We also want newer programs to have opportunities to grow without immediately facing the strongest teams and getting blown out.”

Long term, Petillo said his goal is simple.

“We want to introduce lacrosse to new communities and continue growing in areas that don’t currently have many opportunities,” Petillo said. “Right now, we have three teams in Tucson. I’d love to see even more teams develop there so we can create a stronger regional schedule instead of requiring schools to travel long distances.

“I’d also like to see lacrosse expand into other parts of Arizona where there currently aren’t any programs. If we accomplish this, I think that the sport will continue to grow throughout the state.”

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As California becomes lacrosse powerhouse, Arizona hopes to be next <p>Tyler Piester, Cronkite News<br /> July 17, 2026 <p>Cronkite News offers an audio version of this story using an automated voice created by AI. Errors in pronunciation, pacing and intonation may occur. If you notice an error please contact cronkitenews@asu.edu.IRVINE, Calif. – Every field at Great Park in Irvine, California, was filled. <p>Dozens of games unfolded as whistles echoed across the sports complex. Players carrying netted sticks hurried from one field to another while parents searched for shade underneath their pop-up tents.<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>Lacrosse, long viewed as an East Coast sport, has quietly and quickly established itself across the western United States. <p>Colorado and California lead the way with deeply entrenched high school programs and the highest concentration of NCAA and club talent in the region. Utah has experienced some of the fastest growth in the country over the last several years, driven largely by the Utah High School Activities Association officially sanctioning the sport. <p>The Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington have strong, dedicated high school leagues that have traditionally operated as club-varsity hybrids outside the main state athletic associations. <p>In Arizona, participation is heavily concentrated in the major Phoenix metro area, but organizers hope the sport can take another step via strong grassroots efforts, potential sanctioning by the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) and the return of the sport to the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles. <p>Arizona Lacrosse League commissioner Bryan Petillo believes that the issue isn’t convincing kids to play lacrosse. It’s making sure they know it exists.<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>“One of our biggest challenges is introducing the sport to communities where there currently aren’t any programs,” Petillo said. “If you’re a student in Buckeye, Queen Creek or another rapidly growing area without a lacrosse program, it’s difficult to even discover the sport.” <p>California leading the charge <p>The Pacific Lacrosse Festival, held June 20-21, was organized by Buku Events, a lacrosse event company dedicated to growing the sport. <p>“We’ve seen the growth of lacrosse on the West Coast firsthand, especially in Southern California,” said Austen Lison, sales and field operations manager for Buku. “When I first started, the company hosted around 10 events. Now we’re up to about 17 events throughout Northern and Southern California, along with an event in Las Vegas.” <p>In the 2024-25 school year, 20,016 high school students participated in lacrosse according to the California Interscholastic Federation. By comparison, 15,259 students participated during the 2014-15 school year. <div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>Parents who have watched the game evolve say the difference is hard to miss. <p>“I grew up on the East Coast, and obviously it’s more popular over there,” said Chris Pretto, whose kid plays for the Huntsmen Lacrosse club program in Irvine. “But out here it’s really grown a lot. The skill level has improved, the kids are getting better and the sport is getting more recognition here in California.” <p>For coaches, the growth has been just as dramatic. <p>“I feel like over the last five years, the sport has really boomed,” said Leann Rosales, a girls coach with Harlem Lacrosse at Compton High School. “Growing up, I didn’t even know what lacrosse was until I got to high school, which is when I started playing.” <p>Now children are beginning to play at a younger age.<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>“I’m seeing kids start as young as third grade and continue playing year-round,” Rosales said. “We’ve seen so much talent come through our programs.” <p>The scene in Irvine shows just how far the sport has come in California. <p>Arizona is still trying to reach that point. <p>Arizona’s ambitions <p>The Arizona Lacrosse League has overseen high school competition since 2000, while operating independently through a partnership with USA Lacrosse. <div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>Petillo, originally from Long Island, New York, played lacrosse at Tufts University outside of Boston before moving to Arizona in 2019. <p>“Coming from New York, where lacrosse is such a major sport, I saw what I thought was tremendous potential for growth here in Arizona,” Petillo said. <p>That growth hasn’t come as quickly as he initially thought. <p>“Unfortunately, I think the sport’s growth has stalled a little over the last several years out here,” Petillo said. “There is still a lot of enthusiasm in communities where lacrosse has traditionally been established and where schools have strong support systems around their programs. <p>“However, overall we haven’t seen the growth in terms of new teams and player participation that I would like to see.”<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>Last season, the Arizona Lacrosse League featured 28 varsity and junior varsity teams, with more than 550 players participating, but the sport still is not sanctioned by the AIA. <p>Petillo believes that supporters need to rebuild the connection between youth and high school programs. <p>“If your youth leagues aren’t thriving, your high school programs won’t thrive either,” Petillo said. “At some point, I think those two levels became disconnected.” <p>There are other independent lacrosse leagues in Arizona such as the Ahwatukee Lightning, Arizona Girls Lacrosse Association and Youth Lacrosse of Arizona, but the most recent statistics show that in 2023, about 1,000 high school students were registered with USA Lacrosse in Arizona. <p>When it comes to collegiate lacrosse, Arizona has just one NCAA Division I program: Arizona State’s women’s lacrosse team. <div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>ASU, the University of Arizona, Grand Canyon University and Northern Arizona University all field men’s and women’s club lacrosse teams. <p>Relatability <p>Supporters say the appeal of lacrosse comes from it having similar elements to other sports. <p>“I think lacrosse takes the best parts of several different sports and combines them into one,” Petillo said. “You mix elements of football, basketball, soccer and hockey together, and I think you end up with a really exciting game.” <p>Huntsman coach Nick Henry sees the same appeal.<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>“It’s easy for families to find a commonality between the sports that they already play,” Henry said. <p>The climate out west also helps. Blake Wozniak, a California native, left home to play lacrosse at Southern New Hampshire University. He believes the weather may create an advantage for West Coast teams over those on the East Coast. <p>“With the sunshine, you’ll always be able to play,” Wozniak said. “You can keep the stick in your hand and continue to work and get better over time. <p>“Soon we’ll be miles ahead of them.” <p>Sanctioning<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>Seth Polansky, the AIA Director of Sports Information, said that the sport was close to being sanctioned more than a decade ago. <p>“About 11 years ago, one of the executive board members planned to bring forward an action item to have lacrosse added under the AIA umbrella,” Polansky said. <p>The proposal never reached a vote however, as the board member passed away the week of the meeting. <p>“As a result, what was supposed to be an action item became a discussion item, and eventually the entire issue was tabled and never came back before the board again,” Polansky said. <p>Despite this, interest remains.<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>“Has there been discussion about lacrosse? Yes,” Polansky said. “Has the AIA been approached about adding lacrosse since that effort 11 years ago? Also yes.” <p>Still, getting a sport sanctioned is a lengthy process. <p>“We don’t just decide to add a sport,” Polansky said, “It has to go through the proper channels, which is either an athletic director at a member school proposes it through their conference rep on the board or a board member decides to do it on their own. <p>“Basically it has to come about when a majority of schools are on board with it all together.” <p>Looking ahead<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>Petillo believes that lacrosse in Arizona is poised for a period of growth, especially with the return of the sport to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles after a 120-year absence. <p>“Our partners at USA Lacrosse have a lot of plans to take advantage of the Olympics and the exposure it will bring,” Petillo said. “Any time people get to watch something that’s exciting and compelling on that big of a stage, they’re naturally going to ask, ‘How can I do that?’” <p>The issue will be making sure interested kids have somewhere to play. <p>“That’s where we come in,” Petillo said. “We need to make sure those kids have opportunities to play on a team in their neighborhood and with their friends.” <p>In the short term, Petillo said organizers will focus on creating a more competitive environment while helping new programs develop.<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>“We’re continuing to evaluate our conference structure to make sure competition is as balanced as possible,” Petillo said. “We also want newer programs to have opportunities to grow without immediately facing the strongest teams and getting blown out.” <p>Long term, Petillo said his goal is simple. <p>“We want to introduce lacrosse to new communities and continue growing in areas that don’t currently have many opportunities,” Petillo said. “Right now, we have three teams in Tucson. I’d love to see even more teams develop there so we can create a stronger regional schedule instead of requiring schools to travel long distances. <p>“I’d also like to see lacrosse expand into other parts of Arizona where there currently aren’t any programs. If we accomplish this, I think that the sport will continue to grow throughout the state.” <p>This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Arizona

This Arizona city named among top 23 small US towns to visit

Published

1 day ago

July 17, 2026

Press Room

This Arizona city named among top 23 small US towns to visit

Sedona, Arizona, has been named one of the best small towns in the USA by Y Travel Blog.
The city ranked No. 14 on the list of 23 small towns, celebrated for its unique travel experiences.
The publication also noted the area’s natural vortices and over 300 miles of hiking and biking trails.

Arizona is always making headlines for its breathtaking scenery, top travel destinations and highly ranked cities. Now, another Arizona gem is earning national recognition, with this famous city ranking No. 14 on Y Travel’s list of the 23 small towns in the USA to visit.

Y Travel, also known as Y Travel Blog, is an independent travel publication. The site has built a reputation for publishing firsthand destination guides, road-trip itineraries and family travel advice based on places the couple behind it has personally visited.

The ranking celebrates small towns that offer memorable travel experiences. According to Y Travel, the towns were selected based on their unique character, scenic beauty, walkable downtowns, local culture, history, outdoor recreation, food and the authentic experiences they provide to visitors rather than simply their popularity.

Here’s which city ranked top in Arizona.

Sedona named a small town to visit by Y Travel

Coming in at No. 14, Sedona stood out for its colorful blend of desert landscape, luxury resorts and spas, red rock formations, Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock

The website mentioned how the city has natural vortices and 300+ miles of hiking and biking trails nearby, with lots of outdoor activities to explore.

Got a story you want to share? Reach out at Tiffany.Acosta@gannett.com. Follow @tiffsario on Instagram.

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