One of the biggest mysteries of the Grand Canyon is how exactly water gets from the surface into the springs. We know the basics—it snows on the Kaibab Plateau, the snow melts into sinkholes and the water comes roaring out of springs below the North Rim. But what does the journey from the sinkholes through thousands of feet of rock look like? Researchers at NAU are mapping the area to find the answer.
At the Museum of Northern Arizona, we care deeply about creating a meaningful experience for you, our community, and our visitors.
But we need your help. We want to better understand our visitors’ needs and values so we can best serve you. Museums (like ours!) strive to encourage and expand learning while also addressing the challenges facing our society, and we need to hear your thoughts.
To do this, we are participating in a national survey of museum-goers sponsored by the American Alliance of Museums. This survey provides data from our visitors and visitors to museums nationwide, helping us be more effective in the coming months and in the communities we serve.
By the Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth
COCONINO COUNTY — As another busy year begins, it may be a good time to take a deep breath, take care of yourself and find some ways to ease the stress for your children.
To help, Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth wants to remind everyone that we have a variety of free webinar training programs on our website.
Want to take a moment to take care of yourself? Visit our free Mindfulness (for adults) one-hour webinar.
Your child may also benefit from our free Mindfulness for Youth45-minute webinar or our free Bullying and Cyberbullying one-hour webinar
Our growing library of on-demand webinars are also designed to help you gain the tools you need to learn about trauma-informed care, tips to help strengthen family protective factors, examine the effects of historical trauma and adverse childhood experiences.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz — During the Jan. 20, 2026 Council meeting, the Flagstaff City Council approved a grant from the Arizona Department of Public Safety in the amount of $285,000 to fight against drug trafficking, human smuggling and other criminal activity. This funding is not related to, nor will it be used for immigration or the enforcement of immigration laws.
United Way of Northern Arizona invites you to celebrate your Love of Community and be part of our special campaign throughout February to strengthen the place we all call home.
February is a month overflowing with love. There’s Valentine’s Day, of course, but it’s also national Love of Reading Month, and on February 17th, you can celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day.
That makes this the perfect time for heart-centered folks to show their love and create lasting local impact by giving to United Way of Northern Arizona. Love of Community is about each of us playing a part in supporting youth, building stronger families, healthier communities, and a more resilient region.
Every dollar donated stays right here in northern Arizona. Whether you’re giving for the first time or renewing your commitment to our community, now is the time to show that United is the Way to make a difference for our friends and neighbors in Coconino, Navajo, and Apache counties.
Arizona law provides property tax assistance options for eligible widows and widowers, veterans with a disability and individuals with a permanent disability, commonly referred to as individual exemption programs. These exemptions reduce the assessed value of qualifying property, which may include individually owned real estate, mobile homes and, in some cases, personal property. Applications for individual exemptions are accepted Jan. 1 through Mar. 1 each year.
The City of Flagstaff announces a public art opportunity for artists, graphic designers, and illustrators to create a design for the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library Bookmobile. This project is an opportunity to enhance the visual landscape by using the bookmobile as a canvas for meaningful and relevant visual expression. Artists are encouraged to use a variety of media, including digital imagery, painting, drawing, photography, collage, etc. to develop their proposed designs that will be transferred to vinyl wraps. The artist whose design proposal is chosen will each receive a payment of $4,000.
Application Deadline: February 24, 2026, 5:00 pm (Arizona Time)
For National Girls and Women in Sport Day on Feb. 4, hear from student-athletes across NAU Athletics about the first time they picked up a ball or club or laced on running shoes, their best moments wearing blue and gold and how their athletic careers are helping prepare them for their professional careers, in their sport or in an office.
through innovative public-private partnerships. The town currently has 1,480 housing units in various stages of development – proof that creative collaborations between municipalities and developers can deliver results.
Last month, Highview at Boulder Creek broke ground on the first phase of what will ultimately be more than 300 factory-built homes as part of a larger mixed-use development on the west side of town. It’s an area with little infrastructure and currently no links to the Town’s water or wastewater systems.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted the plan with one condition: an update to the Future Growth Illustration, which involved changes to the land use designations for four areas within Coconino County jurisdiction.
Click here for more detail on the changes to the map.
At Sedona Arts Center, creativity is meant to be experienced. Our classes and workshops — from iPhoneography and oil painting to sculpting, stained glass, ceramics, and pottery for teens and beginners — are designed to be welcoming, hands-on, and inspiring. Whether you’re exploring something new or building on existing skills, you’ll learn from working artists in a supportive environment that values curiosity, craft, and creative joy — all in the heart of Sedona.
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. — Grand Canyon National Park will reopen a portion of the North Kaibab Trail on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, marking an important step toward restoring inner canyon trail access following the Dragon Bravo Fire. Accessed from Phantom Ranch, the North Kaibab Trail from the Clear Creek Trail Junction to the Ribbon Falls junction will reopen to public use.
The North Kaibab Trail has remained closed since July 13, 2025, to allow for post-fire assessments, safety planning, and trail maintenance. The North Kaibab Trail north of Ribbon Falls will remain closed until further notice while National Park Service (NPS) staff completes post-winter evaluations of trail conditions and trail maintenance.
NightVisions: AMBER is an international juried art exhibition that seeks to explore and celebrate our deep connections with the night. In its 9th iteration for 2026, this long-standing collaboration between Coconino Center for the Arts and the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition celebrates the 25th anniversary of Flagstaff’s designation as the world’s first International Dark Sky City. This special anniversary-year exhibition expands upon the established NightVisions: Cultural Interpretations of the Night Sky concept with a focused thematic exploration of amber lighting, aligning with the critical role that amber spectrum lighting plays in Flagstaff’s dark-sky conservation.
Coconino County Superintendent of Schools, Cheryl Mango-Paget, is inviting community members who are committed to public education to consider running for openings on one of five School District Governing Boards in the 2026 election.
COCONINO COUNTY — Words will take center stage as Coconino County School Superintendent Cheryl Mango-Paget hosts the 2026 Coconino County Spelling Bee, a countywide academic showcase celebrating student excellence, preparation, and poise.
The competition will take place Saturday, Feb. 7, beginning at 10 a.m. at Flagstaff High School’s Cromer Auditorium.
Join us for the opening reception of Vision & Sound: An African American Experience
with free live music by: Just Common
Courtesy MosaicNAZ.org
FLAGSTAFF — A national shutdown is planned for Friday, Jan. 30 as part of the growing opposition to the ICE crackdown operation in Minneapolis, Minn. Under the banner of”No Work, No School. No Shopping. Stop Funding Ice,” organizers hope the action will convince the Trump administration to end their operation in Minneapolis.
“The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the whole country – to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN,” the organization reported on its website.
Protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intensified during the past few weeks following the shooting deaths of ICE watchers Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24.
Another protest against ICE and surveillance cameras is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 near Flagstaff City Hall.
FLAGSTAFF — The Flagstaff City Council voted in December 2025 to terminate the City’s contract with Flock Safety for automated license plate recognition technology. Following that decision, all cameras covered under the contract were immediately turned off and have not collected any data since.
In Arizona, Native Americans represent 5.3% of the population but just 1.1% of registered nurses. Charmaine Begay is determined to change that. A first-generation student from Crystal, New Mexico, Begay is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in nursing through NAU’s American Indian Nursing Program and helping shape a future in which Indigenous communities get care from providers who understand their culture and values.
Saturday, January 31
SNOWHAUS: Winter DJ Showcase
Arizona Snowbowl
A full day of high-elevation house music at Arizona Snowbowl featuring Polar Bears, Carrie Keller, Ekonovah, and Rich Dietz! 11 a.m.
Editor’s note: The Flagstaff Police Dept. issued a media release on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026 following the shooting death of a Minneapolis, Minn. by members of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agencies.
Phantom Ranch has reopened following the successful repair of multiple breaks along the Transcanyon Waterline, and water service has now been restored to Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground, Boat Beach, and the Delta restrooms. Park water utilities crews completed repairs near Manzanita Rest Area and the mule corral near Phantom Ranch, allowing the system to be repressurized and inner canyon operations to resume.
On the South Rim, water tanks are slowly refilling as the system stabilizes. Grand Canyon National Park remains under Stage 2 water restrictions, and residents are encouraged to continue reducing water use wherever possible to support system recovery. Utilities staff will continue monitoring the waterline and system pressures as operations return to normal.
The Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA) water system violated drinking water standards over the past year. Even though these were not emergencies, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we did to correct these situations.
GRCA is required to monitor our drinking water for specific contaminants on a regular basis. Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether our drinking water meets health standards. During August 2024 and the 2nd quarter of 2025 GRCA did not complete all monitoring or testing for Total Coliform, Chlorine, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), and therefore cannot be sure of the quality of our drinking water during that time.
COCONINO COUNTY — Volunteers are needed for the 2026 Coconino County Point-in-time Count.
Click here to apply.
Point-in-time counts are important because they establish the dimensions of the problem of homelessness and help policymakers and program administrators track progress toward the goal of ending homelessness. The first of these counts was conducted in January 2005. Meaning that we have data for every Continuum of Care for the last twenty years.
Also see:
• AZ Daily Sun — Gallery: Students walk out of Flagstaff High School and Coconino High School in protest of ICE actions
• Great Circle Media — Flagstaff students organize walkout to protest ICE
FLAGSTAFF — More than 150 Flagstaff High School students took to the streets and protested in front of the Flagstaff City Hall as part of a citywide-protest by youth against the nationwide ICE crackdown during protests on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
Protests were also reported by students at Coconino High School and Mount Eldon Middle School.
Protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intensified during the past few weeks following the shooting deaths of ICE watchers Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24.
By the Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth
COCONINO COUNTY — Please join CCC&Y for its next Prevention Council Zoom meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 5. Our meetings provide our coalition partners with the opportunity to share the latest news about their projects that support children, youth and their families in Northern Arizona.
The Council meets the first Thursday of the month.
Want to be a guest speaker at our next meeting? Send an email to CCC&Y Executive Director Virginia Watahomigie at coalition coalition@coconinokids.org to be placed on the agenda or to receive a Zoom link to our next meeting.
READ MORE
Story courtesy MosaicNAZ.org
FLAGSTAFF — Anti-ICE protesters braved a chilly and breezy Friday afternoon to take part in a nationwide demonstration in response to a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
Taking positions in front of the Flagstaff City Hall, the majority of protesters waved a variety of anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) signs on Jan. 23, 2026.
The local protest was organized by Indivisible Northern Arizona in response to ICE activity in Minneapolis, Minn., which included the shooting death of immigrant supporter and ICE watcher Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7, 2026.
“Thank you to everyone who turned out today in solidarity with Minnesota! Our volunteer counted 550 people at the height of the protest,” Indivisible reported on its Facebook webpage.
COCONINO COUNTY — As the 2026 election season is underway, the Coconino County Elections Department is recognizing Help America Vote Day on Jan. 27. Help America Vote Day aims to inspire greater civic engagement and volunteerism, and help ensure safe,…
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. — Grand Canyon National Park is preparing an adaptive approach for the seasonal reopening of the North Rim, evaluating potential impacts from winter weather to park infrastructure after the Dragon Bravo Fire. The park aims to open popular points of interest, including the North Kaibab Trail, on May 15, weather and conditions permitting.
Park officials emphasize that the guiding principle for the upcoming season is: “We will open what we can, where we can, when we can.” This approach prioritizes visitor safety, resource protection, and operational readiness. Park officials are aware of the challenges of local communities, businesses and our visitors in planning for the 2026 season and are committed to providing specific details about the 2026 North Rim season no later than April 1, 2026.
Arizona law provides property tax assistance options for eligible widows and widowers, veterans with a disability and individuals with a permanent disability, commonly referred to as individual exemption programs. These exemptions reduce the assessed value of qualifying property, which may include individually owned real estate, mobile homes and, in some cases, personal property. Applications for individual exemptions are accepted Jan. 1 through Mar. 1 each year.
