The Haunted Ice House Chills and Thrills this Halloween season on Oct. 31

FLAGSTAFF — This October, the Historic Ice House will transform from a relic of the past into the region’s most chilling haunted attraction: The Haunted Ice House, presented by Culture Connection AZ. Once a working ice factory before home refrigeration became common, the building will serve as the eerie backdrop for a terrifying immersive experience filled with dark history, sinister characters, and unforgettable scares.

Led by a tour guide, guests will encounter bloodcurdling thrills along their journey, and just might meet some of the Ice House’s most infamous spirits, such as The Hookman. Once an ice factory worker in the Ice House, he became obsessed with the steel hooks used to move massive ice blocks. Until one day his obsession turned sadistic…They say you can still hear the faint metallic screech of his hook and feel the chill of his wrath.

NAU Choral Studies to present ‘Abya Yala’ – Matices Latin Ensemble on Nov. 5

I’m very excited to be working with NAU’s Kitt School of Music on the Southwest premiere of my latest composition, Abya Yala Choral Suite. This multilingual composition is the result of many months of research and collaborative work with different poets in Latin America, in an attempt to vindicate historically discriminated languages and communities throughout Abya Yala.

Stuff the Bus food drive event at Plaza Safeway to be held on Nov. 8

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz – This holiday season, help fill a bus with hope! The City of Flagstaff, Coconino County, and Mountain Line are teaming up to collect food and financial donations for the Flagstaff Family Food Center. The Stuff the Bus event will take place at the Safeway at 1201 S Plaza Way on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Donations will also be accepted at the Safeway on Plaza Way on Sunday, Nov. 9 as well as at the Safeway at 1500 E Cedar Ave on Saturday and Sunday. Volunteers will have shopping lists available to indicate the food items of greatest need.

Friends of Flagstaff’s Future (F3) presenting ‘Creating a Stronger Flagstaff In-person Presentation and Q&A with Edward Erfurt, Strong Towns’ on Nov. 13

I’m excited to tell you about the second event in our Community Speaker Series: “Creating a Stronger Flagstaff” featuring Edward Erfurt from the national organization Strong Towns. This event is free and open to everyone who wants to learn how we can work together to create a more livable and affordable Flagstaff. 

Mr. Erufurt is the Chief Technical Advisor at Strong Towns and a trained architect and urban designer. He will talk about community-focused city processes, zoning codes, and development patterns that result in more affordable housing, sustainable development patterns, walkability, and public transit that results in thriving neighborhoods and communities.

CCA & SOSTA partner exhibition ‘One Blood at the Precipice’ opens with reception on Nov. 14. Other upcoming exhibits

BECOME A MEMBER Exhibitions Concerts & Events Workshops One Blood at the Precipice Reception CCA & SOSTA present Frederica Hall: One Blood at the Precipice Reception Date/Time: Friday, November 14, 4-6pm; artist performance at 4:45pm Location: Sosta Restaurant, 413 N.…

Coconino County Comprehensive Plan Public Hearingson Nov. 18

OPEN HOUSE: Thursday, October 30, 2025, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., Thomas Auditorium, 2500 N. Fort Valley Rd., Flagstaff, AZ  86001

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS PUBLIC HEARING: November 18, 2025, 6:00 p.m., 219 E. Cherry Ave., Flagstaff, AZ  86001, and online.  The agenda and staff report will be posted prior to the hearing on https://www.coconino.az.gov/AgendaCenter.  

Public hearing set for Coconino County’s updated Comprehensive Plan on Nov. 18

Coconino County is pleased to announce that the public hearings for Envision 2045, the County’s updated Comprehensive Plan have been scheduled.

The updated Plan was developed over the past two and a half years with input from communities across the County, numerous outreach events, surveys, open houses, collaboration with local, State and Federal partners and with guidance by a citizen advisory group.  
The Comprehensive Plan is a long-range policy document that sets out a 20-year vision, based on public input that guides the county’s future physical, economic and social development. Its text, maps, goals, policies and implementation actions guide decisions about the County’s future, in particular land use decisions, and serves as a resource document reflecting information about the county at the time it was updated.

Friends of Flagstaff’s Future (F3) — Join Us at Out Rescheduled Our Annual Meeting on Nov. 23

After having to cancel and postpone the Annual Meeting in September due to lightening and rain, we’re happy to say we’ve rescheduled for November 23. We’ll hold the meeting inside at Trinity Heights United Methodist Church on N Fourth Street.

You’ll experience the great music of Bluebird Mountain with Sean Golightly, along with good company, good food (please bring something to share), and important updates from our Executive Director. In addition, we’ll also also be presenting F3’s Livable Community Award!

Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona (ECoNA) Holiday Mixer will be held Dec. 11

Join us Thursday, Dec. 11th to celebrate the season and the achievements of 2025 at our Holiday Mixer & Open House!

Enjoy coffee and delicious cinnamon rolls from the Kickstand Kafe, plus great conversation with fellow economic development stakeholders in our office in Historic Downtown Flagstaff.

We’d love to see you there! Please RSVP by Friday, Dec. 5th.

Coconino County Center for the Arts announces upcoming events Dec. 12

Friday, November 7, 7:30 pm

Each generation, perhaps once a decade, bluegrass experiences a band or an artist that redefines and recenters the genre itself. Della Mae is one such band.

The GRAMMY-nominated string band was founded in 2010 and over the next decade and a half they’ve demonstrated to the roots music world, once and for all, that a band of all women is not, nor has ever been, a mere novelty. They remain at the forefront of the explosion of women instrumentalists and all-women acts in roots music and their impact is striking and measurable – not just in North America, but around the globe.

Grand Canyon Film Fundraiser for F3 on Dec. 17

The Flagstaff premiere of Granite Rapids Moon will be held at Theatrikos in Flagstaff on Wednesday, December 17 at 7:00 pm. And it will be a fundraiser for F3!

This is the first narrative feature film ever to shoot the majority of its footage inside the Grand Canyon, Granite Rapids Moon was made with permission and oversight from the National Park Service, using only the equipment that cast and crew could carry on their backs through 82 miles of hiking.

Coconino Center for the Arts presenting SHIFTING TOPOGRAPHIES: Extracting the Landscape through Dec. 20

SHIFTING TOPOGRAPHIES: Extracting the Landscape features projects by Carol Hartman (Red Lodge, MT), Jeff Schmuki (Stateboro, GA), and Klee Benally in memoriam (Diné, Black Mesa, Navajo Nation; Flagstaff, AZ). In a rapidly changing climate, we are witness to and complicit in irreversible scarring of the land. There are eight National Parks and Monuments within a 2-hour drive of Flagstaff that face potential threats to their preservation, due to the proposed federal reopening of protected sacred lands to mining. This timely and relevant exhibition theme—extraction—takes on a markedly different approach depending on the geographical and cultural perspectives of the represented artists.

What a year! 2024 at Culture Connection AZ

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As we reflect on 2024, we are filled with gratitude for the incredible milestones Culture Connection AZ has reached this year. Thanks to your unwavering support, we’ve been able to connect our community, celebrate local culture, and amplify voices that have long been overlooked. Our events this year have brought together hundreds of attendees, and we are excited to share with you some of the highlights and successes from the past year.

United Way of Northern Arizona (UWNA) — Make A Difference This New Year’s Eve

As 2024 comes to a close, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your support of United Way of Northern Arizona (UWNA). Your generosity reminds us that one person can make a difference – and together, we can drive lasting change in our region.

This year, thanks to donors like you, we’ve celebrated major milestones: tuition-free education for KinderCamp™ graduates at Coconino Community College and Northern Arizona University, a significant boost in children enrolled in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, and efforts to expand Elevate PreK to serve more working families.

Your contributions have also supported nearly 40 other programs throughout northern Arizona, fueling hope and opportunity for thousands.

Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona (ECoNA) — Happy New Year!

Hello,

As we move into 2025 this week, the Board and investors of the Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona extend our warmest wishes for a Happy New Year.

Our region’s economy is ever-evolving, and we’re excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. Together, we will continue to strengthen key business sectors, address challenges facing our communities, and foster a thriving environment for both industries and individuals in northern Arizona.

Thank you for being part of this journey. We look forward to collaborating with you in the year ahead.

Wishing you a successful and fulfilling 2025.

Grand Canyon National Park Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Fee Increase for Non-Commercial River Trips

GRAND CANYON, AZ. — Grand Canyon National Park is seeking the public’s input on a proposed fee increase for non-commercial river trips. The proposed change would begin March 1, 2025.

The existing $25 lottery application cost fee would remain the same and the flat rate per-person cost would increase from $90 to $310 for Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek and $0 to $55 for Diamond Creek to Pearce Ferry.

Interested parties can submit feedback online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/GRCA_River_Trip_Cost_Increase through January 30, 2025. Written comments may also be sent to the following address by January 30, 2025:

Community turns out in force seeking answers regarding potential federal immigration sweeps

Organizers plan a follow-up forum in early 2025.

Editor’s note — The first in a series of articles on local immigration rights and information sharing efforts in Coconino County. We encourage community members to provide information on upcoming events, issues and programs by sending an email to fmoraga@amigosnaz.com

By AmigosNAZ.com

While local law enforcement officials stated they do not work for the incoming presidential administration’s immigration program, community members and local immigration officials called for more local law enforcement information on how to protect themselves from potential federal immigration sweeps.

In what promises to be the first of a number immigration information programs in reaction to the potential new federal immigration policies starting on Jan. 20, 2025, members of the Flagstaff community gathered at Killip Elementary School for the “Let’s Talk About the Current State of Immigration” forum on Dec. 3, 2024.

The event, presented by the Northern Arizona Interfaith Council (NAIC), drew more than 150 individuals to the school’s gymnasium, who listened to live presentations by Flagstaff Police Chief Sean Connolly, incoming Coconino County Sheriff Bret Axlund, Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett, staff from the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix, plus a virtual presentation from the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix.

Board of Supervisors Recognizes Retiring Employees at Final Meeting of 2024

COCONINO COUNTY — After conclusion of regular business at the final meeting of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors (Board), the Board took time to recognize, thank, and congratulate six outstanding public servants …

… who will be retiring at the end of 2024, and who spent much of their professional careers in Coconino County. 

Sheriff Jim Driscoll leaves Coconino County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) after 50 years, beginning as a Deputy on patrol in 1974, and serving as our Sheriff since 2017. The CCSO will now be led by Chief Deputy Bret Axlund, elected in November. 

Guest contribution — American Immigration Council — This Week in Immigration

Biden makes critical last-minute change to help combat USCIS backlogs. More options available. Immigrant farmworkers make our holiday meals possible

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President Biden has just over one month left in office. He can still take decisive action to protect people at risk of indiscriminate immigration enforcement.

Among other priorities, the Council encourages the administration to protect DACA recipients; extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status for certain countries; and rescind remaining Trump-era immigration regulations.

Read more: Urgent Last Requests for the Biden Administration

National League of Cities selects Flagstaff Councilmember Khara House for Centennial Under 40 Impact Award

FLAGSTAFF — City of Flagstaff Councilmember Khara House has been named among the inaugural recipients of the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Centennial Under 40 Impact Award. The award recognizes and celebrates the achievements of elected officials under the age of 40 from NLC member cities, towns and villages.

The winners were chosen from a competitive pool of nominees and are recognized for their outstanding contributions to public service, governance, and community development. These dynamic leaders are shaping the future of local governance, demonstrating excellence through impactful initiatives, and fostering positive change in their communities.

Applicants Sought for School District Governing Board Vacancies

COCONINO COUNTY — Coconino County Superintendent of Schools Cheryl Mango-Paget is seeking applicants for appointments to four School District governing board positions that will expire December 31, 2028.

The following Governing Boards are now accepting applications for one seat each: Grand Canyon Unified School District; Fredonia-Moccasin Unified School District; NATIVE (Tuba City); and Tuba City Unified School District.