Justin Spangenthal
Justin Spangenthal juh-stin spain-gen-thawl (he/him)
Visual Journalist, Phoenix

Justin Spangenthal expects to graduate in December 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in film and media production. Spangenthal has interned as a multimedia specialist with PHXTV and reported for The State Press.

Latest from Justin Spangenthal

Building the future: Trade occupations encouraged as demand for skilled labor grows

PHOENIX – Trade labor jobs are in high demand across the U.S., with many companies desperate for skilled laborers. TradeUp! and West-MEC are handing middle and high school students hard hats and teaching them such crucial skills as electricians, welders and mechanics.

Electrical trade students at West-MEC in Buckey practice wiring light switches in class on Sept. 16, 2022. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News)

High school students learn about artificial intelligence and related career paths

TEMPE – DriveTime, an online used-car dealership and finance company based in Tempe, partnered with the Mark Cuban Foundation to host an AI boot camp for high school students in the Phoenix metro.

Alec Evans, assistant director of data science for DriveTime, guides Miguel Fernandez, 16, left and Zyron Hilsee, 16, as they work to create a chatbot through Microsoft Azure during the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Boot Camp at the DriveTime corporate office in Tempe. Photo taken Oct. 22, 2022. (Photo by Justin Spangenthal/Cronkite News)

U.S. Senate: Kelly takes lead on Masters amid voting hours dispute

WASHINGTON – Incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly was leading his Republican challenger, Blake Masters, with a narrow lead in unofficial election results.

Left: Sen. Mark Kelly speaks in front of volunteers gathered at his Tucson field office on Election Day to thank them for helping his campaign for reelection to the U.S. Senate. Right: Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters at an Oct. 6 debate for the 2022 Senate election. (Photos by Justin Spangenthal and Alexia Faith/Cronkite News)

See updates from Arizona voters and polling locations on Election Day

PHOENIX – Voters across Arizona headed to the polls to make their voices heard this midterm election. Their votes on candidate races and propositions will determine the future of Arizona. This year, tensions are high as Arizonans decide on a new governor as well as a U.S. senator, among other races.


Voters with disabilities have many ways to cast ballots in Maricopa County

PHOENIX – An estimated 38 million eligible voters in the U.S. have a disability, but they tend to have a lower turnout rate than voters without disabilities. A Phoenix nonprofit works with disabled residents on what to expect on Election Day.


Amid high inflation, St. Mary’s Food Bank serves a record number of people in need

PHOENIX – A record-breaking 50,000 families visited the Phoenix and Surprise locations of St. Mary’s Food Bank just in August. With the cost of living on the rise, Arizonans in need are turning to the food bank to help make ends meet.


As Arizona recovers from pandemic, Black entrepreneurs still face challenges

PHOENIX – The 2022 State of Black Business report revealed that although Black business owners still have the lowest entrepreneurship rate nationally, they contribute significantly to Arizona’s economy. But entrepreneurs like Fernanda Sayles, owner of FernDiggidy Sweets & Treats, have prevailed despite hardships.


Opponents of expanded vouchers concede petition may have fallen short

WASHINGTON - The apparently successful petition drive that blocked an expansion of Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Accounts may not have been so successful after all, with opponents of the law conceding they "definitely got the numbers wrong."


Opponents file petitions to halt voucher expansion; now the fight begins

WASHINGTON - Opponents of the state's expanded Empowerment Scholarship Accounts filed more than 140,000 petition signatures Friday to temporarily halt the program that would have allowed any student in the state to use public dollars for private education.


Opponents confident of meeting deadline to block school voucher expansion

PHOENIX - Organizers of a petition drive to put the state's expanded empowerment scholarship accounts on the 2024 ballot are confident they can collect the needed signatures before this weekend, when the vast expansion of the school voucher program would take effect.