Megan Marples is a multimedia journalist who will graduate in December 2020 with a master’s degree in mass communication. Marples specializes in travel journalism and works as a photographer and videographer for Cronkite News. She has interned at CNN, the Arizona Republic, Phoenix New Times and Times Media Group.
PHOENIX – Phoenicians can travel to Italy this winter with a trip to “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition” at the Croft Downtown in Phoenix’s warehouse district. Life-size prints of the famous frescoes adorn the walls and ceilings so visitors can get a closer look.
PIÑON – Even in the best of times, Native American K-12 students have faced an uphill battle to getting a high school diploma. Now COVID has brought new challenges, but one district is doing everything it can to help its students persevere.
PHOENIX – The coronavirus pandemic has upended children’s lives and, for some, harmed their mental health. Researchers and social workers say that Latino children are especially vulnerable to suffering poor mental health during COVID, and the ramifications could be long-lasting.
PHOENIX – People went to medicine men in Indian Country for help, exposing them to the virus and tensions between modern medicine and traditional ways.
PHOENIX – Arizona draws national attention, Trump supports protest the election process and “Sharpie-gate” rumors add to unfounded tensions as the vote count continues in Arizona. Some media outlets have called the state for Joe Biden, but election officials caution that some 200,000 ballots still need to be counted in Maricopa County alone.
PEORIA – Mike Pence campaigned Thursday at TYR Tactical in Peoria, which makes protective vests for military and police, drawing stark contrasts between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
PHOENIX – Across the U.S., the number of COVID-19 cases in young people has passed 500,000. More than 26,000 cases are in Arizona, and experts say that’s partly because of the state’s large population of youth of color who are more vulnerable to the virus.
TEMPE – ASU researchers are trying to create a rapid saliva-based coronavirus test that can detect the virus in 10 minutes or less.
PHOENIX – Jill Guernsey de Zapien She helped start a program in southeastern Arizona to bring better care to rural residents, particularly farmworkers.
PHOENIX – Two Democratic legislators want Sen. Martha McSally to oppose the planned rollback of fuel economy standards by the Trump administration. These standards reduce the amount of air pollution given off by vehicles by forcing manufacturers to make cars with better fuel efficiency.
WILLCOX – Access to health care is a big challenge in rural and agricultural areas, and some 53 percent of farmworkers in the U.S. have no health insurance. One program in Arizona is trying to fix that by teaching residents in a community filled with farmworkers to take better care of themselves.
MESA – The sustainable benefits of the reuse and restoration of building supplies is made possible through companies like Stardust Building Supplies, Harvest Eco-Salvage and the Freecycle Network.
