Cronkite News Digest for Wednesday, Dec. 11

by Paola Boivin

Good afternoon! Here is your Cronkite News lineup for Wednesday, Dec. 11.

If not linked below, stories promised for today, along with photos and links to multimedia elements, will post to our client site at cronkitenews.jmc.asu.edu/clients.

THIS WEEK IN NEWS

‘We’re never going to go away’: How Kenneth Shirley danced Indigenous representation into the mainstream

NEW YORK – Kenneth Shirley took Phoenix-based Indigenous Enterprise from a dream to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The 29-year-old men’s fancy war dance grew up on the powwow trail and turned his passion for dance into a quest to bring Indigenous representations into the mainstream. “That makes me smile because now younger people can see that it’s possible to do that outside of powwows and stuff.” Shirley’s message to aspiring Indigenous entrepreneurs: “You guys can take your culture and do something global with it.”

Slug: Kenneth Shirley Profile. 4,160 words. By Marshall Baker.

11 photos available.

Indigenous Enterprise dancers bring colorful Native representation to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

NEW YORK – While many Americans see Thanksgiving as a joyous day to gather with family and feast on turkey, it’s more somber for descendents of people pushed off ancestral lands generations ago. This Thanksgiving brought a moment of rare visibility, thanks to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which featured a performance by Indigenous Enterprise, an award-winning dance company based in Phoenix.

Slug: Macy’s Parade Photo Story. 680 words. By Grace Monos.

13 photos available.

THIS WEEK IN SPORTS

Groundbreaking development: Mosaic Quarter set to transform Tucson sports scene with 2027 opening

TUCSON – Soon Tucsonans won’t have to make the trip to Phoenix to fulfill their ice skating and hockey needs. Tucson’s newest sports and recreational complex is under construction after the recent official groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 20, with Tucson mayor Regina Romero and the University of Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois in attendance. The Mosaic Quarter, a multi-million dollar project, promises three ice rinks and a field house for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and football in its first phase, which is expected to be completed by 2027. The facility will also have a commercial space that can accommodate up to four restaurants and a solar farm to help power the facility, according to the project’s executive summary.

Slug: Sports-Tucson Mosaic Quarter. 1,060 words. By Tom Forbes.

4 photos available.

THIS WEEK IN NEWS

Rural New Mexico, Arizona residents oppose Air Force training flight expansion over health risks

SILVER CITY, N.M. – Silver City, a small town in southwestern New Mexico, preserved its mining character and stands unbothered by modernity and commercialization. The town’s hilly streets introduce visitors to its quiet beauty. Everything whispers a story, such as the nearly 150-year-old Palace Hotel, with a mine entrance in its basement. North of the town’s many Victorian, Spanish Colonial and American Western-style homes – some more, some less elaborate – Silver City is a gateway to the mountainous region of a vast Gila National Forest, home to the world’s first designated wilderness area. But this harmony, quiet, solitude and even public health are now under threat. The Department of the Air Force wants to change how low, how fast, how often and at what time military aircraft can fly, what the planes can release and in what quantities.

Slug: Air Force Expansion. 1,350 words. By Nicollette Valenzuela.

Photos available.

Native American traditional healing practices now covered under Medicaid in 4 states, including Arizona

PHOENIX – Native Americans in Arizona and three other states could now see government health coverage for some traditional healing practices. On Oct. 16, the Biden administration announced it had expanded both Medicaid coverage and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon to cover traditional Native American healing practices through demonstration amendments to section 1115 of the Social Security Act.

Slug: Traditional Healing Medicaid. 1,095 words. By Brianna Chappie.

File photo available.

THIS WEEK IN SPORTS

4 real: ASU football secures coveted CFP bye, earns quarterfinal spot in Peach Bowl

ARLINGTON, Texas – An impressive late-season run, including a convincing victory over Iowa State in the Big 12 Conference championship game, helped Arizona State earned a No. 4 seed in the inaugural CFP 12-team playoff. That gives the Sun Devils a bye in opening week competition, and they will face the winner of Clemson-Texas in Atlanta’s Peach Bowl on Jan. 1.

Slug: Sports-ASU CFP Peach Bowl. 570 words. By Fletcher Anderson.

Photo available.

Buying in: How an ASU team picked to finish last in Big 12 put its confidence in its 34-year-old coach

ARLINGTON, Texas – At the beginning of the season, imagining Arizona State as the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff seemed unfathomable. Coach Kenny Dillingham was coming off his inaugural season with a 3-9 record that felt like it ended before it began with the university’s self-imposed bowl ban. The Sun Devils were starting over at multiple positions, including quarterback with freshman transfer Sam Leavitt. However, ASU never bought into the outside noise. It inspired the team even more to defy the odds and make a potential playoff run after defeating Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship. Instead, they bought into their young coach and his underdog mentality.

Slug: Sports-ASU Undergo Mentality. 700 words. By Patrick Holleron.

Photo available.