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Governor Katie Hobbs Tours Yuma Proving Ground, a First for a Sitting Governor in Two Decades

YUMA — For the first time in about two decades, a sitting Arizona Governor has visited Yuma Proving Ground, Army officials say.

On Wednesday, Governor Katie Hobbs receieved a briefing from Colonel John Nelson, YPG Commander, before an overflight of the post’s ranges, witnessing the testing of an Abrams tank, and visiting the Military Freefall School’s wind tunnel.

“All of the military installations we have in our state are so critical to the economy, and I want to make sure as governor that the state is being a good partner,” Hobbs told officials at YPG. “Every time I visit a military installation, it reinforces how critical Arizona is to our national defense and security.”

YPG senior leaders, including Lt. Col. Kevin Hicks, Yuma Test Center Commander, were present, as was city of Yuma Mayour Doug Nicholls.

Chris McDaniel is a Yuma native and fourth generation graduate of Yuma High School. He began his print journalism career at the Yuma Sun as a reporter in 2009. He later worked in the Pacific Northwest as an editor for Peninsula Daily News, as arts editor for The Port Townsend and Jefferson County Leader, and as publisher for a small weekly newspaper in the badlands of Montana. He is a graduate of Peninsula College, where he earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Management degree. He has served as host for KAWC's Morning Edition and All Things Considered and spends much of his time gathering reports from the field in Yuma and La Paz Counties.