Arizona Edition

Yuma voter concerns, Election Day in San Luis and Somerton robotics

By Victor Calderón,

Chloe Michael, Carmen Márquez, Sisko J. Stargazer

Published November 7, 2026 at 11:00 AM MST

Ways To Subscribe

On this week's Arizona Edition, we hear from Yuma County voters about the issues that brought them to the polls in the 2026 midterm election, including affordability, education, immigration and the economy.

KAWC student reporter Chloe Michael also speaks with voters at Arizona Western College about their concerns and motivations for voting.

Meanwhile, civic engagement reporter Carmen Márquez takes us to San Luis, where voters weighed in on the issues facing their community and the city's mayoral election.

And finally, we revisit Sen. Mark Kelly's February visit to Tierra del Sol Elementary School in Somerton, where he met with students from the school's robotics team. KAWC education solutions reporter Sisko Stargazer explores how a federally funded after-school program is creating opportunities for students to learn, collaborate and pursue their interests.

—

Reporting for this episode is supported by funding from the Arizona Local News Foundation, the Local News Initiative of Southern Arizona, a fund of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, the Scripps Howard Fund, and generous individual local support.

Tags

Victor Calderón

Victor is originally from West Sacramento, California and has lived in Arizona since 2012. He began his print journalism career in 2004 following his graduation from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Victor has been a reporter for the following daily newspapers: The Monterey County Herald, The Salinas Californian and the Reno Gazette-Journal, where he covered stories including agriculture, education and Latino community news. Victor has also served as a local editor for Patch, a national news organization with hyperlocal websites, in Carmichael, Calif. in the Sacramento area. He also served as the editor for The New Vision, the newspaper for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, which includes Yuma and La Paz counties. Victor lives in Yuma. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends and following most sports.

See stories by Victor Calderón

Chloe Michael

See stories by Chloe Michael

Carmen Márquez

Carmen Márquez is a Mexican-American journalist born and raised in Yuma. For almost a decade she worked in national TV and radio focusing on undocumented communities in the United States. She has produced documentary episodes for LWC Studios about Latina health (100 Latina Birthdays podcast.), worked with UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute and produced for various outlets including Latinus and Channel 4 News London. She has also co-hosted What's Up Yuma? Radio on KOFA Border Radio.

See stories by Carmen Márquez

Sisko J. Stargazer

Sisko J. Stargazer is an award-winning education solutions reporter for KAWC in sunny Yuma, Arizona, where they also help with the KAWC Student Newsroom. Their 2025 coverage of Arizona school facilities funding earned a first-place Digital Writing award from the Public Media Journalists Association, and their reporting has been featured on NPR’s national newscast.

See stories by Sisko J. Stargazer