Valley 101

Latest Episodes:

How an elaborate student prank over land fooled UA Wildcats Apr 01, 2024

Show notes

April Fools' Day embodies the spirit of pranks, so in honor of the holiday, Valley 101 explored how a prank orchestrated by Arizona State University students went viral in 2015.

Four ASU students spearheaded the effort to prank the University of Arizona during the football season. It was the fall of 2015, and the Territorial Cup – the rivalry game between the two colleges – was approaching. Ben Kaufman, a senior at the time, was leading the charge and wanted to do something more creative than the usual rival banter. The students decided to take a page out of history and fool Wildcats over a land purchase.

This week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, revisits the prank between the two rival colleges that went viral and how its elaborate scheme fooled students.

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Meet Sedona Schnebly, namesake of Arizona's red rock city Mar 25, 2024

Show notes

Sedona Miller was a well-to-do woman from Gorin, Missouri. She married Theodore Carlton Schnebly, or T.C. as he was commonly called, on Feb. 20, 1897. They moved to what would later be named Sedona in 1899. At the time there were only a few families homesteading in the red rocks region.

The story goes that T.C., who was the first postmaster of the area, applied to have it named either Oak Creek Crossing or Schnebly Station. But the names were rejected by the postmaster generalfor being too long.

The brother of T.C., Dorsey Ellsworth, suggested the community be named Sedona, after the beloved woman who made an impression on the surrounding families. She was an active member in the area, fulfilling multiple roles despite the family's hardships.

This week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, explores the traits Sedona possessed and why her family was in and out of Arizona – and the magnetic pull they had to return to the scenic region.

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Meet the 'mother of bilingual education,' Maria Urquides Mar 18, 2024

Show notes

When she started teaching in the late 1920s, teachers were only allowed to educate in English, even though her students were predominately Spanish-speaking.

This was enforced so heavily that students and teachers would be reprimanded for speaking in their native language. Students were expected to learn English on their own time and teachers were expected to encourage Anglo culture in the classroom.

Maria Luisa Legarra Urquides of Tucson decided to change that.

As the first person in her family to get a college degree, Maria Urquides valued education above most things. Early in her career in the Tucson Unified School District, she noticed her students were not only losing the ability to speak their native language, but they were losing their connection with their culture.

She defied the laws at the time to bridge the gap with her students at the segregated Davis Elementary School, where she taught for the first 20 years of her career. In 1948, she was switched to the mainly Anglo Sam Hughes Elementary School, where Urquides saw the difference in education within the same city.

And in 1955, she was tapped for a new adventure at Pueblo High School by then-Principal Albert Brooks. Urquides, along with a select few others, were to start an innovative bilingual education system because of their passion for cultural and linguistic pride amongst Mexican-American students.

This week on Arizona HERstory, a Women's History Month series by the Arizona Republic podcast Valley 101, we explore the life and impact of Maria Urquides. From a small girl selling tortillas in the barrio in Tucson to sitting on committees for multiple U.S. presidents, Urquides is seen as the "mother of bilingual education."

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Meet Arizona's grandmother of women's sports, Ina Gittings Mar 11, 2024

Show notes

Interest in women’s sports, particularly at the college level, is skyrocketing. According to Nielsen, which collects audience numbers across different media, the 2023 NCAA women's final drew nearly 10 million viewers – up 103% from the previous year.

But this is a recent development. The story of women's sports is long and hard-fought. And one of its champions is a woman who took no guff from anyone.

In this second episode of Arizona HERstory, Season 2, Valley 101 explores the life of Ina Gittings − the "grandmother" of women's collegiate sports in Arizona.

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Arizona HERstory's Annie Watkins, a Flagstaff woman who helped African Americans vote Mar 04, 2024

Show notes

This year's annual HERstory series kicks off with Annie Watkins, an impactful historical figure for Flagstaff's African American community who shaped local politics and education. She also helped found the Flagstaff chapter of the NAACP and helped integrate local institutions in the 1950s.

This week's episode of Valley101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, shines a light on Annie Watkins and the role she played in Flagstaff politics and education — and how influential women like herself have been outcast in Arizona's history.

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How Black activist, Lincoln Ragsdale Sr., revolutionized Phoenix Feb 26, 2024

Show notes

Like much of the country, Arizona had revolutionary Black activists fighting for their community during the 1950s and 1960s.

It may seem like a small scale compared to more famous names like Martin Luther King Jr or Malcolm X. But like how voting in a local election impacts your day to day more than voting for President, the civil rights leaders of Phoenix and its surrounding cities changed the way Arizona is shaped today.

One such revolutionary, Dr. Lincoln Ragsdale Sr., was on the forefront of desegregation in the city, but his time fighting for racial freedoms went far beyond schools.

This week on Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com about metro Phoenix and beyond, we share the legacy of Dr. Lincoln Ragsdale Sr.

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The legend of Winnie Ruth Judd, Phoenix's 'Trunk Murderess' Feb 19, 2024

Show notes

Buried in Arizona's time capsule lies a story that continues to be dug up over time: the tale of the infamous "Trunk Murderess," or Winnie Ruth Judd, a woman accused of double murder who escaped a state hospital several times and told different accounts of the story through the years.

There's been speculation over the years about whether Judd committed these violent acts by herself and the motive that prompted her to kill her friends. Did she kill them due to a scandalous affair gone wrong? Was the murder out of self defense and facilitated by a lover? Different accounts over time, some from Judd herself, show Arizonans that the full story of that night is clearly unknown — and it may stay that way.

This week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com about metro Phoenix and beyond, dives back into the case of the "Trunk Murderess" and the plot holes that have haunted Arizona for decades.

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Why would Pluto become Arizona's official state planet? Feb 12, 2024

Show notes

*Since this episode originally aired, the bill to make Pluto the official state planet of Arizona was passed into law.*

Science was forever changed, thanks to an observatory in Flagstaff named after Percival Lowell, one of the first minds to explore the potential of water on Mars and theorize about undiscovered planets.

In 1930, the Lowell Observatory announced the discovery of a ninth planet at the end of the solar system: Pluto.

Now, almost 100 years later, a state representative is proposing to make Pluto the official state planet.

This week on Valley 101, a podcast about metro Phoenix and beyond, we dive into the history of Pluto, the scientific breakthrough in its findings and why an elected official wants it to represent Arizona.

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How to eat cactus Feb 05, 2024

Show notes

While the cactus makes a beautiful natural ornament in the Valley, the wild plant also provides nutritional benefits from its fruits and spiny pads.

Some of the cactuses, including the prickly pear and the Saguaro, bear fruit that can be eaten in a variety of ways.

Cactus is slowly seeping its way into food culture in Arizona, hidden in dishes across local restaurants and sold in grocery stores. Arizonans can also look one step closer for edible cactus: in their backyards. While removing a Saguaro cactus entirely requires a separate procedure, it is legal to pick the fruit off of the cactus on private property with permission.

This week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, goes on an adventure with a local forager and discusses how to collect cactus, how to eat it and other tips to help Valley residents start their wild journey into the edible desert.

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El Jefe isn't the only famous Arizona cat. We explore 'celebri-kitties' Jan 29, 2024

Show notes

Did you know that cats can make nearly 300 facial expressions? Who is closer related to humans: dogs or cats? In this episode, Kaely Monahan sits down with fellow producer Amanda Luberto to discuss some surprising cat facts and where to meet Arizona's local "celebri-kitties." And don't worry if you're allergic – this episode comes cat hair free!

Be sure to check out the webpage for this episode to see pictures of all the cats mentioned in this episode. Find us on azcentral.com.

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