The center's work is to train and empower leaders to meet the needs of rural Arizona.

As one of 16 selected participants, Conner will attend seminars on topics such as effective communication, natural resources and rural economics, fundamentals of government budgeting and more.

Conner, who lives in Vail, began her career in public service as a volunteer firefighter in a rural Oregon community. Most recently, she was appointed commissioner of the Pima County Fair. Her term begins in 2025 and lasts four years. Her mission is to bridge the digital divide in the South and rural Arizona.

University of Arizona: The University of Arizona is one of 209 colleges and universities listed on the Princeton Review’s Best Value Colleges list.

The Princeton Review selected schools for the 2024 list based on data from surveys of administrators at more than 650 colleges. The ranking uses more than 40 data points to determine return on investment in academics, cost/affordability, financial aid, career preparation, graduation rates and student debt.

UA received a score of 88 out of a possible 99. The Princeton Review does not rank the Best Value Colleges hierarchically in a single list.

The rankings also included data from Princeton Review student surveys and PayScale.com alumni surveys on starting salaries, mid-career salaries and job satisfaction.

Tucson International Airport: Tucson Airport Authority President and CEO Danette Bewley and Tucson International Airport were recognized with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Safety Award for the Western Pacific Region.

The award recognizes an airport's contribution to safety, improvements and the promotion of efficient operations.

Bewley was honored for her leadership in implementing TAA's Airfield Safety Enhancement Program, a press release said.

The program aims to improve the airfield geometry through the relocation and replacement of a parallel runway and infrastructure improvements that support commercial, general aviation and military operations.