by Jonathan Eberle | Sep 22, 2025 | Economy, News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Arizona workers in Yuma and Lake Havasu City-Kingman have seen some of the strongest wage growth in the nation over the past five years, according to a new analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The study, conducted by AlgoCademy, reviewed mean hourly wage changes across 395 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas between 2019 and 2024. It found that two Arizona metros ranked in the national top 50 for wage growth.
Yuma placed 11th nationwide, with mean hourly wages climbing from $19.54 in 2019 to $25.74 in 2024—a 31.73% increase. Lake Havasu City-Kingman followed at 26th, where average wages rose from $19.90 to $25.89, a 30.10% increase.
Nationwide, the strongest growth occurred in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, where wages jumped 44.29% to an average of $58.25 per hour, reflecting the tech hub’s continued economic strength. Other metros in the top five included Sebring, Florida (up 38.74%), Decatur, Illinois (37.89%), Boulder, Colorado (37.84%), and Bellingham, Washington (37.10%).
AlgoCademy’s founder and CEO, Mircea Dima, noted that the findings highlight a broad trend: wage growth is not confined to large urban centers. “Smaller and mid-sized areas like Grants Pass, Oregon, Modesto, California, and Logan, Utah are all seeing wage increases above 34%, showing that opportunities for higher earnings are spreading beyond major U.S. cities,” Dima said. “These trends are a clear sign that workers across the country are benefitting, which can have a positive effect on local communities, from boosting spending power to attracting new talent and investment.”
The research underscores that wage gains have been widespread. While high-growth areas like Silicon Valley continue to dominate in raw numbers, smaller regions—including several in Arizona—are seeing wages rise at a pace that outstrips many larger metropolitan areas. Arizona’s results put the state in strong company, showing that even outside its largest metros, wages have grown substantially since 2019.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 19, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
A quiet battle has been raging over the groundwater of the Hualapai Basin between Arizona State Representative John Gillette (R-LD30) and Mohave County Board of Supervisors Chairman Travis Lingenfelter.
Gillette has alleged that Lingenfelter enjoys the support of Governor Katie Hobbs, and High Ground, LLC., a firm “closely tied to the Walton Family Foundation and Environmental Defense Fund.”
In an email to AZ Free News, Rep. Gillette stated that Lingenfelter “has ‘cozied up’ with Governor Hobbs and High Ground, LLC., not by joining their party, but by aligning on a policy platform that places rural water in the hands of the Governor. He has advocated for several of the leftists’ water bills that trample the rights of property owners.”
The controversy appears to have arisen around the Final Assessment of the Hualapai Basin Water Data Integrity issued by Gillette to fellow legislators and third-party reviewers, which was allegedly made public by Lingenfelter in a May 8, 2025, formal rebuttal.
In his final assessment, Gillette wrote, “After continued research, legislative engagement, and review of both historical and current data, my original 2021 assessment of the Hualapai Basin water situation remains valid. The data presented by the City of Kingman and Mohave County remains suspect, with indications of overstatement used to drive political narratives and policy agendas.”
In the assessment, which Rep. Gillette asserted was reviewed by “three independent scientific and policy bodies prior to publication,” he found:
- The Hualapai Basin has enough groundwater storage to supply the region for 100–300+ years, even under heavy usage.
- Forecast models were based on worst-case pumping assumptions and should not be used to justify alarmist policy actions.
- Recharge estimates, storage volumes, and historical withdrawal rates all point to significant long-term water availability.
- The City of Kingman and Mohave County appear to have overstated risks—possibly to justify control over water rights or block agricultural competitors.
In the formal rebuttal dated May 8th, Lingenfelter addressed Gillette and claimed, “Your letter unfortunately contains a series of flawed assumptions, technical inaccuracies, and mischaracterizations that misinform rather than advance the public dialogue around long-term rural groundwater sustainability in Mohave County.”
He added, “Your letter asserts that data presented by Mohave County and the City of Kingman remains ‘suspect’ and ‘politically compromised.’ Such a characterization is categorically false and impugns the reputations of Mohave County, City of Kingman, and credentialed hydrologists at the ADWR and USGS and the public they serve.”
Responding to Lingenfelter’s rebuke in a formal response on May 16th, Gillette wrote, “While I welcome constructive dialogue, your letter reflects a degree of emotional overreach rather than a calm, scientific response to the concerns raised. Unfortunately, it reveals more about political defensiveness than about data transparency or hydrological best practice.”
Responding to critiques of the assessment’s findings Gillette wrote, “The assessment I authored was reviewed by three independent scientific and policy bodies prior to publication. All concluded that the findings were as accurate as possible given available data. I welcome peer review. What I reject is politically motivated resistance to scrutiny. As further evidence of bias, it should be noted that the ‘comparison document’ you reference—submitted by your team only days after my final assessment—contains several confirmations of my position.”
Rep. Gillette pushed back on Lingenfelter’s assertions based on the MODFLOW-NWT model from the U.S. Geological Survey and its 75,586 adjustable parameters writing, “As any trained analyst knows, such complexity magnifies sensitivity. Even small changes in assumptions—especially politically influenced assumptions—can result in dramatic shifts in outcome. Your confidence in the model would carry more weight if you supported my proposal to recalibrate baseline figures using 15 new field test sites with controlled, non manipulated measurement inputs. This is the kind of ground-truth methodology science demands. Strangely, your rebuttal ignores this recommendation entirely.”
He further strongly criticized the veto of a bill to cap irrigation on an irrigation non-expansion area (INA) by Governor Katie Hobbs, saying the veto “executed without explanation—is further evidence that political goals are outweighing scientific governance.”
AZ Free News reached out to Supervisor Lingenfelter for a comment and received the following reply:
Thank you for reaching out. I am not aware of any dispute or controversy between the Mohave County District 1 Office and Representative Gillette’s Office as you phrase it. As Mohave County Supervisor for District 1, I have served as Mohave County’s lead on water issues for the past five years, and was actively involved in our local water policy advocacy during my prior four years on the Kingman City Council.
My responsibility is to represent the shared, official position of both Mohave County and the City of Kingman, guided by the most accurate and credible data and hydrological modeling available, based on a multi-year, science-based partnership between Mohave County, the City of Kingman, and the United States Geological Survey (USGS)—an independent agency with a long-standing reputation for being the gold standard of scientific water modeling.
The ‘Final Assessment of the Hualapai Basin Water Data Integrity’ issued by Rep. Gillette is his office’s interpretation. The County and City remain firmly grounded and unified in the professional peer-reviewed science and long-term hydrological data and modeling that have guided our efforts to protect rural groundwater and ensure sustainable water use for future generations.
As always, Mohave County, City of Kingman, and USGS look forward to jointly collaborating with all legislators on our water issues on behalf of our rural communities.”
Based upon his team’s findings, Rep. Gillette has announced his intention to pursue “a stand-alone Hualapai Basin bill—developed outside of executive influence—that reflects the data as it exists, not as it is manipulated.”
Editor’s Note: Following the filing of this report, AZ Free News was contacted by Nick Ponder, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs of HighGround Public Affairs. Mr. Ponder provided the ’Analysis of Water Constraints and Economic Growth,’ a report prepared for Mohave County by Rounds Consulting Group, and the formal rebuttal issued on May 8th by Chairman Lingenfelter to Rep. Gillette with the note: “The County, City, and USGS have been very transparent in the processes and data used in determining the water situation in the Hualapai Valley Basin. The letter and the attached analysis should reflect that robust and transparent process.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jan 7, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The man confirmed to be the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck, which exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on Wednesday, was revealed to have been born in Arizona. U.S. Army Green Beret, Master Sergeant Matthew Livelsberger, traveled through the state en route from his home in Colorado Springs to Las Vegas in a Las Vegas Metro Police Department press briefing.
During the 24-minute press conference on Thursday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) Sheriff Kevin McMahill shared that the identity of the man in the truck has not been confirmed, but authorities are highly confident in the identification of Livelsberger. They remain confident based on military identification, a passport, and credit cards recovered from the vehicle, as well as human remains with partially visible tattoos. Arizona was confirmed as the subject’s birthplace by his passport.
In a post to X, the LVMPD summarized the briefing writing, “Yesterday, January 1, 2025, at approximately a.m., LVMPD responded to a vehicle explosion involving a Tesla Cyber Truck at a hotel property on Fashion Show Drive. One person was found deceased in the vehicle, and seven others sustained minor injuries.
Key updates from the investigation:
- The deceased is believed to be Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old active-duty U.S. Army Green Beret. 100% DNA confirmation is pending.
- Detectives tracked Livelsberger’s movements across multiple states leading to Las Vegas.
- Livelsberger died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before the explosion occurred.
- Evidence recovered from the vehicle includes firearms, fireworks, gas canisters, and other items.
This is a joint investigation with federal partners, and detectives are working diligently to uncover the motive and any further details.”
WATCH:
The LVMPD later posted to X confirming the man’s identity as Livelsberger per the Clark County Coroner.
Police have determined that the subject in the vehicle died prior to the explosion from a self-inflicted “intraoral gun shot wound” likely inflicted by the .50 caliber Desert Eagle handgun recovered from the vehicle along with an SLR model B30 semi-automatic rifle. The Cybertruck could be seen on video pulling up to the hotel’s valet and exploding 17 seconds later. Seven bystanders were injured.
Summarizing the state of the investigation into the bombing, McMahill shared with reporters that not only was Livelsberger born in Arizona, but he also traveled through the northern portion of the state, determined by tracking the Cybertruck through charging stations in cities including Holbrook, Flagstaff, and Kingman in the hours leading up to the explosion on the Vegas strip.
McMahill explained that the rear of the Cybertruck contained, “gasoline canisters, camp fuel canisters and large firework mortars.”
Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge with the Las Vegas Field Office, told reporters, “We believe this is an isolated incident. We do not believe that there is a bunch of folks out there supporting this or helping this and we don’t believe that there’s any other danger to the community right now,” according to ABC15.
Livelsberger’s Uncle, Dean Livelsberger, told The Independent that he was baffled by reports that his nephew was involved in the explosion. He told the outlet, “He used to have all patriotic stuff on Facebook, he was 100 percent loving the country.” He continued, “He loved Trump, and he was always a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American. It’s one of the reasons he was in Special Forces for so many years. It wasn’t just one tour of duty.”
Dean, himself an Air Force veteran, also expressed confusion at the lack of sophistication in the explosives used. “Matt was a very skilled warrior, and he would be able to make — if it was him, and if he did this — he would’ve been able to make a more sophisticated explosive than using propane tanks and camping fuel. He was what you might call a ‘supersoldier.’ If you ever read about the things he was awarded, and the experience he had, some of it doesn’t make sense, when he had the skills and ability to make something more, let’s say, ‘efficient.’ His skills were enormous from what he had been taught in the military.”
He suggested that, given his nephew’s skill set, he “could have fashioned a bomb that would have obliterated half of that hotel if he seriously wanted to hurt others.”
“Think of Oklahoma City,” he added. “McVeigh was just a normal soldier. Not a Tier 1 operator like Matt.”
Sheriff Livelsberger also averred from calling the explosion a “suicide mission,” and instead described it as “a suicide with a bombing that occurred immediately thereafter.”
Kenny Cooper, assistant special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms’ San Francisco Division noted similarly, “The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Dec 24, 2022 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Arizona taxpayers are tired. It’s bad enough that our state has been getting crushed by the highest inflation rate in the country, but during this past November’s election, the government tried to swoop in and take more of your hard-earned dollars out of your wallet. This time, Arizona voters said enough is enough. Not only did they reject several tax increases, but they ensured victory for one key protection against future tax increases.
Arizonans Reject Prop 310
Prop 310 aimed to increase the statewide sales tax by 0.1% to fund fire districts throughout Arizona, and its proponents used the oldest trick in the book. Just like we’ve seen with past education or transportation tax increases, they tried to convince voters that Prop 310 would only cost them a penny when they buy coffee or a dime when they buy dinner.
But Arizona voters saw through it…
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