About
Heidi Hommel is a reporter for KTAR News in Phoenix. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in communication with a focus on documentary film studies from Northern Arizona University. Heidi’s career includes roles as a reporter for the Arizona Daily Sun, a multimedia journalist for NAZ Today, and a national producer for NBC News Radio. Before joining KTAR, she also worked as a real estate videographer.
Heidi covers stories on politics, the economy, energy, and the environment. In her free time, she enjoys yoga and paddle boarding.
Expertise
- Congress and Arizona Legislature
- Environment and energy
- Semiconductor industry
Experience
- KTAR News: Weekend anchor, evening anchor, and field reporter
- Real estate videographer
- National producer and copywriter, NBC News Radio
- Multimedia journalist, NAZ Today
- Reporter, Arizona Daily Sun
Education
- Bachelor’s in Journalism, Northern Arizona University (2017)
- Master’s in Communication, emphasis in Documentary Film Studies, Northern Arizona University (2019)
Certifications
- FAA Remote Pilot’s License
Social Media Profiles
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Oct 7, 2026Scottsdale considers new restrictions for large water users as demand rises
The proposal includes penalties for large water users who violate their conservation plans. The City Council is waiting for final language before voting on it.
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ARIZONA ELECTION NEWS | Oct 1, 2026What’s on your ballot: Arizona’s Prop 317 looks to designate drug cartels as terrorist groups
Supporters say it would make the state safer, but opponents question whether it would have any practical purpose.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Sep 30, 2026Amazon launches collaborative initiative to fund Colorado River Basin water projects
The company is also investing $2.4 million in an Arizona irrigation efficiency project for tribal farmland.
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ARIZONA ELECTION NEWS | Sep 24, 2026What’s on your ballot? Prop 144 has multiple provisions about elections in Arizona
Supporters say it would improve election integrity, but opponents say it's a Trojan horse that could lead to the end of mail voting.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Sep 23, 2026With Colorado River cuts looming, Peoria commits $104 million to bolster water supply
The West Valley suburb is buying roughly 176,000 acre-feet of long-term storage credits from the Vidler Water Company.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Sep 16, 2026Upper Verde River on verge of earning state’s highest water quality protection level
The Governor’s Regulatory Review Council approved the Outstanding Arizona Waters designation for the waterway after the Sierra Club nominated it.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Sep 9, 2026Woman running 2,000 miles in 100 days to sound alarm about Colorado River water crisis
Along the way, Mina Guli has been meeting people in communities whose economies rely on the river and listening to their stories.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Sep 2, 2026Residents push for special election to designate Arizona’s McMullen Valley as AMA
A local PAC in the rural community is gathering signatures in an effort to designate the basin as an Active Management Area that can regulate groundwater pumping when the supply is scarce.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Aug 26, 2026Upper Basin on verge of first-ever Colorado River Compact breach, CAP president warns
CAP President Terry Goddard says the Upper Basin is failing to deliver enough water to Arizona and the Lower Basin, and a lawsuit may be on the table.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Aug 19, 2026After recent water utility hacks, how secure is Arizona?
A swath of cyberattacks on U.S. water infrastructure in recent weeks raises the question: Could something like that happen here in Arizona?
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Aug 12, 2026Arizona’s tribal, rural communities will bear the brunt as Colorado River plan fails to stabilize
Water policy expert expects legal challenges and warns Yuma's winter vegetables are at risk as tribal and rural communities face the deepest impacts.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Aug 5, 2026As the Grand Canyon’s river is drying up a $50 million industry is going with it
Record drought and fewer dam releases have cut Colorado River flows through the Grand Canyon, threatening wildlife and a $50 million boating industry.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Jul 29, 2026Lake Powell could lose the ability to generate power by early 2027
Glen Canyon Dam could stop generating power for 5 million people by spring. The reservoir is receiving just 2% of its average monthly inflow.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Jul 22, 2026ASU professor wins United Nations award for using NASA satellites to map groundwater
Jay Famiglietti will be presented with a Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water at the U.N. office in Vienna later this year.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Jul 15, 2026Arizona university researchers study how to increase shrinking groundwater supplies
The Arizona Tri-University Recharge Project used satellite-based methods to find where the most water is being lost.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Jul 8, 2026How did last year’s Dragon Bravo Fire impact Grand Canyon water supply?
NAU researchers are studying how the Dragon Bravo Fire burn scar on the North Rim is changing the quality of the Grand Canyon drinking water supply.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Jul 1, 2026Amid other struggles, Arizona farmers brace for more Colorado River water cuts
Arizona farmers have been dealing with Colorado River water cuts for years and are bracing for more.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Jun 24, 2026Scottsdale braces for Colorado River water cuts by looking for new sources
The city of Scottsdale is looking to acquire new water sources as it braces for Colorado River water cuts.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Jun 17, 2026Arizona agencies take step to buying desalinated ocean water from California
Arizona agencies have taken a key step that could eventually allow the state to buy desalinated ocean water from Southern California.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Jun 10, 2026Arizona gets $20 million EPA grant to address PFAS, other contaminants in drinking water
Arizona recently received a $20 million grant from the EPA to address PFAS and other contaminants in drinking water.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | Jun 3, 2026How Phoenix leads by example when it comes to water conservation
The city of Phoenix is modeling the behavior it would like to see from its residents when it comes to water conservation.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | May 27, 2026Arizona judge sides with homebuilders in dispute over state groundwater supply requirements
Arizona homebuilders recently scored a legal win in their lawsuit over state groundwater requirements, paving the way for new development.
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ARIZONA WATER WATCH NEWS | May 20, 2026Arizona, lower basin states unveil Colorado River plan to save Lake Mead
Arizona, California and Nevada have struck a Colorado River deal to conserve 3.2 million acre-feet over two years and slow Lake Mead's decline.
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ARIZONA NEWS | May 14, 2026While overdose deaths fell nationally in 2025, Arizona’s deadly drug cases surged by 17%
CDC data shows Arizona overdose deaths rose 17% as U.S. deaths fell. Naloxone use surged as meth, fentanyl and adulterated drugs drove risk.