Cooking barbecue makes William Mack happy. But it’s more than that for the owner of Mack-A-Docious BBQ in Lake Havasu.

“It’s me doing my best to give you a taste of my family, my home and knowing who we are. That’s what it is to me.”

Gov. Katie Hobbs and more than 300 rural and tribal leaders came together at the Arizona Rural Policy Forum organized by Local First Arizona.

Hobbs highlighted unprecedented investments being made in infrastructure, clean energy, housing affordability, schools and small businesses to make our state stronger.

A 40-year-old bridge in southern Arizona will soon receive a much-needed, multi-million-dollar overhaul to serve the community of Rio Rico, near the U.S.-Mexico border.

With support from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the new bridge will be the largest project in Santa Cruz County and improve 911 response times for a growing rural community.

Demand for workers to fill clean energy jobs is growing twice as fast as for other careers. Now a community college serving rural southern Arizona is launching programs to train and develop this new workforce with millions in federal funding.

A $9 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will equip the Hopi Tribe with a solar system to allow emergency services to operate 24/7. The tribe currently depends on unreliable, polluting diesel generators to power its government complex.

Local First Arizona is proud to lead business opposition to HCR 2060, an unfunded, anti-business and anti-immigrant bill at the Arizona Legislature.

In the days since Local First Arizona was the only business organization to testify against the bill, other organizations have joined the call, including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Greater Phoenix Economic Council and Greater Phoenix Leadership.

Volunteers with Local First Arizona’s Keep Arizona Beautiful campaign participated in the 2024 Great American Cleanup. They cleared 1,000 pounds of trash and 100 pounds of scrap metal from a river bed in Superior.

Click to find out how to join our next cleanup!

Federal funding will help finance a major solar installation on the Cocopah Indian reservation, saving the tribe millions. The solar panels will generate 90% of the energy needs for the tribe’s events and entertainment complex. Money saved will be reinvested into programs to benefit the community.

A rural Arizona inn found a way to install solar panels affordably and save $10,000 a year on energy bills with help from a federal grant and tax credits.

“One day, $32,000 appeared in our checking account, and we were like, ‘Whoa it’s time to celebrate!’” Pines Inn and Suites owner Anna May Cory said. “For us, that was quite impressive.”

The funding was made possibIe through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Affordable housing is a challenge for low- and middle-income families in Patagonia, a beautiful Sonoran desert town near the Mexican border. One nonprofit is trying to change that. A $25,000 federal grant has tripled the number of home renovations Community Homes of Patagonia can do. Residents call the help “life-changing.”

Heartquist Hollow Farms received a $200,000 federal grant with help from Local First Arizona to renovate a slaughterhouse, hire locally from small towns in eastern Arizona and implement humane butchering practices.

“We’ve brought jobs that weren’t there before,” Scott Heartquist said. “The capacity we’ve been pushing is huge.”

Here’s the best way to explore Page and Holbrook, two of Arizona’s most captivating destinations, where you can discover ancient rocks, kayak a prehistoric river and take in Native dancing.

Creek Valley Health Clinic is meeting urgent health care needs in an overlooked community with help from Local First Arizona and the American Rescue Plan Act.

Telemedicine, made possible through funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and help from Local First Arizona, is helping Pinal County residents receive better health care.

Do you know which Arizona city has the largest Black community per capita in the state? The answer may surprise you. But business leader Demetry Simonton says it’s leading the way in Black entrepreneurship.

Whether you call it luck or divine intervention, these two restaurant owners in Douglas were able to help each other out of a crisis thanks to guidance from Startup Unidos and a stroke of serendipity.

A federal grant helped seniors in southern Arizona make much-needed safety repairs and energy-efficiency upgrades to their community center.

The result has been more residents participating in activities and a stronger community in the little mining town.

“It’s made an extremely large difference in my life,” one senior says.

Every season is perfect for a northern Arizona road trip.

When an overnight stay is in the cards, these charming escapes give travelers a locally owned experience at a higher elevation.

Gov. Katie Hobbs declared Nov. 4 "Local First Arizona Day" in recognition of our 20 years of service to the state!

We’re honored and grateful to everyone who loves local. Come celebrate with us on Saturday!

Business owners in Sedona, Cottonwood and surrounding Verde Valley cities are growing their products and services after graduating from Local First Arizona’s six-month Spanish-language business accelerator, Fuerza Local Acelerador de Negocios.

Meet these 10 northern Arizona entrepreneurs.