Category: All Stories

Apache Spirit Ranch is finally open to the public.

The Apache Spirit Ranch opened more than a year ago to specifically cater to European visitors. After a change in management two months ago, the ranch is going in a new direction by opening its services to a broader range of visitors.

The resort, which is two miles north of Tombstone, now lets the general public use the trail rides, gunfights, restaurant and other amenities. Before the new ranch supervisors Tim and Julia Hastings arrived, these facilities were only for resort guests.

“What we have done since my husband and I took over the management of this place two months ago, is we have opened up for the public and the American people as well,” Julia Hastings said. “We changed so that now you can come for a trial ride and then go for lunch, or just hang out at night in the saloon and have a nice beer and enjoy our live music.”

After working 23 years in the healthcare field, Margaret Morales still hasn’t tired of the constant business her daily job entails. Born and raised in Douglas, Ariz., Morales is the clinic manager for the town’s only Rural Healthcare Center, one of eight government-funded programs throughout the state.

“I got involved in the medical field because I wanted something different and to learn. The job is never ending and there is always a need for medical services.”

With a population of around 17,000 people, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, the quiet town of Douglas knows this need for healthcare services all too well. The area is one of the many rural communities throughout Arizona considered medically underserved, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

The problem for rural America is a large land area with a low population and trying to bring physicians to areas with few healthcare dollars, said Jim Dickson, CEO of the Copper Queen Community Hospital.

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Sebastian Ionescu got lost on his first day of college at the University of Arizona.

Ionescu took 3-hours to journey back home instead of the normal 20-minutes. Perhaps he could have asked for directions, but Ionescu was still making his unfamiliar transition not only as a freshman but also as an international student from Braila, Romania.

“I was overwhelmed and scared,” Ionescu said. “I was not so confident with the language.”

Ionescu is a part of a rising trend of international enrollment that has brought more tuition dollars to the three Arizona universities. The increase in international admissions is also contributing to campus culture diversity that presents learning experiences for both American students and international students.