Mara Knaub

Yuma

Business and City Government Weporter at Yuma Sun

I'm currently a reporter for the Yuma Sun. I'm an Arizona girl - grew up in Nogales, currently live in Yuma, spent many years in the beautiful White Mountains.

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Articles

Editor’s Notebook: Craving a more disconnected world?

1 week ago | yumasun.com | Mara Knaub

Every week I get a notification telling me how much “screen time” I spent on my phone. I practically live with the phone in my hand. But to be fair, it comes with the job. I don’t think I’m alone though. Nowadays, it’s typical for most everyone to leave home with at least two objects in hand – keys and phone. I have my phone always with me because I have to be accessible to reporters and the community 24/7.
First Take: Still learning new words

1 week ago | yumasun.com | Mara Knaub

Occasionally I run into new words that make me go “huh?” Our Comings & Goings column recently ran an item about a new sports club coming to the old Sears building. Yes! Finally after so many years of being vacant. And, finally, we have confirmation of the rumors we’ve been hearing for a while now. But I digress … the new tenant will be a padel and pickleball club. My first thought was “padel? Is that a misspelling?” But a part of my brain thought it’s right.
Notebook: The metric system, a relic from my childhood

2 weeks ago | yumasun.com | Mara Knaub

Growing up in Nogales, Arizona, we regularly drove to Tucson, so I was accustomed to seeing the kilometer markers on Interstate 19. However, it was fun to point out the signs to visitors. They were always surprised, sometimes jokingly questioning whether we had unintentionally crossed over into Mexico. In fact, I-19 is the only highway in the country using the metric standard unit of measurement. This 63-mile corridor runs from the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales until it connects to I-10 in Tucson.
First Take: Romantic proposal in outer space?

2 weeks ago | yumasun.com | Mara Knaub

A company that specializes in orchestrating extravagant marriage proposals wants to offer the opportunity to do so in outer space. The company is proposing (yes, I said it) that daredevil romantics pop the question aboard a space capsule lifted by a helium-inflated stratospheric balloon while enjoying an intimate dinner prepared by a French Michelin-starred chef and served by an AI-powered robot. An elegant table will be set up reminiscent of a refined Parisian restaurant.
Editorial: Living with wildfire threat makes me appreciate Yuma

2 weeks ago | yumasun.com | Mara Knaub

I recently got a press release about the Greer Fire burning in Apache County. Hearing about wildfires in the White Mountains, which also includes Navajo County, takes me back to the tense summers, especially those drier-than-normal seasons that I lived there. Don’t get me wrong. I loved living in the White Mountains. It’s beautiful with breathtaking scenery. I don’t know how I never crashed my car from gawking out the window when driving among the pine forests. The views never got old.
First Take: ‘Please don’t birdnap me’

3 weeks ago | yumasun.com | Mara Knaub

“Please don’t birdnap me.” That is the message that Vida Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center is now sharing. The Yuma nonprofit rescues, rehabilitates and releases sick, injured and orphaned wildlife back into their natural habitats. This time of the year baby birds are hatching, growing and learning to fly. Birds do not inherently know how to fly, they learn this from their parents, the organization noted. “Please leave fledglings alone and let them learn.
Editor’s Notebook: Getting comfortable speaking before a crowd

1 month ago | yumasun.com | Mara Knaub

I’m very much a behind-the-scenes kind of person. I don’t like being the center of attention. That’s probably part of why I liked being a newspaper reporter. I was usually on the other side of the camera. I asked the questions and I took photos and videos. And it very much suits my personality. I’m endlessly curious about people. I love to meet new people and hear their stories, but I do much better one-on-one or in smaller settings.
Editorial: What makes Earth so special?

1 month ago | yumasun.com | Mara Knaub

Today is Earth Day. The grass-roots effort was first celebrated in spring 1970 as a way to draw attention to environmental issues. At that time, 20 million Americans demonstrated in different U.S. cities. As a result, in December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Earth Day has become a worldwide phenomenon, with billions of people celebrating it across the world.
Editor’s Notebook: How Easter traditions came to be

1 month ago | yumasun.com | Mara Knaub

Now is the time when funny Easter memes go around on social media, some showing kids asking if bunnies lay eggs and if Jesus likes chocolate. The confusion is understandable. So, like I am apt to do, I went digging to see how these traditions came to be associated with the holiday. For some people, Easter marks the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Interestingly enough, many Easter traditions, like decorating eggs and the Easter bunny, may have pre-Christian origins.
Editor’s Notebook: Five have become one

1 month ago | yumasun.com | Mara Knaub

In a matter of months, my mom’s five-dog pack dwindled down to a single dog. The dogs first came to live with me when my mom moved to Yuma after she could no longer live alone in my hometown due to health reasons. After years of being a feline-only household, we suddenly had five dogs too. The Shih Tzus were cute and fluffy and I loved them, having known them since they were puppies. The pack consisted of dad, mom and their three puppies.