Pat Parris

Tucson

Anchor at KGUN-TV (Tucson, AZ)

Anchor at KWBA-TV (Tucson, AZ)

Main Anchor at @kgun9 in Tucson

Articles

Giving Project: Honor Flight gave this Vietnam Vet a once-in-a-lifetime experience

1 week ago | kgun9.com | Pat Parris

In November of 2024, Vietnam Veteran John Rhodes I and his son walked through Tucson International Airport surrounded by an American flag-waving crowd, all gathered to welcome them home after their Honor Flight visit to the war memorials of Washington, D.C.It was the hero's welcome the former Marine, like many others, never received after service in Vietnam. Just like last November, this year's Honor Flight will conclude with a hero's welcome home at the airport.
350 Southern Arizona veterans on waitlist for an Honor Flight to DC

2 weeks ago | kgun9.com | Pat Parris

TUCSON, Ariz (KGUN) — This month's KGUN 9 Giving Project nonprofit is Honor Flight Southern Arizona, an organization that taks our veterans to Washington, D.C to tour the memorials dedicated to their service—and they again need your help to meet a new goal this year. Vietnam Veteran Arthur Shave took his honor flight to Washington, D.C. last November. "The trip on the Honor Flight made a closure that I didn't know I needed," Shave shared with me.
How 'the coffee that won the west' became a Tucson staple

2 weeks ago | kgun9.com | Pat Parris

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — It's the coffee that fueled the cowboys of the wild west: Arbuckle Coffee. While it has its roots in the 1800s, Arbuckle Coffee's modern roots are firmly planted right here in Tucson: an 'Absolutely Arizona' brand, if there ever was one. WATCH FULL STORY: Absolutely Arizona: Arbuckle Coffee "The Cowboys out west, that's the only coffee they knew," said Josh Willis of Arbuckle's Coffee. Willis runs the thriving Tucson business that's been part of his family for 50 years.
Eegee's CEO: Tucson's iconic eatery will remain "local through and through"

3 weeks ago | kgun9.com | Pat Parris

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tuesday, KGUN 9 was the first to tell you that Eegee's is coming out of bankruptcy with a new owner.
Five years later: A look at the Bighorn Fire

3 weeks ago | kgun9.com | Pat Parris

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Exactly five years ago tonight, we were in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and Tucson was receiving some welcome rain. Little did we know at the time, a lightning strike would turn into one of the most destructive wildfires in Southern Arizona's history. WATCH FULL STORY: Bighorn Fire: Five years later During a rare June 5 thunderstorm in Tucson, storm chaser and photographer Donna Ruthruff captured a lightning bolt with her camera.
Giving Project: Helping the 2025 Honor Flight Southern Arizona take off

3 weeks ago | kgun9.com | Pat Parris

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — It's a new month, but a familiar nonprofit for our KGUN 9 Giving Project. For the second straight June, we're focusing on Honor Flight Southern Arizona. They again need our help taking our veterans to Washington, D.C to tour the memorials dedicated to their service. A hero's welcome home last November, as a group of 25 veterans returned from an Honor Flight to our nation's capital. It's an Honor Flight that almost didn't take off.
Legend of the Iron Door Mine

3 weeks ago | kgun9.com | Pat Parris

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — There was the California Gold Rush of the 1850s and the Tucson Gold Rush of the late 1880s. Prospectors by the thousands descended on the Santa Catalina Mountains searching in the Cañada del Oro, or 'Canyon of Gold'. That is just part of the legend of the Iron Door Mine. "Had no idea there was mining up there," said author and publisher Robert Zucker.
One-on-one with Rep. Ciscomani after vote in favor of 'Big Beautiful Bill'

1 month ago | kgun9.com | Pat Parris

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Early this morning, House Republicans voted to approve President Trump's legislative package—H.R.1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—that combines tax breaks, spending cuts and border security. Southeastern Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-6) voted with his party to approve the bill and send it to the Senate. I had a chance to sit down with him this afternoon after he returned to Tucson.
Former St. Mary's nurse shares personal connection to Seven Sisters' Tucson history

1 month ago | kgun9.com | Pat Parris

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — 155 years ago this month, seven nuns made the dangerous journey by foot and covered wagon from San Diego to Tucson. Known as the Seven Sisters of St. Joseph, they started St. Mary's Hospital in 1880, and opened the state's first nursing school in 1906. One of their graduates, Alma Maish, reached out to me by email to share her personal 'Sisters of St. Joseph' story, after seeing our recent Absolutely Arizona segment on the history of the sisters in Tucson.
Pima Council on Aging: Helping loved ones 'age in place'

1 month ago | kgun9.com | Pat Parris

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Pima Council on Aging has been providing services to our older population since 1967. The recipient of KGUN 9's May Giving Project, this Southern Arizona nonprofit has hundreds of resources and programs available today. Some of those programs are focused on supporting the growing number of people caring for their loved ones in their homes.