Community Corner

🌱 SBA opens Flagstaff offices to help Pocket Fire-hit businesses recover

Also check out Commission on Inclusion and Adaptive Living Meeting on the Flagstaff Patch calendar

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Hey hey Flagstaff! Your one-stop source for local news is here. Continue reading for all the updates. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • SBA opens Flagstaff offices to help Pocket Fire-hit businesses recover
  • Which Flagstaff health partners are shaping local mental health care?
  • Why does Flagstaff proudly call itself "Plutotown, USA"?

Today's riddle: What did one strawberry say to the other strawberry? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

  • Tuesday: A stray afternoon t-storm, with a high of 84 and low of 54 degrees.
  • Wednesday: Partly sunny, temps: high: 87, low: 55. 🌶 Hot!
  • Thursday: A t-storm around in the p.m., with a high of 84 and low of 56 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Monday, August 24, 2026 (knau.org) — Flagstaff businesses hit by this summer's Pocket Fire can start applying Tuesday for low-interest federal disaster loans at new SBA offices opening in town. The update also notes that a Flagstaff company's NASA mission to save an aging space telescope has been called off, while Slide Rock State Park remains closed from fire damage.
   

2. C-CART partners (nau.edu subscription) — Several key Flagstaff health organizations, including The Guidance Center and Native Americans for Community Action, are highlighted as partners providing mental health and substance-use services to local residents. The piece explains how these agencies work with trainees and researchers while delivering integrated care across Flagstaff and northern Arizona, especially for underserved and Native communities.
   

3. Once the Solar System's Ninth Planet, Pluto Was Reclassified 20 Years Ago. Here's Why Planetary Scientists and the Public Alike Love the Small Icy Body (smithsonianmag.com) — Flagstaff's Lowell Observatory plays a starring role in Pluto's story, from Clyde Tombaugh's 1930 discovery there to today's annual I Heart Pluto Festival that draws visitors to town. The article explains why Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet, how New Horizons transformed scientists' understanding of it, and why the tiny world still captures public imagination.
   

4. Arizona's $870M school choice program survives union backlash — what it means for Utah (deseret.com) — Arizona's statewide Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program, illustrated with scenes from BASIS Flagstaff classrooms, survived a union-backed ballot challenge after the state Supreme Court tossed thousands of signatures. The piece explains how this $870 million school choice program works, why unions opposed it, and what Arizona's legal fight could signal for Utah's newer Utah Fits All scholarship program.
   

📸 Around Flagstaff

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Flagstaff

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🗓 Events Nearby

    Wednesday August 26
  • Kilip Elementary Open House
    Flagstaff Unified School District (Flagstaff) Flagstaff, AZ 86004
    3:30 pm
    • Friday August 28
  • Nathan McEuen →
    Coconino Center For the Arts, 2300 N Fort Valley Rd, Flagstaff
    7:30 pm
    • Saturday August 29
  • Ranger Cabin Guided Hike
    Walnut Canyon National Park Interested participants should meet the ranger leading the hike at the Walnut Canyon Visitor Center.
    9:00 am
    • Wednesday September 2
  • Coconino High School Open House
    Flagstaff Unified School District (Flagstaff) Flagstaff, AZ 86004
    4:30 pm

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • I accidentally left my garage door open last night and my yellow Labrador wondered away.
    He's 12 years old and 110lbs. He's deaf and won't respond to calling but very friendly. Please let him know if you see him. 808.635.1932. Boulder… (Nextdoor Boulder Pointe)
  • Good afternoon neighbors!
    If you've got a free Sunday I hope you can stop in and see some amazing pottery by Roger Bedard! He does such unique work! Also introducing new… (Nextdoor Doney Park)
  • Mountain Capital Partners posted a job opening for Housekeeper in Flagstaff. Apply here.
  • Kellermeyer posted a job opening for Warehouse Janitorial Associate in Flagstaff. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Flagstaff here.

Ok Flagstaff! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: If you weren't so sweet, we wouldn't be in this jam! (Thank you Patti F. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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