Listen to this article
The future of what many Arizona residents have called a treasure since the 1920s is uncertain as state lawmakers wrestle with the best way of preserving a state magazine that’s earned a reputation for being in a class by itself.
Republicans in the state House of Representatives have proposed a bill that would allow Arizona Highways to be sold to a private company, drastically changing what kind of operational decisions can be nade with the magazine over its century-long existence.
The Arizona Department of Transportation has operated the magazine since it was established in 1925. What first started as an informational publication about road projects and highway conditions has turned into a Pulitzer Prize winning magazine with historical presence in telling the state’s transportation history and showcasing its scenic locations with reach across the globe.
“This magazine is famous throughout the world,” said Marshal Trimble, Arizona’s official historian. “Other states have tried to model it, but they haven’t quite come up to it. It stands head and shoulders above all the other state magazines published all around the country.”
But like many other print publications, the magazine has been losing subscribers in recent years. House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci, R-Lake Havasu City, said his bill, HB2571, is intended to allow the magazine to seek help from the private sector and ensure the magazine can continue publishing while reaching a greater audience.
“There are magazines in Arizona that reach 900,000 subscriptions and this one is only at the 100,000 mark,” Biasiucci said. “We have to do what we can to keep this magazine here. We have to keep it open and running, but sometimes when a state agency is running somethin …
