Brock Blasdell
Brock Blasdell is a summer intern and staff reporter for The Well News. An Arizona native, Blasdell has three years of professional experience in both media relations and journalism covering education, elections, politics, business, science and local issues. His skill set includes creating and publishing both print and digital media, podcasting and videography, and his work has been seen in publications such as The Mesa Legend, AZ Big Media, The Tempe Wrangler News, and The East Valley Tribune.
Blasdell first began writing during an excursion abroad to Costa Rica. After being hired as a translator for a small local Spanish/English magazine, he soon moved on to roles in advertising, content creation and publishing. After returning to his hometown of Mesa, Arizona, just a year before his high school graduation, Blasdell began his official journey into journalism.
In 2018, he was hired as an Opinions Editor for the Mesa Legend newspaper at Mesa Community College. In 2019, he transitioned into the position of News Editor at that same newspaper and began freelance work. In 2020, after graduating from Mesa Community College, he adopted the newly created Alumnus Correspondent position at The Mesa Legend and transferred to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University to pursue further education.
Recent Work
The grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Area could potentially, for a third time, be delisted from the federal Endangered Species List — following a petition from Republican Gov. Mark Gordon. The petition, which cites the species as “fully-recovered” and something to celebrate, is one... Read More
WASHINGTON -- A variety of federal departments will come together Friday to discuss the future of broadband internet connectivity for Native American communities. The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Summit, led in part by a coalition of tribal governments, organizers and seven different federal departments, will feature a... Read More
A recently released report on the status of illegal online wildlife trafficking has revealed thousands of endangered or illegal animals, parts and trophies are being digitally advertised in the U.S. The report, dubbed Digital Markets: Wildlife Trafficking Hidden in Plain Sight, found 1,400 advertisements working to... Read More
A recently released documentary is showing how the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribes are pushing for equitable and renewable energy sources for the many people living without electricity in the Black Mesa territory of northern Arizona. “Local Leadership, Global Change: Navajo Nation & Hopi Tribe,” produced... Read More
WASHINGTON - The Department of Defense is conducting its first fiscal research study in over 30 years to determine the efficiency and overall health of the military industry and its private contractors. The decision comes as part of a push by the DOD to utilize budgeted... Read More
According to a recently released economic report by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, the state of Arizona has outpaced the nation in private sector economic recovery post-COVID. In June alone, Arizona added 26,000 private sector jobs to its economy -- a rate 17% higher than... Read More
Oregon is currently at the heart of one of the most expensive and destructive wildfire seasons of the past decade. According to data from the National Interagency Fire Center, six wildfires across the state are currently burning over 280 thousand acres of land in a devastating... Read More
As the American economic engines churn back to life, one major hurdle stands in the way of our market renaissance - labor. Businesses, especially low wage, low skill businesses, are having a difficult time finding people to work for them. The consequences of these shortages are... Read More
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved $14 million in investments Wednesday to fund 31 research projects dedicated to disease prevention in agricultural livestock. The funding comes as a part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, which was established... Read More
An Ag Economy Barometer report published Tuesday found a 21-point decline in the confidence of food producers in the United States for June. This solidifies a second month of waning optimism from record highs set earlier in 2021, and indicates food producers are more worried about... Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday that Gurbir Grewal, New Jersey’s attorney general since 2018, has been appointed as the director of the Division of Enforcement. “I’m honored and delighted to welcome Attorney General Grewal to the SEC,” Gary Gensler, SEC chair, said. “He has... Read More
WASHINGTON - The House voted Tuesday to pass Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s, D-Va., bipartisan bill to repeal a pair of outdated war authorizations; one for the 1991 Gulf War and the other a Cold War authorization regarding the Middle East. The success comes after a series of... Read More
The Bipartisan Policy Center, in conjunction with Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses Voices and Center Forward, have published a policy report favoring measures taken by the Biden administration to support small businesses during America’s economic recovery. The report praises the administration’s plans to support small businesses’... Read More
Airports in Washington are receiving a combined $217 million in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration to help maintain and expand operations. The announcement follows the Biden administration’s springtime promise of $8 billion in funding under the American Rescue Plan to help airports across America maintain... Read More
Tom Perez, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, announced Wednesday that he is running for governor of Maryland, seeking to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. Perez, who served as labor secretary for then-President Barack Obama and also led the Justice Department’s Civil Rights... Read More
The National Institutes of Health now believes cannabis use, regardless of frequency, could be associated with increased thoughts of suicide among young adults. In a study released Tuesday, the finding involving over 280,000 young adults found a statistical association between cannabis use and increased risk of... Read More
WASHINGTON - The Department of Agriculture is offering $55.2 million in competitive grants to help foster healthier beef and poultry industries, while also expanding opportunities for small and midsized processors to grow. The funding follows an announcement by the USDA earlier this month that $4 billion... Read More
Rep. Abigail Spanberger secured central Virginia’s spot today onlist of proposed projects areas that will be covered by the Biden administration’s proposed INVEST in America Act. If passed, more than $22.7 million in federal resources will be dedicated to infrastructure and transportation projects in Virginia’s 7th... Read More
The future of the nation’s remaining symbols of the Confederacy could be decided at an upcoming POV roundtable hosted by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Facebook live event, whose date marks the sixth anniversary of the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in... Read More
The state of Kansas has been awarded Area Development Magazine’s prestigious Gold Shovel award in recognition of its successful year attracting high-value business investment. Over $6 billion in new business dollars and more than 26 thousand jobs have been created within the state of Kansas since... Read More
Jack Ciattarelli, a moderate Republican from New Jersey, and Terry McAuliffe, an establishment Democrat from Virginia, both had strong victories in last night's gubernatorial primaries against their respective party’s political competition. Now in the last stretch of a race to the governor’s office, they face several... Read More
