KUAR 89.1, UALR’s public radio station, and its partners in a regional journalism collaboration, are pleased to announce Vanessa McKuin will join the newly created Natural State News team as the project’s partner manager.

In her new role, McKuin will promote the project throughout the state, secure funding to sustain the collaboration, and manage the administration of initial funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

A native of Arkansas, McKuin has been the executive director of Preserve Arkansas since 2008. She is a graduate of Hendrix College and has a master’s degree in historic preservation from the Pratt Institute School of Architecture in New York.

“I see Natural State News as a way to raise the bar on statewide journalism and to give Arkansans an opportunity to engage, as stakeholders, in the process of telling the stories that make up our state’s news,” McKuin said.

“I’m very excited about this opportunity to use my experiences in diverse communities across the state to work with the NSN team to build this new program and help make it a sustainable voice for Arkansans statewide and nationally,” she said.

Natural State News is funded through a $278,300 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and focuses on long-form reporting about education, health, and energy, with a focus on rural Arkansas.

Reporters will be based at KUAR in Little Rock, KUAF in Fayetteville, and KASU in Jonesboro.

Also partnering with the radio stations are the Arkansas Educational Television Network, El Latino Spanish language newspaper, Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, and University of Arkansas at Little Rock Institute on Race and Ethnicity.

“With Vanessa McKuin on the team, I know that Natural State News will achieve a high level of success telling the story of health care, education and energy in Arkansas,”  said Nathan Vandiver, UALR Public Radio interim general manager.

“Vanessa’s experience managing a statewide nonprofit, fundraising, working with diverse communities and managing federal grants will put this reporting project in a very strong position,” Vandiver said. “Its mission of serving Arkansans with information that will help them make informed decisions is now well-supported by one of the top nonprofit professionals in the state.”