A few of the top Parker Live stories of all time

Parker Live started in 2009 with a simple mission: provide a popular online news source on the subject of the Parker area, before Facebook really became ubiquitous and before the Parker Pioneer had started putting all of its valuable news coverage online.

We wanted to focus on lifestyle content, and the kinds of local stories that people would be talking about at the water cooler, understanding that our audience included lots of regular visitors to the area, second home owners, snowbirds and people connected in a variety of ways to the Parker Strip.

If a boat careened out of control into a riverbank; if a Parker event made news; if a fire destroyed a beloved restaurant; if an earthquake was felt Upriver; if a local politician did something newsworthy; if a piece of Parker history surfaced in a new way; if a new route was decided for a Parker race; if a jetski blew up; if a river bar got sold or went on sale…. we wanted to report it.

Here are a few of the stories that have made some waves on this site:

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Parker’s railroad bridge went up in flames (2019)

On September 15th, 2019, fire engulfed the famous railroad bridge across the Colorado River between Parker, AZ and Earp, CA. It was still burning the following day, and large sections of it had to be replaced quickly for train services to resume.

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Fake skeleton tea party spotted on the bottom of the river (2015)

On May 4th, 2015, Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call from a snorkeler who said he saw human skeletal remains at the bottom of the river near Cienega Springs launch ramp. When a Buckskin Fire Department diver found them, he reported seeing an “underwater tea-party with two fake skeletons sitting in lawn chairs.” One was holding a sign, covered by algae, identifying him as ‘Bernie’. Parker Live reported the story first, followed by hundreds of news outlets around the world. We appealed for anonymous information to satisfy our curiosity about the origins of Bernie and Bernadette, and sure enough, the full story was revealed three days later when two dive buddies from the Phoenix area drove to Parker to confess that they had placed them there, never thinking anybody would find them. Sheriff’s Lieutenant Curt Bagby joins us to talk about it HERE. A kicker: several months later in October, the 911 caller who first reported the skeletons swiped them for himself and put them on his riverfront balcony, angry that he wasn’t mentioned by name in the media coverage that followed.

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First same sex marriage license issued in La Paz County (2014)

On October 17th, 2014, longtime Parker locals Lindee Woody and Cherre Hooper became the first same sex couple to be married in La Paz County, Arizona after 14 years together. Parker Live was there to capture the historic moment and the smiles all around.

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Man spraypaints Idiot Rock, catches grief from residents and visitors (2015)

Bob Garland, a 60 year-old Corona man, was photographed spraypainting the words ‘Idiot Rock’ on the landmark he says he coined decades before. After Parker Live reported the story, Bob joined the comments section of the article, admitting doing it, saying it was on his bucket list, and apologized, saying he would take whatever punishment would follow.

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State legislator brags to Parker cop about speeding, captured on body camera (2018)

In March 2018, Arizona state legislator Paul Mosley was pulled over for speeding at an alleged 97 miles per hour by a La Paz County Sheriff’s deputy, and instead of attempting to mitigate the situation, started bragging that he drives at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour, claiming legislative immunity. After Parker Live posted the body camera video, the story was reported by dozens of other news outlets around the world. Mosley lost re-election a few months later and his case became precedent-setting, with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey calling for an end to legislative immunity based on Mosley’s behavior.

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That time we found the famous Tuff (2016)

In September 2016, we published a reader question asking for the origin story behind the prominent etching of the names “Ken” and “Tuff” on the Parker railroad bridge. We didn’t know the answer, but appealed for any information from the public. And sure enough, we got an answer, and after four decades of driving past the markings, finally got to meet Tuff. Now 61, he told us the story about being in Parker in the summer of 1972, and meeting Ken at the river when they were just 10 years old.

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Inside the La Paz County Jail (2017)

Invited into the jail complex for the first time, we reported on what we found there: an efficient, modern jail complex, orange jumpsuits, and a need for federal prisoners to supplement the County coffers.

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Parker Live has also published columns by the late Cate Mueller, by Pastor Louie Marsh, and myself.

In addition, we had a podcast that ran for almost 50 episodes, including: “Topless Pizza” prank call, Bernie the Skeleton 911 call, and our DUI workshop at Roadrunner.