Samantha Larned
ReporterSamantha Larned is a reporter and producer with NPR Lubbock. Originally from Arizona, Samantha began her journalism career at Arizona Public Media in Tucson. She moved to Lubbock and started with KTTZ in 2023 and quickly became intrigued by all the city had to offer. Samantha has a focus on social issues and culture journalism.
You can often find Samantha at her desk at KTTZ, on the road looking for a story, or in the stacks at the public library.
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Lubbock High School students were evacuated from campus after a bomb threat Friday morning. Lubbock ISD Police reports that no explosives were found and a suspect has not been located. -
Texas has the largest number of rural hospitals in the country. In the past decade, 14 of the state’s rural hospitals have closed and another 82 are at risk of closure, according to a recent report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Despite funding challenges, some rural hospitals are continuing and even expanding services through community support. -
LubbockPRIDE welcomed community members in an event last weekend, geared toward health and wellness, education, and resource sharing. With recent anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and policies, the organization says that it is vital to provide a venue for queer Texans and their allies. -
An event organized by a student group intended to discuss abortion was cancelled by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center late last month, after backlash from conservative activists and Turning Point USA at Texas Tech. Now, another free speech group is calling on the TTUHSC to allow them to reschedule the event. -
Opioid use is a nationwide issue and Lubbock is no exception. StarCare and Lubbock Public Health partnered last week to provide a presentation on recognizing and responding to an opioid overdose, as well as common myths and risk factors. -
Six years ago, Texas Tech University opened its Institute of Anatomical Sciences. Its capabilities and capacities were quickly tested by the COVID-19 pandemic and since then has continued to serve doctors and donors across the region through its educational services and its Willed Body Program. -
As students return to colleges and universities across the state, questions remain regarding discussions of gender and race on Texas campuses. Faculty with the Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University systems are dealing with the impact of new policies on their class curriculums, as West Texas A&M continues to face legal challenges to its drag performance ban. -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Xcel Energy, alleging the Minnesota-based electric company caused the 2024 Smokehouse Creek Fire.
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Following the Dec. 1 memorandum from Texas Tech University System Chancellor Brandon Creighton, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent letters to each of the five presidents within the Tech system, calling upon them not to restrict academic freedom or classroom instruction based on viewpoint. -
Newly-dubbed Pickering Park in downtown Lubbock is intended to create a more walkable community and help drive new development in downtown. The project broke ground yesterday and construction is expected to be complete in nine to ten months.
