The Water Education Foundation has named Alex Hager, KUNC’s reporter covering the Colorado River Basin, as this year’s recipient of the Rita Schmidt Sudman Award for Excellence in Water Journalism. The award recognizes Hager’s clear, deeply sourced reporting that helps the public understand the people, policies and ecosystems tied to one of the West’s most important rivers, said Jenn Bowles, the Foundation’s Executive Director. Hager is the first broadcast journalist to receive the award that acknowledges outstanding work illuminating complicated water issues in California and the West.