Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi
ContributorKuʻuwehi Hiraishi is an award-winning journalist and founding member of the ‘Ahahui Haku Moʻolelo (Hawaiian Journalism Association). She was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, and was one of the first graduates of the Hawaiian language immersion school Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu.
She went on to study Journalism & Mass Communications at Seattle University, and returned home to work on the Hawaiian language television news program ʻĀhaʻi ʻŌlelo Ola, which aired on Hawaii News Now’s Sunrise morning program.
Her unique skillset of Hawaiian language fluency and journalism were valuable assets in building the Hawaiian news media industry with the launch of ʻŌiwi TV, an on-demand television news station with programming produced by and for Native Hawaiians. Her in-depth research and reporting on Native Hawaiian water rights earned her and the ʻŌiwi TV team their first international journalism award at the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters’ Network Journalism Awards in 2012.
After a brief hiatus working in communications for the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, she returned to journalism as a general assignment reporter at Hawaiʻi Public Radio until July 2024. Her commitment to her Native Hawaiian community and her fluency in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi led her to build a de facto ʻōiwi beat at the news station, covering issues important to the Native Hawaiian and Indigenous communities.
Hiraishi is currently an HPR contributor.
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Competition kicked off Thursday night at the 2025 Merrie Monarch Hula Festival in Hilo with the soloist competition. Thirteen contestants competed for the title of Miss Aloha Hula, including Jaedyn Pavao, who represented Kauaʻi's only hālau in this year's festival. HPR contributor Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more. -
The Lāhuiokalani Kaʻanapali Congregational Church in Honokowai initially invited its sister church, Waiola, to use its facilities — and word quickly spread across town. HPR contributing reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has this story. -
This week we have been hearing from survivors of the Maui wildfires like Kahu ʻĀnela Rosa, a lay minister for the historic Waiola Church, which was lost in the August fire. HPR contributor Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more. -
Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of the Maui wildfires. After living away from his wife and two young children for the past year, boat captain Keao Shaw is ready to be reunited and excited to rebuild. HPR contributor Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has this story. -
This week we’re hearing from survivors of the West Maui wildfires who we have been following throughout the last year. This includes a Hawaiian language immersion teacher steadfast in uniting all kaiapuni students in West Maui on one campus. -
International competition between Native Hawaiian and Māori soccer players wrapped in Hilo last week with the signing of an agreement, securing future competition between the two groups. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports. -
Hawaiʻi residents with internet access problems can now tap into millions of dollars in federal funding — and a nonprofit created a tool to help take advantage of these funds. -
A Marconi Point property owner has offered to donate nearly 5 acres on O‘ahu’s North Shore to settle claims with the state totaling nearly $1.5 million. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has the latest. -
High school students from across the islands recently spent a week in Honolulu for a hands-on look at a career in medicine. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi was there to witness the learning. -
Hawaiʻi's only Hawaiian immersion school in the Niʻihau dialect is on a mission to publish 1,000 books in ʻōlelo Niʻihau. This Kauaʻi charter school has spent the last six years writing and publishing books in Niʻihau's native tongue. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports.
