This category will feature news releases from out-of-area government agencies and representatives, as well as events that are not taking place in the four-county area of Grant, Catron, Hidalgo or Luna. For those events please visit Local News Releases.

NMSU students connect with Amador family correspondence through digitization project

Angeles Tena, a freshman at New Mexico State University, began her college experience by jumping into a prestigious project happening at the NMSU Library – the Amador Family Correspondence Digitization Project.  

“The most interesting part is learning so much about the Mexican culture and how the letters are written,” Tena said.  

Tena is one of eight students from different majors who were hired to create high-quality digital scans of 15,000 pages of original correspondence and extract the essential descriptive information from the letters that will make them discoverable to researchers around the world.

Dennis Daily, department head of NMSU’s Archives and Special Collections, said the students are provided an experiential learning opportunity while discovering the unique stories that happened on our border.  

Read more ...

Today is National Vietnam Veterans Day 033023

Today is National Vietnam War Veterans Day—the date set aside by Congress for our nation to honor our men and women who served in the United States military during the Vietnam War.

It was on this date 50-years ago—March 29, 1973, that the last American military service member was pulled out of South Vietnam, and the last American prisoners-of-war were released.

More than nine million Americans served in our military during that war. Of this total, 2.7 million served in Southeast Asia. 58,220 American service members were killed in action—including 397 from New Mexico. More than 300,000 American service members were injured.

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PNM offers tips to stay safe during high winds

Proactive planning can reduce the risk of injury

(Albuquerque, NM) – With spring quickly approaching, PNM wants customers to stay safe during high wind weather. It is quite common to see high winds throughout New Mexico from March through June. PNM has helpful tips to keep you and your family safe during these types of weather events.

“High winds can bring down power lines, cause property damage and pose life-threatening dangers to people and pets,” said Chad Krukowski, director of safety for PNM. “Electricity can travel through water and the ground around downed power lines. Stay back the length of a school bus.”

  • Touching a power line can cause severe injury or death. You cannot tell by looking whether a line is "live" or "hot". Even if a downed line is not actively sparking, always assume it is carrying electricity and immediately contact PNM at 888-DIAL-PNM.
  • Be sure items in your yard that could fly away are anchored down, and if not, bring them inside.
  • Wind can blow tree branches, tarps, and even lawn chairs into power lines. Never attempt to remove anything from the lines. Distance yourself and call us at 888-DIAL-PNM.
  • If a wire falls on a vehicle, passengers should stay inside the vehicle until help arrives.

Read more ...

ECECD Announces NM Early Childhood Family Engagement and Satisfaction Survey

Parents and caregivers of children encouraged to participate to provide insight and feedback on state programs

Santa Fe, NM - The New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) seeks parents and caretakers of children aged 0-5 to participate in the annual New Mexico Early Childhood Family Engagement and Satisfaction Survey at NextStepsNM.org. ECECD hopes to gain valuable insights from the survey findings regarding service effectiveness, accessibility, and community needs. The state will use the survey results to improve early childhood programs and better support families in New Mexico. 

“ECECD’s top priority is ensuring that our programs and services meet the needs of New Mexico families and young children,” said ECECD Cabinet Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky. “Parent and caregiver input is critical to improving our outreach, communication, and services."

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NMDA accepting Healthy Soil Program grant applications from Eligible Entities beginning April 11

Webinar to assist applicants set for April 18

Haga clic aquí para la versión en español.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA) is accepting grant applications – specifically from Eligible Entities – for its Healthy Soil Program from Tuesday, April 11 until Wednesday, May 17.

Eligible Entities are defined in the 2019 Healthy Soil Act as “local governmental [entities] with proven land management capacity to support healthy soil” and include pueblos, tribes, and nations; acequias; land grants; soil and water conservation districts; and New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service. NMDA will also accept grant applications from other local governmental entities that manage land.

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State Auditor Joseph Maestas Releases Updated “At-Risk” Lists

Adding a new, third component list for Non-Compliant Local Public Bodies

SANTA FE— The Office of the State Auditor of New Mexico announces the release of the updated “At-Risk” List that alerts the public agencies that have not filed annual audit reports required by law or that are otherwise at risk of being noncompliant with state financial reporting requirements (At-Risk Lists | NM Office of the State Auditor (saonm.org)). This year’s “At-Risk” List now includes a new, third component list. The first component list highlights specific categories of entities that have not filed timely financial reports and now reflects the results of FY ’22 audit submittals. The second component list is composed of entities that have timely filed the required financial reports but whose independent auditors have concluded there may be material and pervasive misstatements in the financial statements (known as an “adverse opinion”) or that there is insufficient basis to form an opinion and any undetected misstatements could be material and pervasive (known as a “disclaimer of opinion”). The third component list is a new report of financially non-compliant local public bodies such as acequias or land grant associations that have not filed timely financial reports.

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FBI, Albuquerque police seek Greedy Goatee (GG) Bandit who recently robbed local Albuquerque Bank

The FBI and Albuquerque Police Department are seeking the public's assistance with identifying a possible serial bank robber; the Greedy Goatee (GG) Bandit, who robbed the Bank of Albuquerque, 2500 Louisiana Blvd NE, at approximately 12:22pm on Monday (03/27/2023); is also suspected of robbing the US Bank, located at 2300 Louisiana BLVD NE, on 01/03/2023 and on 03/13/2023.

During his most recent bank robbery, the GG Bandit entered the Bank of Albuquerque, gave a note to one of the tellers implying he had a weapon, and received approximately $1001 usc.

He was last seen leaving in a white Chevy extended cab pickup. 

The GG Bandit is described to be a Hispanic/White male, approximately 5'10", and in his mid-30's.

Read more ...

House Republicans respond to LFC Director David Abbey Retirement

House Republican Leader Ryan Lane (Aztec): "Our House Republican Caucus is thankful for LFC (Legislative Finance Committee) Director Abbey's professionalism, responsiveness, excellence, and years of dedicated service to the people of New Mexico. Director Abbey's steadfast dedication to working with legislators in a nonpartisan manner exemplifies his legacy in ensuring that taxpayer funds reach the far corners of our state. We look forward to a robust search in finding LFC leadership that will continue to provide steady leadership and focus on fiscal responsibility in expending working families' tax dollars."

House Appropriations and Finance Committee Ranking Member and House Republican Caucus Chair Gail Armstrong (Magdalena): "I am thankful for the friendship, guidance, and responsiveness of LFC Directory Abbey. He is a true New Mexico legend. Director Abbey leaves behind a legacy of building up lawmakers on our finance committees to develop understanding of how we expend our state budget. It certainly will be tough to fill his shoes, however I am sure that the Legislature will focus its search on new leadership honoring steadfast fiscal responsibility and strong leadership to steward taxpayer funds in a manner that benefits all New Mexicans."

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