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On Tuesday, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources unanimously advanced a bill that will support water infrastructure for some New Mexico Tribes and Pueblos. Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez authored the bill."In New Mexico we say, 'Agua es vida; water is life.,'" the New Mexico Democrat said. "And water is also key to tribal sovereignty." The U.S. Senate passed companion legislation last year. This bill now heads to a full House vote.--Google announced earlier this week that it is exploring the potential of a possible data center in Lea County in Southeast New Mexico. The website LeaCountyDataCenter.com states that Google is in the early stages of evaluating a Lea County project. The site characterizes the potential data center as a "long-term partnership with the community." It also says the website will be the "source of truth for facts and updates."

This has been a particularly bad year for New Mexico's black bear population. The Department of Wildlife keeps statistics on how many bears are killed after run  ins with humans from April through the following March. That means that the current season isn't even halfway over.But New Mexico In-Depth reports that a record number of bears have already been killed- over 250. --Fuego 505 is the winner of the 18th annual New Mexico State Fair Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge. The Albuquerque restaurant won the Blind Judging Championship while Badlands Burgers and Brew of Aztec was crowned People's Choice Champion. La Villa Burgers and Boba of Santa Rosa was second in the blind judging championship while Fat Sats of Belen came in third.

A Texas House committee plans to examine the legality of annexing New Mexico counties at a hearing later this month. The committee is looking at Eddy, Lea and Roosevelt counties. Eddy County and Lea County are the top two oil-producing counties in the state.--Attorney General Raul Torrez's office has asked the state's largest utility provider to explain its billing practices.The request to PNM came in a hand delivered letter last week. The Albuquerque Journal reports that the letter follows customer complaints to utility regulators and on social media. The summer was one of the hottest on record and electricity use broke records, too. 

State Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer is once again calling for Andrea Romero to resign from the legislature and the subcommittee investigating Zorro Ranch and Jeffrey Epstein. Romero is the chair of the Survivors' Truth Commission.Sharer pointed to $100,000 in capital outlay funds that Romero sent to the local District Attorney's office during the 2026 legislative session. A couple of months after approving the funds Romero took a part-time job at the same DA's office.--Much has changed since the 9/11 terror attacks 25 years ago. Almost 3,000 people died that day making it the deadliest terrorist attack in history. Each one of those people had family members- parents, children, siblings. Each life lost that day undoubtedly rippled out into waves of grief, anger and confusion, changing innumerable lives.But the country changed as well. Surveillance measures were heightened and Islamophobia surged. 

Much has changed since the 9/11 terror attacks 25 years ago. Almost 3,000 people died that day making it the deadliest terrorist attack in history. Each one of those people had family members--parents, children, siblings. Each life lost that day undoubtedly rippled out into waves of grief, anger and confusion, changing innumerable lives. But the country changed as well. Surveillance measures were heightened and Islamophobia surged. Four days after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh man, was murdered while working at the Chevron gas station he owned in Mesa, Arizona. When the murderer was arrested, he reportedly told police that he was seeking revenge for the 9/11 attacks, which were carried out by Muslim extremist group al Qaeda.While Muslims and other religious minorities have become more respected in the United States, religious discrimination and xenophobia persist. Communities in Albuquerque recently tried to block construction of a new mosque. The Department of Homeland Security faced backlash this week for posting an image depicting an Indian man with the caption, "Get off our roads, you don't know how to drive Mr. Singh." 

Democratic candidate for governor Deb Haaland spent her Labor Day weekend speaking to supporters around Northern New Mexico. That included a stop at the KTAOS Solar Center in Taos. Haaland detailed some of her policy objectives including more transparency for Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the state."I want to pass laws that say no law enforcement officer in New Mexico can conceal their identity," she told the cheering crowd.But Haaland told KSFR after the rally that she worried state laws would have little effect.  The problem is, they wouldn't care," she said. "They're following orders from a racist president who doesn't value human life."

Santa Fe City Council is reviving a plan to convert the old Lamplighter Inn into low-income housing. The plan has been met with delays and the original funding stream fell apart earlier this year. Now the city plans to pursue financing through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.  The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that city council heard a presentation on the plan from a consulting firm at Wednesday night's meeting. --Somos Un Pueblo Unido launched a new tool for immigrant workers in New Mexico last week. Somos Futuro is a Spanish-language online platform that connects workers with skills building, job training, financial assistance and other opportunities.  Somos Futuro is intended to be an online hub--bringing together resources that can be difficult to find or navigate. 

State Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer is once again calling for Andrea Romero to resign from the legislature and the subcommittee investigating Zorro Ranch and Jeffrey Epstein. Romero is the chair of the Survivors' Truth Commission.  Sharer pointed to $100,000 in capital outlay funds that Romero sent to the local District Attorney's office during the 2026 legislative session. A couple of months after approving the funds Romero took a part-time job at the same DA's office. -- Renewable energy development has become more important on the Navajo Nation since coal-related revenue has dwindled in recent years.  But some Navajo citizens are raising concerns about renewable projects. They say they're seeing patterns that were troublesome with coal projects- extractive practices, little community benefit and a lack of transparency. 

"Y'all read that ridiculous, stupid tweet by the president of the United States? He says that he's going to name "New Mexico" "New America." That was how Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland chose to open her speech at campaign stop in Taos on Sunday afternoon. The speech was just a few hours after President Trump posted a map on Truth Social that showed the state of New Mexico with the word "Mexico" crossed out and replaced with "America." The official White House account reposted the image on X.New Mexico Democratic Party Spokeswoman Mila Myles called on Haaland's opponent, Republican Greg Hull to denounce Trump's post. Hull said in a statement Sunday, "New Mexico does not need a new name. This state carries the history of Native nations and Spanish explorers who named this land nearly five hundred years ago, and generations of families who built New Mexico into what is is today. That identity is not up for negotiation." 

US Senator Martin Heinrich has introduced new legislation to strengthen Native language presence in Tribal Head Start programs. But, the Trump administration is pushing for all instruction to be in the English languageA New Mexico activist spoke at the UN and called for and end to nuclear testing.And for the first time, a Native American will become the Zozobra Fire Spirit.Plus, candidates for Lieutenant Governor share their thoughts on how to improve education in New Mexico. 

The two Republican members of the Survivors' Truth Commission are once again raising concerns about the commission's chair, Democratic Representative Andrea Romero. The bipartisan committee was formed to investigate Jeffrey Epstein and abuse that occurred at his Santa Fe County property, Zorro Ranch.  Romero used a media relations firm contracted by the commission to issue a statement about her personal employment controversy. She claimed to have the commission's permission. --Republicans will run unopposed in two state House races in the general election this fall. Democrats tried to nominate replacements for two candidates that dropped out of their races. The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the party did not meet a deadline for nominating the replacements.

New legislation from U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich looks to strengthen Native language use in Tribal Head Start programs. The New Mexico Democrat introduced the Native Language Educators in Classrooms Act last month. Senator Alan Armstrong, a Republican from Oklahoma, is also a cosponsor of the bipartisan legislation. If it becomes law, the bill will recognize the knowledge of elders and fluent Native language speakers, allowing them to bypass some degree requirements for Head Start programs. It would also recognize more credentials from Tribal colleges and universities. The legislation comes as the Trump administration proposes a sweeping overhaul of the Head Start system. Educators and politicians nationwide are pushing back. One proposed change is directly at odds with Heinrich’s new legislation. The Trump administration wants to require all programs to be taught in the English language. Other plans include potentially eliminating small class sizes, math and literacy standards, and free dental and medical screenings.--Than Povi Martinez will become the first Native American Fire Spirit at the Burning of Zozobra this Friday. Bernadette Lauritzen has more on Martinez’s rise through the flames. 

News for New Mexico on Sept 2, 2026

The U.S. House Oversight Committee is the latest government group to press for answers on the Drug Enforcement Administration's fentanyl operations in New Mexico. Whistleblower reports claimed that the DEA let fentanyl on to New Mexico streets in order to arrest bigger traffickers.James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky sent a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche on Monday asking for records of the DEA tactics. The letter only requested information from Biden administration years even though the whistleblower report said the practice continued after President Trump was reelected. --A New Mexico activist traveled to New York to address the United Nations on Monday.TAPE Cordova: "We were the first people exposed to radiation any place in the world. As ash fell from the sky in the days after the bomb, we were never warned before or after of the danger. So we lived our lives off the land as we always did."Tina Cordova founded the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium 21 years ago. Since then, she's been advocating for the generations that have been affected by the Trinity nuclear test in 1945. For Cordova, the work is personal. She listed numerous family members who lived healthy lifestyles yet were stricken with multiple cancers.

One empty ballot spot for the November 3 election was filled Friday while another remains vacant. State Democrats have been working to get new candidates on the ballot after Elise Falanga Taylor and Joseph Franklin Hernandez dropped out of House races for District 23 and District 4.  Falanga Taylor said she was dropping out due to alleged attacks on her character from her opponent, Republican Alan Martinez. Hernandez dropped out after a public nudity scandal in Chicago.--Several tribal nations, including Isleta Pueblo, filed a complaint in federal court Thursday about the Trump administration's handling of Indian education program operations. The complaint claims that the administration moved some operations and staff out of the Department of Education without the legally required tribal consultation.

Project Jupiter was back in the news this week. The New Mexico Supreme Court has paused the controversial data center’s air quality permit. The next day a New Mexico Environment Department officer recused himself from dealing with the permit.Oil and gas revenue helps pay for disaster relief in New Mexico while those industries contribute to disasters made worse by climate change.Democrat Deb Haaland leads Republican Greg Hull in the first public poll for New Mexico’s next governor. And, looking back at Dolly Parton’s impact on literacy in New Mexico. 

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking Department of Justice records about federal fentanyl operations in New Mexico. Torrez has previously said that the DOJ rejected a records request he made in July and did not respond to an appeal.The request and lawsuit come in response to whistleblower reports that the Drug Enforcement Administration knowingly allowed fentanyl onto New Mexico streets in order monitor and arrest higher level drug traffickers. --One group that typically leans conservative has some beef with a recent move by President Donald Trump- The New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association.Trump signed a proclamation Thursday temporarily lifting tariffs on some foreign beef imports. Trump first announced potentially lifting the tariffs last week and pushback from farmers and lawmakers followed. The New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association called dropping the tariffs, "the wrong signal at the wrong moment," in a statement issued before Trump signed the proclamation. 

State economists are projecting $924 million in "new money" for New Mexico in the next fiscal year. They presented the growing numbers to the Legislative Finance Committee Wednesday.Source New Mexico reports that much of the boon is the result of rising oil costs thanks to the war in Iran. Press releases from House Democrats and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham celebrated the budget growth but did not mention the war in Iran or oil revenue. --The City of Santa Fe will once again be searching for Youth and Family Services director less than a year after it filled the position. The Youth and Family Services director became the city's coordinator of homelessness services following a government restructuring. The vacancy comes at a time when the city is working to improve existing homelessness services and implement a new strategic plan. 

The number of executive orders issued in New Mexico has skyrocketed in recent years and many of them have been in response to fires, floods and other natural disasters. Ironically, many of the disasters are related to climate change and much of the money to pay for disaster remediation comes from oil and gas revenue- industries that contribute to a warming planet.--While fans around the globe mourn the loss of country music superstar, songwriter, actor and entrepreneur Dolly Parton, her Imagination Library will live on in New Mexico and in over 1,600 communities worldwide. The program mails age-appropriate books to children until the age of 5. --Democrat Deb Haaland and Republican Greg Hull met at a gubernatorial candidate forum in Albuquerque Tuesday evening. The forum was hosted by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association and drew around 600 people to the Albuquerque Convention Center. It's the first time the candidates publicly met since the June primary. 

In the first public poll for this fall's gubernatorial race, former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has a commanding 17 point lead over former Rio Rancho mayor Greg Hull.New Mexico Political Report reports that neither candidate has the support of a majority of the electorate- the poll shows Haaland, a Democrat, with 41 percent of the vote and Republican Hull with 24 percent. More than a quarter of poll respondents remain undecided. --A New Mexico Environment Department officer has recused himself from the Project Jupiter data center air quality permit proceedings.Attorneys from two environmental advocacy groups sought last week to disqualify the officer, Max Shepherd, claiming that he had failed to conduct a fair and impartial proceeding.

Fire crews have made significant progress on the Frijoles Fire. The fire has not grown since Thursday- hovering around 15,000 acres in size. The government agencies fighting and monitoring the blaze said the Frijoles Fire was 45 percent contained as of Sunday night. --The New Mexico Supreme Court has temporarily halted the air-permitting process for Project Jupiter. The controversial Oracle and OpenAI data center project in Southern New Mexico has been the topic of debate and protests since construction started months ago. 

It’s been another busy week in the New Mexico news landscape- especially if your name is Raul Torrez. The New Mexico Attorney General sued the U.S. Department of Justice for access to the Epstein Files, appealed a denied records request regarding the DEA’s fentanyl operations in the state and celebrated a win in a trial against Meta. And we'll hear about the Hopi inspired an environmental movement that started in the 1970s.

Two major developments were announced Wednesday regarding investigations into Zorro Ranch, the sprawling Santa Fe County property formerly owned by deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Attorney General Raul Torrez announced that the New Mexico Department of Justice is suing the U.S. Department Justice. NMDOJ is bringing the suit in a District of Columbia court in an effort to compel its federal counterpart to provide complete and unredacted Epstein files.Later in the afternoon, the state legislature's Survivors' Truth Committee released an interim report into its separate investigation into Zorro Ranch.

New Mexico environmental officials said Monday that they plugged a record number of abandoned oil and gas wells in 2025. They told lawmakers at an interim legislative committee meeting that Biden-era grants enabled much of the work.-The Survivors' Truth Commission will hold its next public meeting at the Roundhouse Wednesday afternoon to present an interim report on its findings to date and next steps in its investigative work. The commission was previously known as the Epstein Truth Commission and is a bipartisan investigative subcommittee of the New Mexico House of Representatives. 

The state task force examining public records laws has been holding meetings across the New Mexico this summer and will meet at Santa Fe Community College on Tuesday. Reports from the New Mexico Municipal League and the City of Albuquerque show that records requests have more than doubled since 2020.

Congratulations, you’ve made it through another week. If you didn’t have time to keep up with the news this week, KSFR has got you covered. Here’s a look back at a few of the stories we’ve been following.

"Connection with place scratches" at the surface of the meaning behind "querencia." The audio component of the exhibit begins with a definition by Leffler's friend Enrique la Madrid-- "Querencia is a folk concept. It's a sense of belonging. It's a sense of rootedness. Querencia is the place where you know you belong. Sometimes it's the place where you're born. It's mobile. You can develop a new querencia in a new place. But how do you set down roots in a new place? There's many ways of doing that, of becoming part of a new place."Stay tuned for parts two and three of this series. 

Stephanie Garcia Richard is the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, Santa Fe to close streets around the Plaza in summer months and more.

The group held the rally on the last day of a public comment period regarding Trump administration threats to protections around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

Today is the last day you can leave public comment regarding the Trump administration's plans to diminish or remove protections around the Chaco Canyon area. And, while many citizens have spoken out against a proposed Blackstone and PNM merger, one group favors private equity buying the state's largest electric utility- union leaders. 

Hello, happy Friday and thanks for tuning in to KSFR News. You’re listening to In Case You Missed It, where we look back at some of the week’s biggest news stories.The All Pueblo Council of Governors traveled to Washington DC to voice their concerns over federal threats to Chaco Canyon. Former state Attorney General Hector Balderas explained why his office honored a federal request to drop its Zorro Ranch investigation in 2019, and a deeper look at maternal mortality rates in New Mexico. 

Former NM AG Hector Balderas reveals why he complied with a 2019 federal request to end an investigation at Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch, candidates for Navajo Nation president advance and more.Get more local and statewide news, New Mexico culture and public affairs at KSFR.org

New Mexico news headlines for July 22, 2026

At Bathtub Row Brewing in Los Alamos on Saturday, folks we’re getting haircuts not just to beat the summer heart, but to raise money for cancer research. For the last three months, community members have asked friends and family for donations with the promise that they’ll shave their heads to support the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s child cancer research efforts.Organizer Becca Jones said the shaved heads show solidarity with child cancer patients who lose their hair after chemotherapy.