The Eastern New Mexico News - Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

SANTA FE — With Election Day less than six weeks away, Republican Mark Ronchetti continues to hammer away at Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's record on crime. In a recently launched TV ad, Ronchetti criticized a Lujan Grisham... — Updated 9/30/2022

Article V of the state Constitution says a person must have “resided continuously in New Mexico for five years” prior to the election to be eligible to serve as governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor,... — Updated 9/24/2022

New Mexico lawmakers in recent years have passed laws expanding background check requirements for firearm purchases and allowing guns to be seized from individuals deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others. But with the... — Updated 9/6/2022

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's reelection campaign is hitting GOP rival Mark Ronchetti with an unexpected attack with just over three months until Election Day — that he supports "defunding the police." The assertion... — Updated 8/6/2022

A 50% increase in K-12 English language arts and math achievement by the 2025-26 school year might seem aspirational, until you realize where New Mexico is starting from. At last count, prepandemic, just one in five N.M. students... — Updated 7/19/2022

SANTA FE — The day Roe v. Wade was overturned, Republican Mark Ronchetti said he would pursue a 15-week abortion ban — with some exceptions — if elected governor of New Mexico. But Ronchetti’s longer-term goal, according... — Updated 7/19/2022

Before she was elected governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham acknowledged the state’s system of allocating elk licenses was unfair to N.M.’s resident hunters. But instead of empowering the New Mexico State Game Commission to... — Updated 7/5/2022

An 85-page U.S. Forest Service review of the origins of the Hermits Peak Fire suggests the biggest wildfire in state history was caused in large part by a breakdown in protocols. But the review also revealed a troubling culture pro... — Updated 6/28/2022

The same day an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, two students were found with guns at Albuquerque-area schools. The boy who allegedly brought a handgun to Cleveland... — Updated 6/14/2022

SANTA FE — New Mexico turned deep blue over the last decade as Democrats dominated races for U.S. Senate and the state’s presidential electors. But Republican Mark Ronchetti will have one bit of history on his side as he... — Updated 6/11/2022

SANTA FE — Public Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus is giving up some of his day-to-day job duties as he handles a personal health issue, state officials say. Steinhaus, who’s 68, said he expects to pull back from travel... — Updated 6/7/2022

Customers had more than five on it, as the state said cannabis businesses realized about $21.1 million in recreational sales in the month of May. Medical cannabis sales did $17.4 million — combining for a total sales month of... — Updated 6/4/2022

SANTA FE — Attorneys for the state Republican Party asked a judge Monday to bar New Mexico from conducting this year's congressional elections under the new map adopted in last year's special session, describing it as an illegal... — Updated 4/19/2022 Full story

Bosque School students came face to face with living history Monday — namely one of New Mexico’s last remaining Holocaust survivors — who came to teach them about the different sides of humanity. Around 40 juniors gathered... — Updated 4/16/2022

It’s something when your work rises to the level of a bumper sticker. In Rio Arriba County and the Española Valley, the “Shut Your Trapp” decals refer to the family that founded the scrappy Rio Grande SUN in 1956. Owners... — Updated 4/16/2022

April is National Donate Life Month. And a total of 1,010,536 New Mexicans with driver’s licenses or state-issued identification cards are registered as donors, according to New Mexico Taxation and Revenue. Last year, through Mar... — Updated 4/9/2022

The $50 million “junior” spending bill Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed last week provided a current-events lesson in just one of the dysfunctional aspects of our state’s legislative structure. The bill provided... — Updated 3/15/2022

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday signed into law a bill expanding the in-state preference that New Mexico-based businesses get when applying for government contracts. The new law, approved by lawmakers during... — Updated 3/1/2022

After posting a narrow victory at the GOP state pre-primary convention over the weekend, Jay Block declared himself as the “front runner” of New Mexico’s Republican crop of governor candidates and quickly went on the attack.... — Updated 3/1/2022

SANTA FE — With bipartisan support, legislators adopted a revised budget proposal Monday that would grow state spending by 14% as New Mexico enjoys a revenue boom, allowing new investments in education and public safety. The... — Updated 2/15/2022

Six bucks a month. With state revenues projected to exceed $9 billion, a paltry $6 a month, about the price of a pound of premium bacon. That’s how much a family would save under the latest “tax cut” package limping along... — Updated 2/12/2022