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

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently gained national headlines for her public health order, which essentially banned carrying a gun in Bernalillo County, the state’s... — Updated 9/16/2023

New Mexico should be in crisis mode. Our K-12 education system is certainly facing a crisis. Problems abound: recent reports highlight serious school attendance issues, the NAEP... — Updated 8/29/2023

A recent cartoon by John Trever highlights the vastly different approaches toward governance of New Mexico and Texas. The cartoon is of the state border circa 2030 as New Mexicans h... — Updated 7/29/2023

Once again New Mexico is at the bottom of a list. “Kids Count 2023” is compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation with distribution and media handled by New Mexico Voices for... — Updated 7/3/2023

According to New Mexico’s Tax and Revenue Department, rebate checks (or transfers to bank accounts) will be going out at any time during the middle of June. At the Rio Grande... — Updated 6/17/2023

The 2023 New Mexico legislative session was generally disappointing for New Mexicans who wish to see much-needed K-12 education reform. However, it was not a total loss. In fact, on... — Updated 5/23/2023

In her message in which she explained her veto of large portions of the Legislature-passed tax bill, Gov. Lujan Grisham wrote, “Although HB 547 has many laudable tax reform... — Updated 4/29/2023

The state of New Mexico is unique in both its demographics and geographical features. Our vast land area, diverse topography, and sparse population have proven to be a significant... — Updated 4/22/2023

There was a small, but significant victory for free speech during the recent legislative session. A measure that would have made already-hostile privacy laws for nonprofit causes... — Updated 4/8/2023

With $3.6 billion at its disposal the New Mexico Legislature had the chance of the century (and possibly the last century) to enact sweeping reforms of the state’s tax structure.... — Updated 4/1/2023

Elected officials who use the power of government to “help” people often fail to account for the possible unintended consequences of their actions. Even the noblest of... — Updated 3/14/2023

In October of last year, results for the Nation’s Report Card placed New Mexico dead last in education among all states, the District of Columbia, and Department of Defense school... — Updated 2/25/2023

In December the Legislative Finance Committee published a report on New Mexico’s Medicaid program. Whether by design or accident, the report happened to coincide with the 10th... — Updated 1/21/2023

As the state’s Permian oil production boom continues in New Mexico the budget surpluses available to legislators each session grow as well. The latest announced budget surplus is... — Updated 12/24/2022

There are numerous important issues on New Mexicans’ ballots as early voting has begun. Amendment 2 has not received the same attention as Amendment 1, which relates to pre-K and... — Updated 10/22/2022

With just a few weeks left before early voting kicks off, what issues will motivate how New Mexicans vote? According to one recent poll the top issue this fall is inflation/ the... — Updated 9/24/2022

There is a life-or-death issue facing New Mexicans. It has been widely reported on in the media and is important to New Mexicans from all walks of life. Voters will have a lot to... — Updated 8/27/2022

New Mexico is always ranked among the “poor” states in the United States. But, as anyone who lives here or has taken stock of New Mexico’s abundant natural and cultural resour... — Updated 7/30/2022

As we move beyond a contentious series of primaries in both parties and look to the fall election, one of the big issues on the fall ballot is the plan to “tap” New Mexico’s p... — Updated 6/25/2022

New Mexico is in a unique economic situation. Despite having the highest unemployment rate in the nation for all of 2022, our incredibly strong oil and gas industry, buoyed by high... — Updated 4/23/2022

There are many things that make New Mexico unique, but one of the most noteworthy political nuances is the state’s deep and unusual relationship with energy. New Mexico’s Democr... — Updated 3/26/2022

The 2022 30-day legislative session could have been much worse. It is no secret that we at the Rio Grande Foundation have disagreed with most of Michelle Lujan Grisham’s major eff... — Updated 2/26/2022

While every school year is different, this year is certainly more different than most. For starters, students are returning to “semi-normal” classrooms after 1.5 years of... — Updated 8/21/2021

After nearly 16 months of COVID-19 and related policies, New Mexico is finally reopening on Thursday. Recently, New Mexico Education Secretary Ryan Stewart who spent most of the... — Updated 6/26/2021

The US Census Bureau recently released what can only be described as some disturbing data regarding the future of New Mexico. Notably, while the state’s population grew by just... — Updated 5/11/2021