By Wheeler CowperthwaiteSpecial to the SUN A Canjilon woman is asking a judge to dismiss charges against her for aggravated battery and leaving the scene of an accident causing great bodily harm, stemming from a 2024 incident in which she allegedly hit a man with her truck. New Mexico State

Additional pre-trial litigation leaves insufficient time for October hearing

This Month on “Voices of Taos,” copy editor and reporter Emily Sender sits down for a conversation with Will Jaremko-Wright, Taos County agricultural/4-H extension agent and director of the Taos County Cooperative Extension Service. Will also...

Grants have dried up as community members crave economic development

From a Press Release New Mexico State Police will conduct sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and registration, insurance and driver’s license checkpoints in all New Mexico counties during September. They are bringing awareness to these events to reduce impaired driving-related fatalities through continued media attention and intensive advertising. The New Mexico

Taos’ shortage of primary care physicians and healthcare options generally will likely worsen in early October, when Taos Whole Health Integrative Care clinic will shut its doors for good.

Trustees will face another race in 2028

Time served concurrent with an Archuleta County drug charge

Friday (Sept. 4), according to Taos Municipal Schools District Superintendent Antonio Layton, Jr., was “just one of those days.”

Aug. 15 The police blotter is published to give readers an abridged look at criminal activity in their community and neighborhood. It is simply an illustration of what local law enforcement, funded by taxpayers, must deal with daily throughout the Española Valley. Española Police officers, Ohkay Owingeh Tribal Police, Rio

Enrique Orozco-Perez leaves at the end of September to continue immigration advocacy work on the East Coast

Splash Down Diving builds community and fosters growth

The rescue provides a lifelong home for equines that need it

By Eddie Campos We are all familiar with the process of roasting chiles using a cylindrical burner powered by propane. After the roasting process, we bring our Southern and Central New Mexico chiles home and shuck the thick outer skin, which is easily done in about an hour, depending on

Newspaper recognized for general excellence in news writing, photo and design

By Miles Barth El Rito Media Hoof prints mark the decimated garden next to Genevieve Baca’s Ojo Caliente home. Baca, 53, spent the summer cultivating the garden but eight cows have been grazing, sleeping and watering in and around the trailer park in which she resides, since Aug 4. They

By Amanda MartinezSpecial to the SUN The Española City Council’s approval of more renovations at Ranchitos Park will please people who play baseball, basketball and pickleball. Those who play tennis may not love the project. The council unanimously approved the $875,000 Capital Outlay-funded renovation project at the Aug. 25 regular

By Glen RosalesSpecial to the SUN There is no time like the present for local high school football teams to get a little healthier, and perhaps squeeze in a few more wins in heading to the season’s third week. Española Valley at Bernalillo 7 p.m. Friday The honeymoon period for

By Glen RosalesSpecial to the SUN For most of the local high school football teams, it was a rough second week of the season, with all but one team losing. Portales 58, Española Valley 6 For just over a quarter, the host Sundevils (1-1) were giving the Rams quite a

By Glen RosalesSpecial to the SUN If ever a program needed a breath of fresh air, Pojoaque Valley High School boys soccer was it. The team went 1-38 combined over the last two seasons and coaching change was made, as 1994 Pojoaque alum David Mowry takes over the Elks, bringing

By Glen RosalesSpecial to the SUN Two wins may not seem like much, but when coming off a winless season in which the Pojoaque Valley High School girls soccer team did not even score, last season was a tremendous success. So going 2-16-1 while scoring nine goals and being more

By Miles Barth El Rito Media Jacob Torres is on a mission and hopes his 6,000 corms take Under the shade of a tree planted by his great-great-grandfather, Jacob Torres, of Española, strategized with a handful of volunteers on Aug. 14, to determine the best way to sow 6,000 saffron

Evening football games are hoped to become a luminary tradition

Updated Sept. 4 at 8:25

Automated license plate readers aren’t going away, just changing brands

Events kick off 2 p.m. Thursday, bringing lots of visitors to Durango

For Carol Dee Huneke, owner of the vibrant and welcoming fine art gallery Carol Dee’s Art Joint, becoming an artist came through personal transformation.

Alexii Carey, 50, of Durango, grinds the lip of a bowl Tuesday at Durango Skate Park. (Shane Benjamin/Durango Herald) Alexii Carey, 50, of Durango, performs tricks Tuesday at Durango Skate Park. (Shane Benjamin/Durango Herald) Alexii Carey, 50, of Durango, grinds...

A red tailed hawk dines on a rodent while sitting on a side roll irrigation pipe last week in La Plata County. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)Jerry McBride A red tailed hawk dines on a rodent while sitting on a side roll...

The project increases security and quality of childcare

By Amanda MartinezSpecial to the SUN The Española City Council’s passage of a new ordinance and Memorandum of Understanding during the Aug. 25 regular meeting show how the administration is tackling the city’s finance problems. The vote comes after the city faced a more than $1 million budget deficit headed

By Glen RosalesSpecial to the SUN The fall season got underway for high school athletes as local teams enter non-district competitions looking to build toward district play and possible state tournament appearances. Aug. 25 Pojoaque Valley 3, Gallup 0 The new, well-rounded Elkettes (1-1) offense was on full display in

By Gail Armstrong During the past month, House Republicans have written two letters to the governor requesting she call a special session of the Legislature to provide an opportunity to debate our proposal to repeal the state personal income tax. We believe at a time of expensive gasoline prices and

By Sherry RobinsonAll She Wrote The first national park I ever visited was Carlsbad Caverns, and I doubt the Brownie camera I toted did justice to the underground wonder. My dad, a New Yorker who had loved the West ever since Uncle Sam’s army introduced him to it, took us

By Tom Wright Un hombre del campo: A man of the country. I am referring to State Rep. Martin Zamora and was refreshed to read his opinion piece on the Stop Insider Trading Act (H.R. 7008), which recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Zamora is certainly a man

A bear was well hidden up among the branches of a tree outside the Gaslight Twin Cinema on Fifth Street in Durango on Wednesday, prompting local law enforcement to make a police line with yellow caution tape, which drew the...

Tranquelino Romero, a Taos High School alumni accused of sexually assaulting two female students on campus in 2017 and 2018, faces new domestic violence charges as a federal lawsuit alleging the district failed to protect them goes to trial next...

Enchanted Forest Cross Country Ski Area will not open for the 2026-27 winter season after the worst winter in its 40-year history, owners Ellen Miller Goins and Geoff Goins announced in a press release Tuesday. The decision follows a succession...

The Village of Taos Ski Valley Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution at its Aug. 21 regular meeting that gives Village Administrator Henri Hammond-Paul authority to execute contracts worth up to $100,000 — and accept grants of up to $1...

DreamTree’s NEST Resource Center opened inside its overnight crisis shelter in Taos on Friday (Aug. 29), expanding the facility into a one-stop hub where people can seek help regardless of whether they’ve lost housing. The NEST Resource Center...

The Town of Taos voted during a special meeting Thursday (Aug. 27) to implement Phase 3 water restrictions “in response to severe drought conditions, reduced water availability, and increased strain on the Town's municipal water system,” according...

El Crepúsculo Inc., the parent company of the Taos News, and The New Mexican Inc., the owner of its sister paper, The Santa Fe New Mexican, have joined a coalition of nearly 400 newspapers suing Open AI and Microsoft over copyright...

Taos’ iconic, long-shuttered Kachina Lodge has changed hands again, and this time, the owners plan to invest about $15 million into restoring the 65-year-old landmark to its former glory. Kishan Group, a family-owned company that operates and...

The Taos County Commission declared September Suicide Prevention Awareness Month at its regular meeting Tuesday (Sept. 1). Officials also approved a change order to “complete” Phase II renovations at the Taos County Detox Center and recommended a...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities were responding to a shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday afternoon with multiple victims, including two police officers, according to officials. The Minneapolis Police Department warned the public to stay away from the area. No additional information...

The following is a summary of activity at Stray Hearts Animal Shelter from Monday (April 13) through Sunday (April 19). Animals currently in care: 57 Total intakes this week: 8 Transfers this week: 12 Animals in foster: 11 Pounds of food:...

New Mexico homeowners have until Friday (Sept. 4) to apply for financial assistance to repair or replace failing septic systems through the New Mexico Environment Department’s Liquid Waste Disposal Assistance Fund. The deadline marks the final...

The New Mexico Department of Health has issued updated guidance and extended a standing order for the 2026-2027 COVID-19 vaccines, which are expected to start arriving in the state next week, according to a Sept. 1 department press release. The...

The federal government is suing the New Mexico Higher Education Department over a two-decade-old program that provides in-state tuition, scholarships and grants to immigrants who had attended other schools in the state, regardless of their...

The Town of Taos is warning residents, businesses and applicants to be wary of fraudulent payment requests involving town applications, permits, fees or other municipal services. The town issued the warning Monday (Aug. 31), saying it accepts...

After their October 1912 marriage in Santa Fe, Aldo Leopold and Maria Estella Otero Bergere, also of Luna family heritage, had seven happy months at “Mi Casita,” the Craftsman bungalow Leopold built when serving as Carson National Forest...

A small bus traveling through Taos County each day transports an unlikely group of passengers: Dogs. Dog Bus Taos is a dog transportation and social play service founded by husband and wife, Paul and Alison Martin. Each day, they pick up dogs...

Reduced benefits widely felt by staff, among other concerns

Hosted by PASCO-Southwest Health Care on Saturday, insects released to memorialize the dead

More precipitation still expected as monsoons wind down

Topics include free speech, guns and responsibility, and addiction and mental health

Prosecutors could not link $60,650 seized by deputies to a crime

City looked at using transit center to address parking needs

Those receiving end-of-life care were at risk of ‘serious injury, harm, impairment, or death,’ reports said

Gino Jackson with Woodchuck Tree Service pulls down a tree trunk after it was cut by Tom Palmer, also with Woodchuck, on Tuesday at a residence on Riverview Drive in Durango. (Shane Benjamin/Durango Herald) A tree trunk kicks up soil...

By Amanda MartinezSpecial to the SUN The City of Española celebrated Disability Pride Month in July. The Española City Council became the third governing body in New Mexico to recognize Disability Pride Month after approving a proclamation at its July 28 meeting. Eli Fresquez is the Board president of Disability

From a Press Release SANTA FE — Kitchen Angels is offering 30 days of emergency meal service to adults and families affected by the Frijoles Canyon Fire who are experiencing sudden food insecurity. Through this service, Kitchen Angels provides frozen, heart-healthy, medically tailored meals to people who may have difficulty

Agile Space Industries won $30 million from the U.S Department of Defense

Duane Davis stands during a break in closing arguments during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Aug. 31. (Steve Marcus/Pool...

District Attorney’s Office did not believe case could be proved beyond a reasonable doubt

Limited foot traffic still in effect to prevent littering, vandalism and more

Updated Sept. 3 at 3:55 p.m.

Winter service expands travel options between Southwest Colorado and Texas

Christine Sage sworn into office Friday

Madena Row Bennett died in July 2026 at 56 years old. She is survived by her mother, Kathryn Bennett, her brother, Matt Clarke, her sister, Kimberly Belleville and her father, Alan Siegel. Madena was incredibly intelligent, always the funniest person in the room, quick witted and sharp, and so very

Larry Norris, 78 of Los Ranchos, NM passed away on August 10, 2026. He proudly served his country in the United States Navy. Larry lived a life defined by his service to others and his quiet devotion to his family. A man of deep faith, wisdom, and kindness, Larry spent

Benjamin Joseph Huerta, 39, beloved son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend, passed away on Friday August 7, 2026. Benjamin was born in Española, New Mexico, to David Huerta and Mary Esther Lucero. He had a passion for movies, hunting, sports, and, above all, family. He attended Northern New Mexico

Brianna Rose Knight (Nana), of Española, New Mexico, suddenly passed away on August 8, 2026, at the age of 28. Brianna was a beautiful soul with an infectious smile, a calm and soothing nature, and a wonderful sense of humor. From a young age, she was inquisitive and curious, always

Ramona D. Martinez, born October 29, 1944, to Hermando and Emilina Montoya in Española, NM, passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 6, 2026. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ramon; children, Roland and Renee; and siblings Ines Ortiz, Manuel Montoya, Margaret Montoya, Ida Ortiz, Janet Montoya, Juan “Choco”

By Wheeler CowperthwaiteSpecial to the SUN Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputies issued a summons to a Las Cruces woman following an alleged drunk driving crash that severely injured her daughter. Deputy Levi Eilers charged Yasmin Lopez, 25, with great bodily harm by vehicle (DWI) and driving while intoxicated with a

By Wheeler CowperthwaiteSpecial to the SUN Prosecutors dismissed a case against a Coyote man, whom they were trying to have held without bail pending trial, after the witness in the case failed to show up to a hearing. Prosecutor Kent Wahlquist dismissed the six charges against Manuel Martinez, 39, on

Since 1949, the Monte Vista Coop has grown from a group of forward-thinking farmers who pooled resources to buy in bulk to more than 8,000 members. Today, the Coop offers farm and ranch necessities, with each department operated with the best…

The Town of Taos voted during a special meeting Thursday (Aug. 27) to implement Phase 3 water restrictions “in response to severe drought conditions, reduced water availability, and increased strain on the Town's municipal water system,” acco…

Taos Police have arrested a man accused of making bomb and shooting threats to the Nusenda Credit Union in Taos on Monday morning (Aug. 24), according to Taos Police Chief Ron Montez Jr. Michael Allen Graves, 57, of Los Ojos, New Mexico,...

A man suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a bear bit him while he was camping near Red River Friday (Aug. 21), according to the New Mexico Department of Wildlife. Department conservation officers were at the scene Friday investigating...

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering up to $10,000 for information on three improvised explosive devices that were found near the Tres Piedras and Canjilon Ranger Stations of the Carson National Forest. ATF...

One of two former U.S. Army soldiers accused of ambushing and murdering their roommate, 25-year-old Army veteran Matthew McLaughlin, in Tres Piedras last year, was sentenced to 44 years in prison on Friday (Aug. 21). David Degroat, 22, accepted a...

The Town of Taos recently defunded its contract with Flock Safety, the nation's most ubiquitous network of AI-powered, automated license plate reader cameras, however uncertainty remains as to if or when the 18 cameras in Taos will be...

The Valley of the Mills Heritage Tour in the Mora Valley returns for a two-day, family-friendly celebration on Sept. 5-6, according to a press release. Visitors are invited to explore the rich cultural and historical legacy of Mora County,...

The news of Dolly Parton’s death Tuesday (Aug. 25) rocked the world. President Donald Trump ordered flags be flown half-staff for a week, and the British royal family honored Parton with a social media video of the Buckingham Palace band —...

The Carson National Forest of the U.S. Forest Service is hiring for over 45 positions, according to a Monday (Aug. 24) news release. "We are looking for dedicated individuals to support fire operations," the release stated. "These positions are...

Sheepskin coats, ranch dusters, suede jackets and rows of boots fill the Overland Sheepskin Co. store at the Overland Ranch Complex in El Prado, where the scent of leather and wool harkens to a craftsmanship that has existed for...

Over the weekend, dozens of farmers, craft makers, and visitors came out to the Juan I. Gonzales Agricultural Center for the Taos County Fair, where everyone celebrates the fruits of their labor and shows off their animals and products they...

A freshman Democrat in the New Mexico House of Representatives issued a public apology late Sunday following a report he was “running around naked” at a hotel in downtown Chicago in late July, banging on guest room doors. District 4 N.M. Rep....

Carson National Forest firefighters are on the scene of the Mogote Ridge Fire in Rio Arriba County, east of Canjilon and northwest of El Rito. The approximately 50-acre fire was zero percent contained as of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (Aug. 26), acco…

Bitter Creek, a tributary of the Red River, snakes through the subalpine area of Midnight Meadows. At times, the creek’s banks are clearly defined, eroding cliff-like from sod to river, and in other places, they’re imperceptible, shrouded in tall,...

The first day Steve Vigil saw plumes of smoke billowing over the western Sangre de Cristo Mountains from Cundiyó, his mind immediately turned to another scary thought. The aftermath. “For me, my backyard is on fire,” Vigil said. “It’s...

With a couple of years of atrophy since my last bout of regular disc golf play — at Albuquerque’s revered Roosevelt Park course — I recently set out on a tour of the Enchanted Circle’s disc golf offerings. I started with a map quest, completed at...

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management Taos Field Office last week advised the public of harmful algal blooms along sections of the Rio Grande within Río Grande del Norte National Monument. No illnesses to people or pets have been reported, according...

A new state-run facility is set to offer more beds to New Mexicans in need of residential substance addiction treatment. The Epi-Duran Substance Abuse Treatment facility, on the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute's campus in Las Vegas, will...

On the heels of a report highlighting New Mexico as the only U.S. state without declining enrollment on its health care exchange, legislative analysts warned in a new report released this week that the fund keeping residents’ premiums affordable...

Taos Municipal Schools is evaluating whether to bar certain companies from conducting future business with the district, a decision spurred by years of procurement fraud uncovered by a forensic audit of the district’s finances last November. At...