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Doña Ana Community College’s East Mesa campus in Las Cruces, with campus buildings and walkways in the foreground and the Organ Mountains rising behind them.
DACC Featured

DACC launches mentoring program for first-year students

DACC first-year students can join a new mentoring program that pairs them with faculty or staff members for academic support, career development and campus connections.

Organ Mountain News
Close-up of a child’s hands using a laptop keyboard and trackpad.
LCPS Featured

LCPS disables retention of student voice recordings after parent data concerns

LCPS says it has disabled retention of student voice recordings from the Amira reading assessment after parent data concerns and will offer a paper option.

Damien Willis
Presentation slide shows GISD students at the 2026 National Hispanic Institute program, including group photos and students holding awards and certificates.
GISD Featured

Nine GISD students return from national leadership program with college offers

Nine GISD students attended the National Hispanic Institute’s Collegiate World Series in Denver, gaining leadership experience, college connections and scholarship opportunities.

Damien Willis
Rendering of the proposed Project Jupiter data center campus in Doña Ana County, showing multiple large buildings, parking areas and rows of cooling infrastructure in the desert landscape.
Opinion Featured

Opinion: Doña Ana needs a public benefit ledger for Project Jupiter

Project Jupiter needs a public benefit ledger tracking jobs, local spending, training and environmental commitments against the results delivered, Gleb Tsipursky writes.

Gleb Tsipursky
LCPS rethinks school HVAC designs after costly problems at Centennial
LCPS

LCPS rethinks school HVAC designs after costly problems at Centennial

LCPS plans a $600,000 boiler fix at Centennial High while district officials reconsider HVAC designs after recurring problems at Centennial and Mesa.

Damien Willis
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich speaks into a microphone during a Senate committee hearing, seated behind a nameplate bearing his name.
Legislation

Heinrich bill would revive health career program as New Mexico faces worker shortage

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich is pushing to revive a federal health career training program as New Mexico faces a shortage of at least 5,000 health care workers.

Organ Mountain News
LCPS seeks community input on new grades 6–12 school
LCPS

LCPS seeks community input on new grades 6–12 school

LCPS will hold Aug. 18–19 focus groups to gather community input on a new grades 6–12 school planned to open in fall 2027.

Organ Mountain News
New Mexico Legislature needs to help local governments permit more housing, report recommends
Housing

New Mexico Legislature needs to help local governments permit more housing, report recommends

A new Homewise and Mercatus Center report recommends state incentives for local zoning reform, improved permitting data and a stronger New Mexico housing agency.

Patrick Lohmann
Aerial view of Project Jupiter construction in Santa Teresa, with a large building under construction, cranes, equipment and earthwork across the site.
Project Jupiter

Doña Ana County seeks 11 residents for Project Jupiter monitoring committee

Doña Ana County is accepting interest forms through Aug. 31 for an 11-member citizen committee that will monitor Project Jupiter and hold independent information forums.

Damien Willis
Aerial view of the Project Jupiter construction site in Santa Teresa, showing temporary buildings, equipment, parking areas and active construction.
Opinion

Opinion: How many ‘shouldas’ should it take on Project Jupiter?

Lisa Silva argues Project Jupiter’s potential noise, emissions, heat-island effects and water demands should weigh heavily in New Mexico’s air-permit review.

Lisa Silva
Doña Ana County Commission Chairman Manny Sanchez speaks from the dais during an Aug. 14 special meeting.
Dona Ana Board of County Commissioners

Doña Ana County to spend up to $489K on outside fiscal oversight after scathing state audit

Doña Ana County will spend up to $489,000 from reserves on outside fiscal oversight after a state audit found systemic failures in financial controls, procurement and grant administration.

Damien Willis
Students work at desktop computers and use smartphones in a classroom setting.
DACC

DACC students may qualify for $500 stipends for completing aerospace, AI courses

DACC students enrolled in select aerospace and artificial intelligence courses may qualify for $500 stipends after successfully completing their classes this fall.

Organ Mountain News
Deming High School student Urijah Nordorf, 16, participates in vocational training through Western New Mexico University’s dual enrollment program.
Education

Deming student on track to earn two WNMU trade certificates before high school graduation

A Deming High School student is on track to graduate with WNMU welding and electrical certificates through the university’s dual enrollment technical program.

Organ Mountain News
Food bank leaders speak with U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján during an Aug. 11 roundtable about rising food insecurity and demand for assistance in New Mexico.
Food Insecurity

New Mexico food banks describe significant increase in demand after federal food aid cuts

New Mexico food banks report sharply higher demand as SNAP changes and rising grocery costs strain families, with Roadrunner Food Bank up 79% year over year.

Patrick Lohmann
Las Cruces firefighters spray water on a fire-damaged mobile home on Three Crosses Avenue while hoses lie across the ground.
Fire

Las Cruces firefighters respond to two structure fires Friday

Las Cruces firefighters responded to two structure fires Friday, rescuing three pets from one home and quickly controlling a second fire at an abandoned mobile home.

Organ Mountain News
Graphic promotes GISD’s bilingual “Gadsden Listens / Gadsden Escucha” Family & Community Survey, which closes Aug. 23, alongside a smartphone displaying the survey.
GISD

GISD wants to hear from families. Here’s how their feedback could shape what comes next

GISD families and community members have until Aug. 23 to complete a survey that will help shape district priorities under Superintendent Nubia Tarazona’s 100-day plan.

Damien Willis
A sign identifies the U.S. Courthouse at 100 N. Church St. in Las Cruces beside the building’s stone exterior.
Federal Court

Three Las Cruces men plead guilty to federal firearms charges after Young Park shooting

Three Las Cruces men pleaded guilty to federal firearms charges stemming from a September 2025 shooting investigation near Young Park and Hermosa Heights Elementary.

Organ Mountain News
Booking photo of Wyatt Cornelius, 43, facing forward in front of a height chart at the Doña Ana County Detention Center.
Crime

Former Las Cruces teacher indicted in second case involving another minor

Former Las Cruces teacher Wyatt Cornelius faces two additional felony sexual-contact charges involving a different minor while remaining jailed in an earlier case.

Damien Willis
Organ Mountain News

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You’re free to republish our stories — with credit. Our journalism is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please edit only for style or length, include attribution and a link back to Organ Mountain News. AP and Getty images may not be reused. See our republishing guidelines for more.