Organ Mountain News
  • 💙 DONATE 💙
  • Home
  • About
  • State
  • Local
  • Education
  • Crime
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Community
  • Sports
  • Events
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
Sign in Subscribe
Silhouetted oil pumpjack and utility lines stand against an orange sunset over a desert landscape.
Oil & Gas Industry Featured

Federal oil-and-gas leasing surges in New Mexico as royalty rates fall

BLM says New Mexico oil-and-gas lease sales have generated more than $4.4 billion in 2026 as a new federal law lowers royalty rates for new production.

Damien Willis
Las Cruces and NMSU police vehicles are parked along University Avenue near a New Mexico State University sign during a traffic enforcement operation.
LCPD Featured

155 citations issued in joint Las Cruces-NMSU traffic operation

Las Cruces and NMSU police issued 155 traffic citations during a three-hour enforcement operation along University Avenue on the first day of fall classes.

Organ Mountain News
Graphic showing unemployment benefit paperwork, a debt forgiveness notice and a Feb. 21, 2027, deadline for nearly 30,000 New Mexicans.
State Featured

Nearly 30,000 New Mexicans face deadline to seek pandemic unemployment debt forgiveness

Nearly 30,000 New Mexicans covered by a class action settlement have until Feb. 21 to apply for forgiveness of pandemic-era unemployment debt.

Organ Mountain News
Stephon Payne holds the basketball while playing for Seton Hall during the 2025-26 season.
Aggie Basketball Featured

NM State adds Seton Hall transfer Stephon Payne

NM State men’s basketball added fifth-year forward Stephon Payne, who started all 33 games for Seton Hall last season and averaged 6.5 rebounds.

Michael Navarrette
A protester holds a cardboard sign reading “NO PROJECT JUPITER” outside the New Mexico Environment Department in Santa Fe.
Project Jupiter

NM residents protest pending Project Jupiter air quality permit outside Environment Department

New Mexico residents protested Project Jupiter outside the Environment Department as opponents filed new legal challenges over water wells and the air permit process.

Joshua Bowling
NMSU mechanical engineering student Quinn Thompson writes an equation on a whiteboard at the engineering tutoring center.
NMSU

NMSU Engineering awards nearly $1 million in scholarships to more than 1,300 students

NMSU’s College of Engineering awarded nearly $1 million in scholarships to more than 1,300 students during the 2025-26 academic year through the Scholar Dollar$ application.

Allison Brady
Healthcare provider conducts a virtual medical visit with a patient on a laptop, with medication bottles and supplies on the desk.
DACC

DACC to showcase free TimelyCare health services Aug. 26

DACC will host a TimelyCare event Aug. 26 at its Espina Campus to showcase free virtual medical and mental health services available to students.

Organ Mountain News
Participants in WNMU’s Basic Economic Development course gather on the Silver City campus after a week of regional growth and planning training.
WNMU

WNMU hosts one of 19 nationally certified economic development courses

WNMU hosted one of 19 nationally certified basic economic development courses, drawing regional leaders to Silver City for a week of professional training.

Organ Mountain News
NM State Swim & Dive 2026-27 schedule graphic featuring swimmer Emily Dobbins and a list of home, away and postseason meets.
Sports

NM State Swim & Dive releases 2026-27 schedule

NM State Swim & Dive released its 2026-27 schedule, including five home events in Las Cruces and a Jan. 23 rivalry meet against New Mexico.

Izzy Palmisano
Laura Paskus smiles outdoors with a New Mexico landscape and mountains in the background.
Commentary

Aridification is here

Laura Paskus writes that New Mexico is already living with aridification as rivers dry, reservoirs shrink, trees die and communities face worsening water stress.

Laura Paskus
Close-up of water splashing across a dark surface, illustrating stormwater and drainage.
Doña Ana County

Phase 2 of La Union drainage project begins Aug. 31

Phase 2 of the Mendez Street Drainage Project begins the week of Aug. 31 in La Union, with San Antonio Street closing to through traffic for about two months.

Damien Willis
Graphic showing non-heroin opioids rising from 10.8% to 43.5% of New Mexico treatment admissions among adults ages 18 to 24 from 2013 to 2023.
Public Safety

Non-heroin opioids rose to 44% of New Mexico young-adult treatment admissions

Non-heroin opioids accounted for nearly 44% of New Mexico treatment admissions among young adults in 2023, up from about 11% a decade earlier.

Damien Willis
DACC professor Elmer González stands beside an event representative while holding the World Dental Hygienist Award against a blue stage backdrop.
Recognitions

DACC professor Elmer González receives international dental hygiene award

Doña Ana Community College professor Elmer González received the World Dental Hygienist Award during an international symposium in Milan, Italy.

Organ Mountain News
Black-and-white surveillance image showing two people moving through Strykers Shooting World during a November 2025 burglary.
Courts

Teen pleads guilty to all felony counts in Strykers Shooting World burglary

Javon Fielder, 17, pleaded guilty to eight felony counts in the 2025 burglary of Strykers Shooting World in Las Cruces.

Damien Willis
FYI+ flyer describing infant mental health services and child-parent psychotherapy for children ages 5 and younger and their caregivers in Las Cruces.
Community

FYI+ infant mental health program offers support for young children, caregivers

FYI+ offers infant mental health services in Las Cruces for children ages 5 and younger and their caregivers through child-parent psychotherapy.

Organ Mountain News
Details emerge in El Paso arrest of Las Cruces crime spree suspect
Crime

Details emerge in El Paso arrest of Las Cruces crime spree suspect

New details reveal what happened inside an El Paso home before Jesus Angel Cortez, a suspect in a Las Cruces crime spree, was arrested.

Damien Willis
Sunland Park City Council members sit at the dais during the Aug. 18 meeting at the city's Multi-Generational Center.
Sunland Park

Sunland Park voters to decide $8.25M bond package in November

Sunland Park voters will decide three general obligation bond questions totaling $8.25 million on Nov. 3 for recreation, public safety and infrastructure projects.

Damien Willis
Exterior of the Dr. Karen M. Trujillo Administration Complex in Las Cruces, with the Las Cruces Public Schools name above the entrance.
LCPS

LCPS pays $11.3M for annual insurance coverage, up 14% from last year

Las Cruces Public Schools paid $11.3 million for annual risk insurance coverage for fiscal year 2027, about $1.4 million more than last year.

Damien Willis
Organ Mountain News

© Organ Mountain News, LLC 2026

Powered by Ghost
  • Sign up free
  • 💙 DONATE 💙
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • About
  • Ethics
  • Transparency
  • DEIJ Policy
  • Republish our Work
  • AI Policy
  • Style Guide
  • Our Impact
  • Funding
Creative Commons License

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.