in the news

The United States and countries around the world are eyeing hydrogen as a source of clean, dispatchable power, but work is still needed to get to that point, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told NM Political Report while touring a facility in Farmington that manufactures blue hydrogen reactors. Farmington-based...

FARMINGTON — San Juan County is primed to be a center for new energy production. That's what county leaders told U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm when she met with them during a visit to the Four Corners region on Aug. 19. Granholm was in New Mexico this week to learn about the state's diverse energy industries. Local...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – America’s top energy official is making several stops in Albuquerque Wednesday to promote renewable energy projects. At a first stop, Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited an Albuquerque apartment complex, which was recently revamped with a handful of energy efficient...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm heard from industry officials Wednesday about what it will take to boost renewable energy development in New Mexico and across the nation as the Biden administration pushes its initiatives to reduce emissions and address climate change. Granholm took notes during a roundtable...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - New Mexico state congressional leaders say there is still $200 million in federal money to help during the pandemic.  Volunteers helped New Mexicans fill out Emergency Rental Assistance Program applications at the state fairgrounds Tuesday.  "All of the economic impacts from COVID have not been evenly distributed over...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The head of the U.S. Energy Department is scheduled to visit New Mexico as the Biden administration looks to promote its renewable energy initiatives. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will be accompanied by Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich for the two-day visit. They are expected to meet with local leaders and...

New Mexico’s small towns have been reinventing themselves through the state’s endless outdoor recreation opportunities. Historical mining and extracting industries have been declining since the mid-20th century from the influx of cheap internationally sourced labor and sources for precious metals. This has left many mining...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico regulators have rejected the requests of landowners who sought to restrict public access to streams and rivers that flow through their properties, marking just the latest development in a legal battle that likely won’t end until the state Supreme Court weighs in. The state Game Commission voted on...

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s Democratic governor and dozens of other elected officials are urging the state’s business community to require that employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or alternatively undergo regular testing. Those steps are necessary to stop the current increased spread of the coronavirus as infections...

New Mexico’s Democrat leaders in Congress urged the federal administration to adopt methane emission restrictions like those recently enacted by the State of New Mexico. Earlier this year, Congress voted to reverse a decision under the administration of former-President Donald Trump that limited the U.S. Environmental Protection...

Sen. Martin Heinrich said during a town hall with progressives in Nob Hill on Monday that he wants to make major changes to the Senate filibuster rule – but he acknowledged that those changes will someday allow the GOP to create laws he disagrees with. The New Mexico Democrat said that partisan gridlock has made it so Americans can’t...

Janeth Nuñez del Prado, a social worker in Albuquerque, said her father had booked a flight from Bolivia to the United States to try to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which he didn’t have access to in his home country. But he fell ill shortly before the trip. And on May 27, Hugo Nuñez del Prado, a 62-year-old father of five, died...

Senate appropriators on Wednesday backed White House plans for another substantial boost in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs next year, signaling strong support for the idea across congressional chambers. The committee also supported plans from the administration and House appropriators to spend about $11...

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) took aim at greenhouse gas emissions through legislation introduced last month in the U.S. Senate that would help Americans electrify their homes. The Zero Emissions Homes Act was introduced by Heinrich on July 15 and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of which Heinrich is a member. If...

Paul Gessing, director of the Rio Grande Foundation, wrote about the need to continue using oil and gas without once acknowledging climate change and its effects. No mention of heat domes, wildfires across the entire western United States, and a “drought” that has been running since the late 1990s and is now considered by...

The manager of the Artesia Municipal Airport was shocked by the announcement of a $59,000 federal appropriation awarded to the facility. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) said the Federal Aviation Administration  (FAA) awarded $150,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for...

SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico (Border Report) – Since before it became a city in 1983, residents of this Southern New Mexico community have been lobbying for a border crossing into Mexico. With a young, growing population base of 17,978, abutting both El Paso, Texas, and Mexican manufacturing giant Juarez – and with Interstate...

Jobs aimed at addressing climate change would be funded if calls from New Mexico’s congressional Democrats and a coalition of lawmakers are heeded.   All four of New Mexico’s Democrat in Congress signed onto a letter to their party’s leadership demanding funds for a Civilian Climate Corps be included the reconciliation deal...

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Senator Martin Heinrich is backing the federal mandate requiring the vaccine for health care workers with Veterans Affairs. The United States Department of Veteran Affairs announced the requirement Monday, as the delta variant spreads and parts of the country see a surge in cases. Sen. Heinrich says he supports...

WASHINGTON — The Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Project will be fully funded if an infrastructure bill is passed through Congress, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., announced last week. In a phone message to Gayla Brumfield, former mayor of Clovis who has been active in eastern New Mexico water supply issues, Heinrich said a provision in the...