The KUNM news team worked incredibly hard this past year and we wanted to highlight some of our favorite stories as we say goodbye to 2024.
Two years on from historic fire, northern New Mexico communities wait for help to rebuild
In 2022, the Calf Canyon/Hermit's Peak fire burned hundreds of homes, after two U.S. Forest Service prescribed burns went awry. The federal government promised billions of dollars to compensate devastated communities, and in this story I looked at how slowly that's coming to people. I've stayed in touch with several people whose lives were changed forever by the fire, and this story was part of holding the Federal Emergency Management Agency accountable for helping them.
Trump comes to New Mexico, where Republicans are courting Hispanic voters hard
In the run-up to the election, I started calling around Democratic local officials in Northern New Mexico and was surprised by what I heard. They were concerned that people in their communities, especially younger people and Hispanic people, were drifting toward Trump and the Republican party. So, I took a look at state races, and saw that in the races the Republicans lost most narrowly last time, they were running Hispanic candidates this time around. Then, I spoke to Republican candidates and strategists about their concerted push to make gains among Hispanic voters. When Trump decided to visit New Mexico, it made a lot of sense in that context. When he touched down, he said, "I’m here for one simple reason. I like you very much, and it’s good for my credentials with the Hispanic or Latino community." Though the state ultimately stayed mainly blue, it looked a lot purpler than 2022, and with record numbers of Hispanic, Republican state lawmakers elected.
Albuquerque prickly pear festival celebrates abundance of the desert
This was a chance to take listeners on a fun day out with me, of music and food and celebration of a native plant. The organizers of this prickly pear festival want people to reconnect to local foods and traditions for a more sustainable life.
Mia Casas
The art of opera flourishing at Albuquerque Academy
This story was an opportunity to combine so many of my passions into one area. A secret fact about me is that I am classically trained in opera! I have been a performer for over a decade now, and when a teacher pitched us this story about a middle school opera club, I was more than intrigued. It was remarkably fun to watch these kids write, direct and produce a full opera. Getting to know young folks who still have passion for classical art was inspiring.
New initiative takes on harm reduction in Albuquerque’s music scene
I was excited to highlight this unique initiative through a radio story. The underground music scene has historically had a bad reputation surrounding drug use and harm. The Punk Safety Initiative is trying to change that reputation and provide harm-reduction tools to this community. The team is made up of medical students and is now an official nonprofit providing safe use kits, condoms, emergency contraceptives, and other products to reduce harm in the community.
Artist explores healing through pain in new book
People often think of tattoos as taboo and certainly not healing. One tattoo artist in Albuquerque is trying to change that narrative. Through her book “Sublime Hallucinations,” Ray Kim explores how tattoos can heal emotional pain and trauma through medicine, ritual, and intention. I got to attend her book release and live tattooing ceremony, as well as interview her privately about this process and her book.
Nash Jones
Organ donations hit a record high in NM, but the wait for kidneys remains above average
This story began when my neighbor Scott Plunket put a giant sign in his yard that said “I need a kidney!” I had to know more, so I knocked on his door. Scott told me about his quest for a live kidney donor while he sat on the waitlist for a deceased donor. I also met Renee Roybal of San Ildefonso, who received a heart transplant in a way that aligned with Pueblo cultural traditions around a body remaining intact for burial. They shared their unique experiences with the process during a year of record organ donation facilitated by New Mexico Donor Services.
Matthew Finch kept his Ear to the Ground: Remembering KUNM’s longtime music director
Our team at KUNM and the New Mexico music community lost a dear friend and local music champion in Matthew Finch this year. It was my honor to speak with his family, friends and colleagues about the impact his life and work had on all of us. He is deeply missed while his legacy lives on at KUNM and beyond.
City officials say Albuquerque’s ‘sanctuary city’ status can withstand federal pressure
After Donald Trump was reelected, I took on a series looking at how New Mexico state and city officials were preparing for his next term, particularly his promise to enact mass deportations. In this story, I focused on the City of Albuquerque, where there is a sanctuary city policy that prevents local cooperation with federal immigration officials. I believe it was important to let concerned community members know what the city’s top officials were considering in the lead up to potential deportations and what they do and do not have the power to do.
Bryce Dix
How one historic New Mexico mining town is balancing its legacy, tourism, and the climate crisis
For those who don’t know, Madrid, New Mexico is one heck of a town. Not only is it the site of one of the oldest coal mining regions in the state, but its large piles of toxic mining waste actually gives residents a serious economic boon for their stark Western aesthetic – attracting both film and tourism dollars. And, naturally, they want to keep it that way. When I heard that the state was putting millions of dollars into a project meant to keep these piles of eroding legacy waste from sweeping into the town’s homes from torrential rains, I had to check it out. This is an example of a process that’s rare nowadays: compromise, trust-building, and problem-solving by the public and state government.
Beavers could be the key to fighting climate change in the Southwest
I love this story for lots of reasons. I mean, who doesn’t love beavers? Right now, advocates are actively pushing to reintroduce the semi-aquatic rodent into New Mexico’s streams and rivers in the name of the environment. Turns out these small-but-mighty critters have a lot going for them – from fighting wildfires to filtering out pollutants and improving water quality with their dams. Surprised, I decided to take a little road trip to the Jemez Mountains to take a closer look at recovery efforts. This is one of those stories where you'll hear everything that makes radio magical — laughter, the steady trickle of a stream, and the familiar sinking squish of mud under a boot. Climate stories are often full of doom and gloom, but this one is much different.
An audio postcard from the Caja del Rio plateau
A personal favorite of mine, this audio postcard transports you right into the passenger seat of a pickup truck driving across the Caja del Rio plateau. Nestled just outside of Santa Fe, the Caja is the proposed site of a hotly contested 115kV transmission line by Los Alamos National Laboratories. I’ve closely followed this story for over a year now and have slowly seen efforts to conserve this sacred (and might I say beautiful) piece of land garner serious attention. Most recently, New Mexico’s congressional delegation called on President Joe Biden to designate it a national monument. In my previous reporting, LANL officials told me I should see the Caja for myself and through this story, you can too.
Jeanette DeDios
Mescalero Apache members speak out on the impact of the South Fork and Salt fires
The South Fork and Salt fires came as a surprise to many and that was no different for the KUNM team. We only had a handful of reporters available at the time so we were all working at high capacity. Something that was very clear was that most news outlets were only focusing on Ruidoso and not the Mescalero Apache reservation, which was also feeling the impacts of the fire. I volunteered to travel down to the reservation to talk to members of the community to discuss some of the challenges they were facing. While I was driving down, I was having doubts if anyone would be willing to talk to me in such an urgent time. But to my surprise, I was met with smiles, laughter, and volunteers sorting donations, preparing food, and even asking me if I needed anything. The resistance and resilience of the community to help their own and others is what I took away from this assignment.
Native American voters weigh in on this election
As a team, KUNM had been covering the election for months and on the heels of election day, President-elect Donald Trump decided to hold a rally in Albuquerque. This was my first time covering a rally and whether Trump was going to be the next president or not, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime event as a reporter. I had been trying to gain input from the Indigenous community on where they stand between Trump and Harris. Of the people I interviewed at prior election events, I only heard people planning to vote for Harris. This rally was a great opportunity to find Native voters whose beliefs aligned with Trump and were planning to vote for him. Getting their perspective helped bring balance to the overall story about where Native American voters stood in the election.
Local Diné author on the rise in Indigenous representation and supporting Native voices in media
The most enjoyable interviews are the ones that don’t feel like work. And this story was certainly that; when I talked with local author Ramona Emerson, it felt like I was talking to an old friend. The hardest part was taking a 30 minute interview and cutting it down to 5 ½ minutes. There was so much that Emerson had to say about how Native Americans are portrayed in today’s media, both the good and the bad. And as a fellow filmmaker and writer, she is such an inspiration and I feel very lucky that I had the opportunity to interview her on her newest book “Exposure,” a sequel to her first book, “Shutter.” For Native and non-Natives alike, this interview is likely to stir your creative juices and inspire you to start a new project.
Daniel Montaño
Research competition teaches kids more than history
As a public health reporter, sometimes I get caught up reporting negative news, but this was a blast to report on, and included so many great moments, mainly because it includes kids — precocious, intelligent and driven kids. They’re part of National History Day, a nonprofit organization that runs a research competition to get kids excited to learn, and seeks to create well-informed and engaged citizens who can place their society in a broader context.
State’s only detox for young people set to open
If you were under the age of 18 and dealing with addiction issues before this year, there weren’t any official options to medically detox in New Mexico outside of a hospital. Now Serenity Mesa has a detox on their campus for kids as young as 14, which advocates have been working toward for years. This story was touching to report on. While touring their campus, a young woman who was living there while going through their rehabilitation program interrupted the interview to make sure I knew how much she loved the people and the place itself.
Controversial behavioral health law sparks strong responses from supporters and critics alike
This ordinance to create a central behavioral health care authority in Bernanillio county proved to be much more divisive than initial reporting would suggest. It was heavily supported by behavioral health providers outside of Bernalillo County’s control, but was absolutely abhorred by behavioral health workers employed by Bernco. This story did not get much attention, besides a cursory review of the bill, prior to my coverage, despite the fact that county employees were very loud about their concerns, which included fear for their safety.
Taylor Velazquez
In the run-up to the election, I had the opportunity to closely follow one race, State Senate District 9. The race was a tense one between Democrat Cindy Nava and Republican challenger Audrey Trujillo. Trujillo was not a new face to New Mexico politics as she most notably ran for Secretary of State in 2020. However, Trujillo lost that race and while her social media accounts had posts that were anti-Semitic, she would deny reposting them and said her account must have been hacked. Later she admitted that she didn’t think the intentions of the post were racist.
Democrat Cindy Nava drew immense national interest, with NPR reaching out to KUNM for a national story on her. When Nava was a child she was brought to the U.S. from Mexico and she would later receive the federal program benefit of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that allowed her the right to live in the country, go to school, and work without the fear of deportation. Later on she would go on to participate in the New Mexico Legislature on policy decisions concerning scholarships for DACA recipients, work in education policy, and would become the first former DACA recipient to receive a White House political appointment and chose to spend her time in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Nava became a U.S. citizen three years agoThe Senate District 9 race made history, as Nava became one of the first former DACA recipients to win public office.
Local charter school has creative plans in getting young people engaged in healthcare careers
As one of the poverty and public health reporters at KUNM funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a big focus area for me this year was the health care worker shortage crisis. In the past, I’ve covered other public health issues like child welfare, poverty, and education, but after digging into this workforce shortage, I found connections among all these issues given long waiting times to see a doctor and how the lack of health care access leads to dangerous outcomes. A local charter school, Health Leadership High School, also saw the parallels as well and began to work to get young people interested in medicine. This type of program is integral in helping with the shortage of these workers. The school’s curriculum allows students to apply their studies to the real world, even having paid internships. The school believes that these initiatives will keep young people here to serve their own communities while helping out with the state’s systemic challenges when it comes to education attainment.
Albuquerque Public Schools reports progress in reducing chronic absenteeism
One of the issues I’ve covered extensively is chronic absenteeism, especially post-pandemic. Albuquerque Public Schools, the state’s largest school district, participated in the Every Day Counts Summit, hosted by the White House, where they reported a decrease of chronic absenteeism this year, after they implemented several initiatives and prioritized community building both inside and outside the school. While sometimes it does feel the news cycle is only reporting the negatives going on in the state, it is always great to highlight any progress that has been made, especially when it comes to issues of education.
Megan Kamerick
UNM grad named CNN Hero of the Year for his work as a street vet
As news director, I’m not doing much reporting these days since a lot of my time is helping others do their reporting and edit their stories. But I still take some time to do interviews, including on University Showcase, the monthly show I’ve hosted for years. One of my favorites was with Kwane Stewart. The UNM grad works as a street veterinarian and I found his work so inspirational. I volunteer at a soup kitchen and I meet a lot of folks living on the streets with animals, mostly dogs. I feel badly for the pets knowing the challenges they face, but he helped me realize how much they are loved. For some of these folks, these companions have been the difference between living and giving up.
We were not fully staffed when the South Fork and Salt Fires broke out, and the distance was also challenging for us in terms of coverage. But one of our collaborators, Source New Mexico, had folks on the ground there and the editor at the time, Shaun Griswold, told me people could not reach one another due to the cell phone towers being destroyed. He asked me to set up a hotline, which I’d never done, but I got a Google Voice number and we started putting out the word to call us with messages for loved ones. I spent a solid day answering messages and getting out information. It was exhausting but one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done in a long time. Our effort was highlighted by America Amplified.
'Nothing Left For Me' focuses on the trauma brought by the Navajo Livestock Reduction Program
For me the best part of being a journalist is that I’m always learning. I love this, even when I learn things that are deeply disturbing. I did a show focusing on this exhibit at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology about an episode in our history I’m pretty sure many people have never heard about. The federal government forced Navajo families to give up huge parts of their livestock, nominally as a tool to address the soil erosion that contributed to the Dust Bowl. But in reality, it was another tool to control and mainstream Native Americans. We all need to understand our history, unvarnished, if we are to move forward and create a more just society and this was a story that really brought that home for me. But also, I loved that the curators focused on the amazing resilience of these communities. That’s part of telling the complete story of colonization.