The KUNM news team has won awards from the Public Media Journalists Association and the Society of Professional Journalists for work covering breaking news, youth gun violence, climate change, and people facing homelessness
KUNM reporters Daniel Montaño and Mia Casas along with News Director Megan Kamerick won a division first place for Breaking News from the Public Media Journalists Association’s national contest for their coverage of a shooting at the University of New Mexico in 2025.
The team also took home prizes from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Region 9 Top of the Rockies competition, which includes outlets from Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. We competed in the Medium Newsroom category.
Bryce Dix took first was in climate reporting for a series of stories on the impacts of a warming climate on New Mexico:
● Future drought will likely change large migratory bird patterns to New Mexico
● Let’s talk about insurance premiums and climate change
● Lake Powell’s plunge toward “dead pool” puts New Mexico reservoir in play
● As fire threat grows nationally, New Mexico sees the largest blazes in areas of extreme drought
● Insects and climate change are killing New Mexico’s trees
Bryce also took first place for a legal feature for his story on how rollbacks in the Endangered Species Act could limit future habitat for Mexican gray wolves. The judges noted this was “excellent reporting, well presented, clear, informative, balanced journalism.”
Mark Haslett took a second place prize for arts & entertainment criticism for his exploration of a show on art created in Weimar-era Germany at the Albuquerque Museum.
The team of Mia Casas, Megan Kamerick, Daniel Montaño, and Taylor Velazquez also took second place in public service journalism for a series of stories about the shooting in July 2025 of a teen at the University of New Mexico.
● UNM shooting suspect arrested in Los Lunas after campus locked down for hours
● American children have more access to firearms, and they’re bringing them to school
● UNM officials pledge transparency and improved safety policies in wake of fatal shooting
● Let’s talk about gun violence and campus safety
Host Kaveh Mowahed and producer Megan Kamerick also took a second place slot in the podcast category for the Let’s Talk New Mexico show about unhoused pets and their people