By Hannah Grover After a seven year hiatus, Country Critters has returned to Edgewood. Edgewood’s Town Commission joined the pet store owners in May for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the business located on George Court. The name Country Critters may be familiar to some Edgewood residents. Brianna Hester ran the business for three years […]

Hannah Grover, nm.news
Hannah Grover is a senior reporter covering local news and New Mexico's energy transition.
Albuquerque area water safe to drink
By Hannah Grover The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority released its annual consumer confidence report last week. The report details the water quality in 2024, including levels of heavy metals, bacteria and turbidity. Utility customers will receive the report in the mail. The report shows that the water it provides customers is safe to […]
New Mexico’s investor-owned utilities talk wildfire preparedness, prevention
By Hannah Grover New Mexico’s three investor-owned utilities outlined steps they are taking to prevent wildfires during a New Mexico Public Regulation Commission workshop Thursday afternoon. Two of the utilities — the Public Service Company of New Mexico and Southwestern Public Service Company — have submitted voluntary fire mitigation plans to the state regulators and […]
Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative reflects on recent wildfires, plan for the future
By Hannah Grover Les Montoya, general manager of the Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative, reflected on the utility’s experience during the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire of 2022 and discussed wildfire preparedness initiatives on Thursday during a workshop discussion. The workshop was part of a series hosted by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. The Hermits Peak/Calf […]
Feds say there’s a ‘serious defect’ in listing the lesser prairie chicken as endangered
By Hannah Grover The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior asked a federal district court to send the listing of the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act back to the agencies as they plan to vacate the listing. Industry groups, including the Permian Basin Petroleum Association as […]
Edgewood Town Commission rejects attempt to repeal anti-abortion ordinance
By Hannah Grover An attempt by Edgewood Commissioner Filandro Anaya to repeal an anti-abortion ordinance the Town Commission passed in 2023 failed at the commission’s April 22 meeting. Anaya made the motion to start the public hearing process to remove the ordinance from the books, but none of the other commissioners seconded the motion. That […]
Forest Service official says agency will need help from state, community partners
By Hannah Grover U.S. Forest Service Acting Associate Chief Chris French said his agency will need assistance from state and community partners amid budget cuts and staff departures. French answered questions during a U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry this week during a hearing on the Fix Our Forests Act. The Fix Our […]
Vasquez, Zinke launch public lands caucus amid push to sell off parcels
By Hannah Grover U.S. Reps. Gabe Vasquez, a New Mexico Democrat, and Ryan Zinke, a Republican from Montana, launched a new effort known as the Public Lands Caucus on Wednesday. This effort comes on the heels of the House Natural Resources Committee adopting amendments Tuesday evening to the budget bill that would lead to the […]
Utility says it needs rate hike to meet New Mexico’s 40% renewables goal
By Hannah Grover A utility serving customers in southern New Mexico is asking state regulators to approve a small increase to a rate rider that will support bringing new renewable resources online. El Paso Electric filed a plan with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Friday outlining how it will reach the state-required 40% […]
Estancia’s water situation is improving, but conservation is still needed
By Hannah Grover When the Town of Estancia sent out a notice asking residents to conserve water, there was approximately 18 feet in its storage tank and about 3 feet in the Torrance County Detention Center’s storage tank. Now Mayor Nathan Dial said the town has 38 feet of water in its storage tank and […]