Wild Hearts Gallery will open a new solo exhibition of oil paintings by Colleen Z. Gregoire on Feb. 29, inviting visitors to explore the landscapes and quiet corners of New Mexico through the lens of outdoor seating. The show, titled Have a Seat, features a series of oil paintings depicting Adirondack chairs in gardens, benches […]
Kevin Hendricks
Kevin Hendricks is a local news editor with nm.news. He is a two-decade veteran of local news as a sportswriter and assistant editor with the ABQ Journal and Rio Rancho Observer.
Rio Rancho’s weekend lineup: Music, history and family fun
A farewell tour from a Latin music legend tops a weekend packed with live music, family-friendly exhibits, creative workshops and community gatherings across Rio Rancho and the surrounding area this Friday through Sunday. Before you make entertainment plans, make a plan to vote. Early voting runs through 6 p.m. Saturday at five locations in Rio […]
Will Rio Rancho voters show up? Turnout is down from 2022 ahead of March 3 Election Day
As the last weekend of early voting approaches, turnout for the Rio Rancho municipal election is currently lagging behind the 2022 pace, even as the city has added thousands of new registered voters over the past four years. As of Feb. 25, just 4,093 voters have cast their ballots for the March 3, election, representing […]
$3.1 million federal boost for Sandoval County: Stansbury delivers on key community projects
The Town of Bernalillo and Sandoval County are set to receive a combined $3.1 million in federal funding for projects ranging from a new behavioral health clinic to a wastewater treatment upgrade, Rep. Melanie Stansbury announced. Stansbury, D-N.M., secured $1,092,000 to rehabilitate Bernalillo’s aging wastewater treatment plant, a project developed in partnership with Sens. Martin […]
Rio Rancho council to consider zoning changes, master plan adoption
The Rio Rancho Governing Body will meet Thursday at 6 p.m. in City Hall’s Council Chambers to consider several zoning ordinances, a new master plan and a budget adjustment, among other items. The meeting will also be available via Zoom and streamed live on the city’s website. Among the most substantial items on the agenda […]
Rio Rancho’s ‘pizza slice’ gets state’s shovel-ready stamp
A triangular, 43-acre lot near King and Unser boulevards, nicknamed “the pizza slice” for its unusual shape, is one of five properties across New Mexico to receive the state’s first “strategic economic development site” designations under the Site Readiness Program, announced by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration. The program, run through the New Mexico Economic […]
History of a Route 66 Landmark in Tijeras Canyon – The Mountain Lodge
Community content by Rick Holben, East Mountain Historical Society The Mountain Lodge was built about 1949 east of Albuquerque in the Carnuel area of Tijeras Canyon by Crawford Bissel Saunders and his wife, Marie Auer Saunders. The motel fronted what was the original two-lane alignment of U.S. Highway 66 on property purchased in late 1946 […]
Rio Rancho’s Citizens’ Police Academy pulls back the curtain on police work
Eleven weeks. One night a week. And for many participants, a completely changed perspective on the people who patrol their streets. The Rio Rancho Police Department’s Citizens’ Police Academy is currently underway, with roughly two dozen residents getting an inside look at how one of New Mexico’s fastest-growing cities keeps itself safe. The program, which […]
Rio Rancho police, fire departments report mixed results in 2025
Rio Rancho’s police and fire departments handled tens of thousands of calls in 2025, with new data showing faster fire response times but a notable rise in structure fires and a wide spread in police response times depending on call urgency. The Rio Rancho Police Department received 66,232 total calls for service between Jan. 1 […]
Some Sandoval County families must earn over $43 an hour to meet living costs, data shows
Even as wages inch upward across Sandoval County, many residents still earn far less than what experts say it takes to cover basic needs like rent, food and child care. New data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator shows a single adult needs $24.64 per hour to survive in the county, or […]
