By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho’s record-breaking mayoral runoff didn’t just set turnout records — it also busted the city’s election budget by more than $100,000, City Clerk Noel Davis told the Governing Body during an Aug. 18 work session. Davis, who’s held the clerk’s office a little over two years and just ran […]
Rio Rancho
Highland sounds & good causes: Celtic Coyotes headline UUWC’s 30th anniversary
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho gets a taste of Ireland and Scotland this month when the Celtic Coyotes headline a benefit concert for Storehouse West, the city’s food donation center that feeds more than 1,500 people every month. The band plays Aug. 29 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Westside Congregation, […]
Route 66, Roger Rabbit and a Utah comedian walk into a Rio Rancho weekend
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. The weekend of Aug. 21-23 doesn’t need a headliner — it has several. Rio Rancho and Sandoval County pack three days with live music, Route 66 history, a Corrales gala and enough trivia to humble even the most confident know-it-all. Friday: Waylon Bailey and a Utah comedian The BLOCK opens […]
Narrow escape: Rio Rancho council upholds variance for 50-foot lots On Northern Blvd.
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Two new custom homes are headed to Northern Boulevard after the Rio Rancho Governing Body on Aug. 13 rejected a neighbor’s appeal and upheld a Planning and Zoning Board decision allowing single-family houses on lots 10 feet narrower than city code typically permits. The council considered two nearly identical appeals […]
Vacancy ahead: Councilor Lenentine’s resignation triggers appointment search in District 2
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. District 2 has a vacancy on the horizon. Councilor Jeremy Lenentine announced Aug. 19 he’s resigning for family considerations, with his last day in office set for Nov. 12 — handing Mayor Paul Wymer the job of finding a replacement under the same fast-track process that seated Councilor David Mann […]
Sunday is Funday turns 21: Rio Rancho’s community party returns this weekend
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.Rio Rancho families can trade backyard boredom for pony rides, a mechanical bull and a rock wall when Sunday is Funday celebrates its 21st year Aug. 16 at Haynes Park. The Rio Rancho Kiwanis Club runs the noon-to-4 p.m. picnic, which grew out of a 2006 push by the late Tony […]
A journey to 2040: RRPS celebrates the grand opening of Puesta del Sol preschool
By Rodd Cayton Dana Petro says Puesta del Sol Preschool welcomed about 100 4-year-olds into the classroom Tuesday, but Rio Rancho Public Schools is looking down the road. “We’re already thinking about who they will be as third-graders, as fifth-graders, as middle-schoolers, and ultimately our graduates,” Petro said at a press conference announcing the grand […]
Builder vs. neighbor: Rio Rancho Governing Body to decide fate of contested narrow-lot appeal
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. A Rio Rancho homeowner wants the City Council to block construction on two narrow Northern Boulevard lots she says were illegally split to dodge zoning rules — one of several contested items facing the Governing Body when it meets Thursday, Aug. 13, at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers. Rebecca Smith […]
Armed threats reported at Rio Rancho preschool, high school Monday
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho police responded to two reports of an armed subject threatening someone Monday morning, prompting a brief lockout at Rio Rancho High School, according to the Rio Rancho Police Department. Officers received a report around 8:07 a.m. that a man pointed a firearm at another person at Shining Stars […]
RRPD: Armed man threatened RRHS staffer before lockout, no charges filed
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. An armed man threatened a Rio Rancho High School employee Monday morning before leaving the campus, prompting a lockout while officers swept the area, according to the Rio Rancho Police Department. Officers responded to a report of a disorderly subject at approximately 8:25 a.m., RRPD said. The school was placed […]


