#Front Page - Rio Rancho Archives - Page 5 of 13

The Luxe has its zoning. The Rio Rancho City Council voted 5-1 Thursday to rezone a Lomas Encantadas corner and a slice of neighborhood park for 55 apartments and two small shops. Fourteen residents had lined up to ask councilors to kill it.

Lomas Encantadas residents push back against proposed development that could take away part of their neighborhood park

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Lomas Encantadas neighbors want the city to slam the brakes on a plan for the city to sell a part of their neighborhood park to a developer who plans to build more than 50 apartments and shops. The Planning and Zoning Board is scheduled to take up the issue at […]

Rio Rancho's long-promised widening of Northern Boulevard is nearly finished — on paper. City officials and their design team told residents last week the Phase B expansion, stretching roughly 1.5 miles from Acal Place to Broadmoor Boulevard, is now 99% designed, though dirt won't move until property owners along the corridor are bought out starting in 2027.

■ Local Government

Northern Boulevard’s four-lane makeover hits 99% design — but the orange cones are still years out

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho’s long-promised widening of Northern Boulevard is nearly finished — on paper. City officials and their design team told residents last week the Phase B expansion, stretching roughly 1.5 miles from Acal Place to Broadmoor Boulevard, is now 99% designed, though dirt won’t move until property owners along the […]

An automated license plate reader. (Roberto E. Rosales)

■ Local Government

‘Every stop is a lawsuit waiting to happen’: Residents again press council to ax Flock cameras

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Familiar faces in Rio Rancho’s fight over Flock Safety cameras were back before the governing body Sept. 10, pressing the council to end the program — this time backing up their case with lawsuits and data-misuse incidents they said happened in other states. City Manager Matt Geisel again pointed residents […]

The Maverik store, which is located at the intersection of NM 528 and Obregon Road NE, was approved by Rio Rancho’s Planning and Zoning Commission during a meeting on June 9. Eleven members of the community were present to speak out against the new business, which will occupy approximately 2.06 acres and includes a 4,499 sq. ft. convenience store and six dual-sided fuel pumps. (Kevin Hendricks)

■ Local Government

Neighbors win big as Rio Rancho council rejects proposed Maverik development

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho’s Governing Body shut the door Thursday on a Maverik gas station planned for the corner of NM 528 and Obregon Road NE, voting to deny the site plan over concerns that traffic would still flood a residential street even after a late compromise on highway access. City staff […]

The 528 Rio Rancho

Photos: 25 years later, Rio Rancho remembers

Rio Rancho marked the 25th anniversary of September 11 with a “Never Forget Memorial Service” hosted by Daniels Family Funerals and Vista Verde Memorial Park.All photos by Roberto E. Rosales for the Paper. Share this story and start a conversation

■ Jobs, Workers & Economy

Project Ranger named NM’s top collaborative economic development project

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Project Ranger, Castelion’s hypersonic missile manufacturing campus in Sandoval County, was named 2026 Collaborative Impact Project of the Year at the New Mexico IDEA Economic Development Excellence Awards, held during the Governor’s Conference on Economic Development at Isleta Resort & Casino last week. The award recognizes the 1,000-acre campus as […]

■ Local Government

Contested Rio Rancho Maverik project heads back to council: Did NMDOT’s highway tweak satisfy neighbors?

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Rio Rancho’s Governing Body decides Thursday, for the second time, whether a Maverik gas station can rise at NM 528 and Obregon Road NE — the project neighbors packed council chambers to fight in June, and that got a late-breaking access change just last week. The Governing Body voted 4-2 […]

Castelion announced on Jan. 22 that it selected Sandoval County, New Mexico, as the site for Project Ranger, a 1000-acre solid rocket motor manufacturing campus dedicated to next-generation hypersonic systems. Pictured are dignitaries including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, center, moving dirt during the groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by Roberto E. Rosales for New Mexico News

■ Jobs, Workers & Economy

Castelion’s $1B raise: New Pentagon deal means bigger missile plant near Rio Rancho

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Sandoval County’s hypersonic missile campus is about to scale up fast. Castelion Corporation closed a $1 billion funding round in August and locked in a new Pentagon production contract — both aimed squarely at Project Ranger, the company’s manufacturing site west of Rio Rancho. The Series C round — $800 […]

■ Courts & Justice

Rio Rancho man faces felony charges after removing BernCo Flock cameras in political protest

by Jesse Jones September 3, 2026September 3, 2026

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Ten Flock Safety cameras sat stacked in the bed of a Rio Rancho man’s pickup after he admittedly removed them and livestreamed the act online. Now, he faces felony charges and says the removal was a political statement. Deputies stopped Jevon Martinez, 44, yesterday, Sept. 2, in his Ford […]

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday that neither Matthew Wayne Herman nor Anthony Allison will appear on the November ballot, siding with county clerks in Sandoval and San Juan counties and closing out a two-week legal fight over how late a political party can replace a candidate who drops out.

■ Politics & Elections

Legal dead end: NM Supreme Court closes door on late ballot swaps

By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday that neither Matthew Wayne Herman nor Anthony Allison will appear on the November ballot, siding with county clerks in Sandoval and San Juan counties and closing out a two-week legal fight over how late a political party can replace a candidate who drops […]