Fred Martino

Former two-term New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson announced he's running for U.S. Senate in New Mexico as a Libertarian.  Johnson also ran for President as a Libertarian twice.  He's seeking the seat held by Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich.  Businessman Mick Rich is the Republican in the race.

Johnson discusses his political philosophy with Fred Martino, along with his opposition to Trump Administration policies on immigration, trade, and deficit spending.  

The Otero Mesa.  At over 1.2 million acres, it’s a vast treasure southeast of Alamogordo and west of Carlsbad.  Most of it is public land.  And about a half a million acres are desert grassland, a rare and disappearing habitat for some 1,000 native species. 

The Southern New Mexico Festival of Quilts was held in Alamogordo Sunday and Monday.  Background provided by the festival: 

Since 2010 quilters from around the United States have been coming to Alamogordo, New Mexico to take part in a community event to benefit the children of Otero County.  The Southern New Mexico Festival of Quilts began as a cooperative effort between Rainee Mackewich of First National Bank and  Pam Holland, International textile artist, quilt teacher and photographer from Australia and has resulted in a week long flurry of quilting activities throughout the area every summer since. 

NTI provides job services to Americans with disabilities who want to get back into the workplace.  Over the past 25 years, NTI has helped over 175,000 individuals across the United States and over 1,200 here in the Las Cruces area through their NTI@Home and LandAjob programs.

Fred Martino recently talked with Rio Grande Foundation President Paul Gessing about a number of economic issues facing New Mexico.

How could changes to NAFTA affect the state?

Will an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision have an impact on public sector unions?

And how should New Mexico use its windfall from increasing oil prices and production?

Las Cruces High School has a unique distinction.  For the last two years, its broadcasting program has included students chosen for a prestigious public media fellowship.  

It’s an amazing honor.  Just 20 students in the nation are chosen for an all-expenses paid week in Washington D.C. as part of the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs. 

And for the last two years, Las Cruces High School students have made the cut. 

On Wednesday, April 18, Aggies Winning Choices (AWC) will host the Responsible Alcohol Consumption Summit (RACS). The event will be held at the NMSU Domenici Building, Room 109 (Yates Auditorium), from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. The Summit will include individual presentations and expert panel discussions focusing on alcohol research, prevention and interventions, and policies that impact our communities.

Fred Martino interviews Mick Rich, the New Mexico Republican seeking a U.S. Senate seat in 2018.  The seat is currently held by Senator Martin Heinrich. 

This interview includes Rich's comments on federal spending, the GOP tax law, immigration, government regulations, and President Trump's proposals on trade policy.

Vision/Revision: New Mexico Poets on the Page, opening Friday, March 23, 2018, at the Branigan Cultural Center, celebrates National Poetry month in April.  The exhibit runs through May 19.

A collaboration with the New Mexico State University Archives and the Creative Writing Program at NMSU, this exhibit presents a glimpse into the works of New Mexico poets Lorenzo Torrez, Margaret Page Hood, Eugene Manlove Rhodes, and Keith Wilson. These four poets wrote about southern New Mexico’s people, ranching life, cultural identities, and our Chihuahuan desert environment. The working notes, drafts, and final manuscripts they left behind, held in the NMSU Archives, provide insight into the poet’s mind at work, as words are shaped into meaning.

Rebecca Dow is a on a mission.  She says it’s long past time for New Mexico to move forward.  “Right now, I think we need hope.  I think we need hope for a better future,” she said.  Dow was elected to the New Mexico State Legislature in 2016.  The Republican represents District 38 in the state House, which includes parts of Grant, Hidalgo, and Sierra counties. 

Critics have long contended that money from Dona Ana County’s spaceport gross receipts tax should only be used to pay off construction bonds.  But a KRWG News investigation has revealed that the county ordinance authorizing the tax does not restrict the use of the money in that way.  In fact, as KRWG’s Fred Martino uncovered, the ordinance does not even specify a date when the tax will be repealed.

A Congressional break is about to begin, but Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke (TX-16) won’t be slowing down.  He’s campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Ted Cruz.

Last Friday, it was a decidedly unconventional beginning for his campaign: the windy rooftop of the Plaza Theater in El Paso.

This week, NPR's Melissa Block was in southern New Mexico.  Block is traveling the nation, reporting for NPR's "Our Land" series.  Fred Martino spoke with her about what she's hearing from people across the country and what it is like to be a reporter when journalism is under attack.