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College graduation is an exciting but bittersweet time. One stage of the student’s life is drawing to a close, and a new stage is beginning. The next step is on the minds of many graduates who are just beginning the job search with a freshly minted degree in hand.

For four New Mexico State University Army ROTC cadets who earned their degrees this spring, the beginning of their career is already charted, and they are excited about the future.

  From Trust for America's Health:  Chronic underfunding of the nation’s public health and emergency preparedness systems has made the nation vulnerable to health security risks, including the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report released today by Trust for America’s Health.

The report, The Impact of Chronic Underfunding on America’s Public Health System: Trends, Risks, and Recommendations, 2020, examines federal, state, and local public health funding trends and recommends investments and policy actions to build a stronger system, prioritize prevention, and effectively address twenty-first-century health risks.

It would seem appropriate that during International Women’s Month, the two longest-serving radio hosts in Las Cruces are women.

In March of 2000, Fiesta host Emily Guerra and Intermezzo host Leora Zeitlin were offered radio shows on KRWG-FM, now KRWG Public Media, by then station general manager, Colin Gromatzky. They have been on the air continuously for 20 years.

This week on Your Legislators: District 34 Republican State Senator Ron Griggs shares his thoughts on red flag legislation, behavioral health, and other issues facing New Mexico.  Anthony Moreno talked with Senator Griggs from the Roundhouse studios in Santa Fe. 

Diet plays a critical role in the evolution of animals, as can we see in the beak shape of Darwin's finches. But, what is the role of diet in our own evolution? Can our evolutionary history tell us what humans should eat? And how can we know what our ancestors ate? Dr. Nicole Burt will present on her current research into human diet and how methods such as stable isotope analysis can help reconstruct past diets.

Location: New Mexico State University, Las Cruces

                    Health & Social Sciences Auditorium RM 101

Date: February 14, 2020

Time: 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm

Everyone is welcome! Faculty, Staff, Students, the community

*Food will not be served

Fred Martino interviews Janet Honek, co-author of “Love Letters from World War II: Robert W. Dalton’s WWII Service.”  From the book description:  Our parents, Robert "Bob" Dalton and Alfreda "Sandy" Dalton were part of the Greatest Generation. After Sandy passed away in 2018, Janet found a trove of letters that Bob sent during his World War II service. The letters provide an intimate first-person account of how an average GI experienced the war and its aftermath, illustrated with his original photos. The almost daily letters start with his induction in October 1944 through to his return in May 1946. Each letter begins and ends with his love for his wife and the daughter who he left behind to fight in Patton’s Third Army. In his own words, this book offers a soldier's perspective of boot camp, the battle to defeat the Third Reich, life in postwar Germany (and the U.S. Army), and relations with the family back home – and most importantly how World War II touched all their lives.

Paul Gessing, President of the Rio Grande Foundation, says New Mexico needs to works on reforms during the 2020 Legislative session.  Gessing says making improvements to the Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) should be the top priority; he is not alone in stating that the GRT discourages investment in the state.  Gessing also says he supports a proposal to end the state income tax on Social Security; New Mexico is one of only 13 states to tax Social Security, a fact not lost on many publications that fail to put the state on lists as a good place to retire.  Gessing also says the state should reform its capital outlay process.

Fred Martino talks with Bill McCamley, Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.  They discuss the state's recent "rapid hire" event, the increase in the minimum wage, growing the hemp industry, the potential for recreational cannabis should it be approved, and more.

Poet Terry Lucas graduated from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy in 1974. The Poet Laureate of Marin County, California was in Las Cruces for campus visit.  While he was here, Lucas talked with Fred Martino.

Fred Martino speaks with singer-songwriter Jesse Cann.  The Las Cruces native and University of New Mexico graduate lives in Virginia.  But his thoughts are in New Mexico on his latest album, "A New Song."  Track 2 on the album is "Land of Enchantment," a love letter to his home state. 

  SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján — the No. 4 ranked Democrat in Congress — announced his campaign Monday for the state's open U.S. Senate seat in 2020.

Democrats hope to maintain their hold on to the seat held by Sen. Tom Udall, who announced last week that he won't seek a third term.

Luján hails from a prominent New Mexico political family and helped his party retake the U.S. House majority in 2018 midterm elections as former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Education will be a major topic during the 2019 New Mexico Legislative Session.  The state is under a court order to provide more resources to ensure than all students receive constitutionally-mandated educational services.

Fred Martino discussed various priorities for educators represented by the the National Education Association-New Mexico with the organization's Government and Media Relations Director, Charles Goodmacher.

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A recent report by Truth In Accounting ranks New Mexico low when it comes to financial transparency. Sheila Weinberg, Founder and CEO of Truth In Accounting shares why the state scored one of the lowest in the country. 

A town hall meeting on Monday will focus on family caregiving.  The event will be held at Centennial High School in Las Cruces from 2 to 3 in the afternoon. The rapidly aging population has made this a major issue for New Mexico and the entire nation. 

To learn more, Fred Martino spoke with Tommy Hernandez, the public policy director for the Alzheimer's Association of New Mexico.