New Mexico

New Mexico State Fair adds new technology and more officers to enhance safety

Published

1 year ago

September 6, 2024

Press Room

New Mexico State Fair adds new technology and more officers to enhance safety

Hundreds of New Mexicans flooded Expo New Mexico for the start of the state fair.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Hundreds of New Mexicans flooded Expo New Mexico for the start of the state fair.

All the favorites were there like the Midway, the rides, the petting zoo, and all the food. But it’s not all fun and games.

For a while, many people have worried about staying safe at the fair with their families. That’s especially true this year, with a recent surge in violent crime around the fairgrounds.

So, how is the state fair making sure the other 10 days will be safe? It’s a combination of officers and technology.

The New Mexico State Fair is working with New Mexico State Police, Albuquerque police, Bernalillo County deputies and even Homeland Security. That’s on top of some new tech they brought out this year.

When you come to this year’s state fair, you’ll notice police and security all around the fairgrounds.

“The camera systems we use are using artificial intelligence, and it really makes a difference, and as well, artificial intelligence in our metal detectors,” said Dan Mourning, general manager of the New Mexico State Fair.

Mourning explained how the first line of security, the Evolve system, works as soon as people walk through it.

“There’s a tablet that’s being monitored by staff, security staff, and it actually shows if there’s something that’s not supposed to be or is questionable, that’s coming in through the grounds. Instead of just hitting on an area, and we have to scan and everybody, that kind of stuff. So it’s a lot more efficient,” said Mourning.

While thousands enjoy the state fair every year, the area surrounding Expo New Mexico has seen its fair share of violent crime, especially recently.

“This is stuff that we do year round. It’s not just something, oh, the fair is coming. Let’s get safe. It is something that we absolutely work on and try to improve on every time again. We understand the world that we live in,” Mourning said.

NMSP says they have more than 50 officers on site that are spread out across the fairgrounds.

“We’ve got plain clothes officers, we’ve got uniform officers. So, you know, we just want to ensure everybody has a great time. And at the same time, if we need to respond to any type of incident, we can do so,” said NMSP Public Information Officer Wilson Silver.

Silver is hoping we can have a repeat of last year with no incidents reported. Another perk for families at the fair is State Police are back with the Tag Your Tots program.

“Little ones like to wander, you know, they want to look at all the lights and all the rides. So in the event that they do get separated from their family, officers can respond, and they’ll have a good contact phone number listed on that wristband to get hold of the parents and get them reunited,” said Silver.

Tag Your Tots isn’t just for kids, you can sign up anyone. The New Mexico State Police booth is right by the midway entrance. Police just ask you have a current photo of the person you’re tagging.

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New Mexico

What bills have been filed for New Mexico’s 2026 legislative session?

Published

9 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

What bills have been filed for New Mexico’s 2026 legislative session?

The governor sets the agenda for the session, including for the budget, so here is what they are looking at so far.

SANTA FE, N.M. — As the regular session of the New Mexico Legislature is set to begin Jan. 20, lawmakers have already filed dozens of bills.

Bills include prohibiting book bans at public libraries and protections against AI, specifically the distribution of sensitive and “Deepfake” images

Juvenile justice reform is, again, a hot topic. House Bill 25 would allow access to someone’s juvenile records during a background check if they’re trying to buy a gun.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sets the agenda and puts forth the proposed budget lawmakers will address during the session. The governor is calling for lawmakers to take up an $11.3 billion budget for the 2027 fiscal year, which is up 4.6% from current spending levels.

Where would that money go? More than $600 million would go to universal free child care. Meanwhile, more than $200 million would go to health care and to protect against federal funding cuts.

There is also $65 million for statewide affordable housing initiatives and $19 million for public safety.

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New Mexico

Understanding New Mexico’s data center boom | Opinion

Published

21 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Understanding New Mexico’s data center boom | Opinion

Paul Gessing, Rio Grande Foundation
| Las Cruces Sun-News

After years of failure to land a “big fish” business for New Mexico’s economy (or effectively use the oil and gas revenues to grow the economy) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham with the help of her Economic Development Secretary Rob Black have lured no fewer than three large data centers to New Mexico. These data centers are being built to serve the booming world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and they will have profound impacts on New Mexico.

It is our view that having these data centers locate in New Mexico is better than having them locate elsewhere. While we have many differences of opinion with this governor, we are pleased to see her get serious about growing and diversifying New Mexico’s oil-dependent economy albeit quite late in her second term.

Sadly, the governor and legislature have chosen not to use broad based economic reforms like deregulation or tax cuts to improve New Mexico’s competitiveness. But, with the failure of her “preferred” economic development “wins” like Maxeon and Ebon solar both of which the governor announced a few years ago, but haven’t panned out, the focus on a more realistic strategy is welcome and long overdue.

Currently, three new data centers are slated to be built in New Mexico:

Oracle’s Project Jupiter in Santa Teresa with an investment of $165 billion.
Project Zenith slated to be built in Roswell amounts to a $11.7 billion investment.
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. While the overall investment is unclear, the energy requirement is the largest of the three at 7 gigawatts (that’s seven times the power used by the City of San Francisco).

What is a data center? Basically, they are the real-world computing infrastructure that makes up the Internet. The rise of AI requires vast new computing power. It is critical that these facilities have uninterrupted electricity.

That electricity is going to be largely generated by traditional sources like natural gas and possibly nuclear. That contravenes New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act of 2019 which was adopted by this Gov. and many of the legislators still in office. Under the Act electrical power emissions are supposed to be eliminated in a few years.

With the amount of money being invested in these facilities and the simple fact that wind and solar and other “renewable” energy sources aren’t going to get the job done. In 2025 the Legislature passed and MLG signed HB 93 which allows for the creation of “microgrids” that won’t tax the grid and make our electricity more expensive, but the ETA will have to be amended or ignored to provide enough electricity for these data centers. There’s no other option.

New Mexicans have every right to wonder why powerful friends of the governor can set up their own natural gas microgrids while the rest of us face rising costs and decreased reliability from so-called “renewables.” Don’t get me wrong, having these data centers come to New Mexico is an economic boon.

But it comes tempered with massive subsidies including a 30-year property tax exemption and up to $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds. New Mexico is ideally suited as a destination for these data centers with its favorable climate and lack of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. We shouldn’t be giving away such massive subsidies.

Welcoming the data center boom to New Mexico better than rejecting them and pushing them to locate in other states. There is no way to avoid CO2 emissions whether they happen here or somewhere else. But, there are questions about both the electricity demand and subsidies that must be addressed as New Mexico’s data center boom begins.

What will the Legislature, radical environmental groups, and future governors of our state do to hinder (or help) bring these data centers to our State? That is an open question that depends heavily on upcoming statewide elections. It is important that New Mexicans understand and appreciate these complicated issues.

Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility

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New Mexico

New Mexico maintains full childhood vaccine recommendations despite HHS rollback

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

New Mexico maintains full childhood vaccine recommendations despite HHS rollback

SANTA FE, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) – The New Mexico Department of Health says it will continue to recommend the full schedule of childhood vaccines.

State officials announced the move Tuesday, directly defying a new federal policy that scaled back routine immunization guidance.

The announcement comes after U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reduced the number of vaccines it recommends for all children.

The New Mexico Department of Health stated the federal changes were “not based on new scientific evidence or safety data.”

“New Mexico will not follow the federal government in walking away from decades of proven public health practice,” said Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. “Our recommendations remain unchanged.”

State health officials sought to reassure parents, emphasizing that vaccines remain widely available and covered by insurance.

“We know this is confusing for parents, but the science is clear: vaccines are safe, effective, and save children’s lives,” said Dr. Miranda Durham, chief medical officer for NMDOH.

All childhood vaccinations will continue to be covered under programs like Medicaid and the federal Vaccines for Children Program.

The state encourages parents to consult their healthcare providers using the American Academy of Pediatrics’ immunization schedule.

RECOMMENDED: CDC cuts childhood vaccine list, sparking healthcare professionals’ concerns

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