Community News

Lordsburg, NM — On Saturday, July 25th, Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS) hosted its fourth annual Celebrate Hidalgo County event. The annual family event took place at North Park and welcomed residents from the local area and surrounding communities.

Attendees had the opportunity to engage with various local healthcare system participants, including HMS' Behavioral Health, Dental, Family Support, Human Resources, Credentialing, I.T., Medical, Mobile Unit, Nursing, and Transportation divisions. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about HMS Vision services, beginning in early August. 

Western New Mexico University science students and WNMU Professor of Biology Manda Jost, Ph.D., far right raising her hand, research in the Gulf of California during a monthlong marine biology field course on the Sonoran coast of MexicoSILVER CITY, NM — Western New Mexico University science students recently returned from a strenuous marine biology field course in the Gulf of California, where they spent two weeks conducting field research on the Sonoran coast of Mexico.

The six-credit summer course, led by WNMU Professor of Biology Manda Jost, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of Biology, Caleb Laughran, Ph.D., pushed zoology and wildlife majors to their physical, mental and academic limits. 

"It was beautiful to see," said student Azlan Kozimor, describing the landscape where the Sonoran Desert meets the ocean. "Literally on the beach, there was just cactus and desert scrub that we're kind of used to here, but then the ocean was steps away."

Left to right:  William Hawkins - Silver Consolidated Schools, Dr. Verenice Gutierrez – Cobre Consolidated School District, Dr. Fred Montalvo – Hatch Valley Public Schools, Nicholas Wohlgemuth – Deming Public Schools, Dr. Hector Giron - Raices Del Saber Xinachtli Community SchoolSILVER CITY, NM — The Western New Mexico University Educational Leadership program recently hosted its inaugural conference, Shaping the Future of Educational Leadership, drawing administrators, alumni and aspiring leaders from across the state. The two-day in-person event reached its 50-person capacity within a week of opening registration. It was designed to foster professional networking and advance a "futures-literate" model of educational leadership.

"We need to develop leaders who are prepared to lead in an emerging and evolving future that is full of disruption, complexity, and challenge," said WNMU Director of the Educational Leadership Program Robert Neu, ED.S. "Future leaders need to prepare their staff to prepare their students for the future that they are inheriting. What we are doing today is not getting our kids ready for their tomorrow."

SILVER CITY, NM — Earlier this year, Level 4 nursing students from Western New Mexico University launched a high-impact clinical collaboration with Gila Regional Medical Center centered on the Strive for 5 Initiative. The partnership represents a sophisticated integration of academic rigor and frontline healthcare, aimed at enhancing patient safety and clinical outcomes through five core pillars of nursing excellence.

The Strive for 5 program focuses on critical areas of acute care: medication accuracy, falls prevention, infection control, effective communication during hand-offs and patient-centered rounding. For the Level 4 students—who are in their next-to-final semester before graduation and then passing the licensure exam required to enter the workforce as registered nurses—this initiative serves as a definitive clinical experience that integrates complex theory and high-stakes practice.

Silver City, NM – Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS) is expanding diabetes prevention, education, and wellness efforts across southwest New Mexico through strong partnerships with the University of New Mexico (UNM) ECHO Program, New Mexico State University (NMSU) Extension Service, and local community organizations. HMS CEO Dan Otero serves on the UNM Community Advisory Panel for the $10.8 million dollar, multi-year research project Diabetes and Multiple Chronic Conditions (E4DMMC). This research is helping advance initiatives that promote health equity and improve care for individuals living with or at risk for diabetes.

[Editor's Note: This article by Marilyn Markel was previously published in the Mimbres Messenger. Most of the photos were taken by Markel, except for the one of the entire group with their posters, which was pulled from the Western New Mexico University Facebook page.]

A  group of twenty-five archaeologists and field school students arrived at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site (MCHS) the last week in May and MCHS volunteers were on hand to greet the group and give a warm welcome to the "college kids." The field crew stayed at MCHS for about six weeks.

The students, led by Dr. Fumi Arakawa of IU, were researching an archaeological site on a ranch in the lower Mimbres Valley. The site dates to the post-Mimbres time period called the Black Mountain Phase (late1100s and the 1200s A.D.).

Gila Community Foundation Announces Recipients of Southline Community Investment Program (SCIP) Spring Grant Cycle
July 21, 2026 – Silver City, NM

The Gila Community Foundation (GCF) is proud to announce the completion of the spring 2026 Southline Community Investment Program (SCIP) grant cycle.

More than 40 nonprofits, government agencies, and community organizations from Hidalgo, Grant, Luna, and Doña Ana counties applied, requesting over $321,000.00 in total funding to support critical community needs.

Grant County, in conjunction with H20 Partners Inc, initiated the process of updating the 2020 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) in September of 2025.

The process has been completed and the 2026 Grant County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Update has been finalized. A draft copy of the Plan Update is available for the public to review and to provide comments. The purpose of developing the Plan Update is to minimize or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from wildfire through effective mitigation.