Community News

Lordsburg, NM – February 27th, 2026 - Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS) is proud to announce the launch of its new Medical Mobile Clinic, made possible through the New Mexico Rural Health Care Delivery Funds and the committed HMS team members. This is a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality healthcare services throughout rural Southwest New Mexico.

The grant supports the Medical Mobile Clinic being integrated into communities for a minimum of one day per week, ensuring consistent, reliable access to services for patients who may otherwise face transportation or geographic challenges. Between our recent establishment of transportation services and the new Medical Mobile Clinic, a direct positive enhancement to patient access to care has been established. 

Sandy Williamson, competing in amatuer ranch trail, photo credit: Carol CrosleyThe newly formed Southwest Horseman's Horse Show Association kicked off its inaugural show in Silver City at Southwest Horseman's Park, drawing 30 exhibitors ranging in age from 3 to 83. Exhibitors hailed from eastern Arizona, Silver City, Escondido, Las Cruces and La Luz, New Mexico, coming together for a full day of competition and camaraderie.

The weekend began Friday afternoon with a schooling clinic followed by a horse judging jackpot, which brought in nine additional youth participants from FFA and 4-H. After evaluating classes and presenting their reasons, Dusty Waters emerged as the jackpot winner.

Saturday's show began promptly at 9 a.m. and ran until 6:30 p.m., showcasing a wide variety of classes. Exhibitors competed in halter and showmanship, western pleasure, western horsemanship, ranch pleasure, ranch riding, ranch trail and reining, along with crowd-favorite speed events including barrels and poles. The event highlighted both seasoned competitors and first-time exhibitors, emphasizing sportsmanship and quality horsemanship throughout the day.

Division Hi-Point winners were: Open – JD Younker; Amateur – Michele McGorky; 14–18 – Olivia McDonald; 13 and Under – Kaycee Younker; and 12 and Under Walk/Trot – Cooper Younker.

Leah Lopez at the Super Bowl, where she performed as part of the Bad Bunny half-time showSILVER CITY, NM — When the world tuned in to watch Super Bowl LX earlier this month, the Western New Mexico University (WNMU) community had a monumental reason to cheer. Leah Lopez, a former WNMU student and member of the university's prestigious mariachi program, took the global stage as a featured violinist during Bad Bunny's record-breaking halftime performance at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. 

Bad Bunny, who performed the Super Bowl halftime show almost entirely in Spanish, was a landmark cultural event designed as a sweeping tribute to Latino heritage and featuring a violin orchestra to add classical depth to the modern genre.

Lopez was among a select group of elite musicians chosen to share the spotlight with the global Latin icon. Dressed in a signature brown suit and bowtie—a visual nod to the working-class roots and traditional aesthetics celebrated throughout the set—Lopez and her violin were visible to an estimated 125 million viewers worldwide. Her soaring musical accompaniment provided the melodic backbone for Bad Bunny's hit song "Monaco," a track that masterfully blends high-energy trap with classical orchestral elements.

SILVER CITY, NM — Western New Mexico University (WNMU) announced today that Cameron Braxton Wesson, Ph.D., has withdrawn from consideration for the position of 16th President. 

The presidential search process will proceed with the remaining four distinguished finalists. The schedule for the upcoming campus visitations and community engagement sessions remains unchanged for the other candidates.

The four finalists and their public meet-and-greets:

Catherine Fierro is making her dreams come true after graduating from WNMUSILVER CITY, NM — For Catherine Fierro, completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Western New Mexico University (WNMU) last December was not a finish line, but the launchpad for a high-stakes career in trauma and emergency medicine. While her academic record is distinguished—graduating as an honors student with straight "As"—Fierro's focus is now fixed on the intensive clinical requirements necessary to achieve her ultimate ambition: becoming a flight nurse.

Fierro's journey to the RN designation was defined by a decade of grit and determination. After beginning her career as a certified nursing assistant in 2012 and later earning her LPN in Tennessee, she returned to her hometown of Silver City to advance her scope of practice. 

"I love working under pressure, and I'm always looking for greater challenges," Fierro said. "Flight nursing provides that. You must complete a combination of three years in the ER and ICU to qualify. It is one of my main priorities." 

While many students find the leadership transition daunting, Fierro embraced it, serving as Vice President of the WNMU Student Nursing Association (SNA) in 2024 before being elected President in 2025. This experience, combined with her Capstone project at Memorial Medical Center's telemetry unit—where she monitored critical cardiac rhythms for patients being prepared for flight transport—bridged the gap between clinical skill and decisive leadership.

Brennan Shock

The Copper Cowbelles are pleased to announce that Brennan Shock, a graduating senior from Cliff High School, has been selected as a recipient of Copper Cowbelles Trade Scholarship. Brennan will be pursuing training in the HVAC/Plumbing trade at the New Mexico State University Dona Ana Campus beginning this fall. Along with this training he will also be taking classes in general business to help prepare him in his endeavors.

The Copper Cowbelles are proud to support students like Brennan who choose to develop valuable skills that benefit our community. Brennan's commitment to a career in the skilled trades reflects the values of hard work and dedication that we need in our area. He states that during COVID he and his friends "offered construction services" to help out. During this experience he recognized a need, and states that he plans to "serve New Mexico and offer affordable but quality HVAC and plumbing services."

SPARTA, Illinois—Chase Dobrinski of Silver City, NM, has been selected to the 2026 Sub-Junior (under the age of 15) All-American trapshooting first team, according to the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA), which determines the teams. More than 100 years old, trapshooting is a competitive sport of shooting at clay targets with a shotgun.

The ATA hosts both the Grand American (the 11-day world tournament which in August drew more than 4,000 contestants to the World Shooting & Recreational Complex, in Sparta, Ill.) and a series of "Satellite" Grands (smaller, regional tournaments providing Grand American-style trophies and competition). The association also sponsors five zone shoots.

Bill Norris displaying some of the urban flora found in and around Silver City during researchSILVER CITY, NM — At a university dedicated primarily to teaching, pursuing high-level research requires a rare degree of dedication. Highlighting this commitment to academic excellence, Western New Mexico University (WNMU) Professor of Biology in the Department of Natural Sciences, Bill Norris, Ph.D., recently presented findings from a massive, multi-year study exploring the flora and fauna of Silver City.

Since 2022, Norris has led a diverse team of 15 collaborators—ranging from botanists to expert photographers—to document the municipality's botanical landscape. This ambitious project is set to become the first published urban flora study of a municipality in the Western United States, joining a select group of only 5 such studies nationwide.

While the current study began in earnest four years ago, it builds upon a legacy of botanical curiosity dating back to 1851. Over the last century and a half, various researchers have collected approximately 9,000 specimens within the region. However, Norris' team has accelerated this work at an unprecedented pace.

"We have doubled the collection of specimens in our herbarium since 2021," Norris stated, noting that the team has identified over 500 plant species within city limits to date.