This category will feature news releases from out-of-area government agencies and representatives, as well as events that are not taking place in the four-county area of Grant, Catron, Hidalgo or Luna. For local events please visit Local News Releases.

CYFD Secretary Barbara Vigil to transition to new role on Policy Advisory Council

Governor's Chief Operating Officer, Teresa Casados, to lead bold transition of CYFD in interim

 SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced today that Children, Youth and Families Department Secretary (CYFD) Barbara J. Vigil will transition from heading the Children, Youth and Family Services Department to serving on the newly created Policy Advisory Council, effective May 1. As the administration launches a national search to find Secretary Vigil's replacement, Teresa Casados, Chief Operating Officer of the Office of the Governor, will serve as interim leadership at the agency.

Vigil has served as cabinet secretary of CYFD since August 2021, bringing a steady hand to the organization and resetting vital relationships with staff, stakeholders and tribes.

"I am profoundly grateful to Barbara Vigil for her legacy of service to the children of our state, especially for being such a stabilizing force for the Children, Youth and Family Services Department. I'm looking forward to continuing to benefit from her expertise in her new role on the Policy Advisory Council," said Gov. Lujan Grisham. "Chief Casados has hit the ground running and is already making significant strides to meaningfully transform CYFD."

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NMSU to host 33rd annual WERC Environmental Design Contest April 16-19

WHAT: 33rd annual WERC Environmental Design Contest

WHO: Undergraduate students from various universities 

WHEN: 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 16; 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday, April 18

WHERE: New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum

VISUALS: Flash talks, April 16; student team demonstrations of operational bench-scale models of their developed technologies, April 18

New Mexico State University’s College of Engineering will host the 33rd annual WERC Environmental Design Contest April 16-19 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum.

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Exhibitions, events at University Museum at NMSU in April

A panel discussion with Zuni elders about the “Humanhood in the Organ Mountains: Prehistory” exhibition, a showing of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument artwork and a wrap-up of the “Weaving for Justice” exhibition round out April events at the New Mexico State University Museum this month.

The University Museum will host a panel of Zuni elders as they discuss the “Humanhood in the Organ Mountains: Prehistory” exhibit. The event, which is free and open to the public and incudes light refreshments, will begin at 4 p.m. Friday, April 14, inside the University Museum auditorium at Kent Hall, 1280 E. University Ave.

For the development of the exhibition, Director and Anthropology Professor Fumi Arakawa, museum staff and the anthropology department at NMSU invited the Zuni Cultural Resources Advisory Team to visit two cave sites within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, as well as to review hundreds of artifacts from one of the cave sites – Chavez Cave.

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NMSU Chile Pepper Institute to host annual spring plant sale April 20-21

New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute will host its annual spring plant sale Thursday, April 20, and Friday, April 21, at the Fabián García Science Center, 113 W. University Ave., starting at 9 a.m. each day.

This year’s sale will feature a variety of chile peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, tomatillos, zucchini and summer squash – all grown by Chile Pepper Institute staff and NMSU students.

Tomato varieties will include “Gardener’s Delight,” “Bush Early Girl,” “Supersteak” and “Golden Sweet.” Chile varieties will include “NuMex Heritage Big Jim,” “NuMex Joe E. Parker,” jalapeños, bell peppers and several super-hot peppers.

“People should get there early for the best selection as we expect to sell out like last year,” said Liza López, program specialist for the Chile Pepper Institute.

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Yvette Herrell accounts her candidate for New Mexico'x Congressional District 2

Yvette Herrell has officially announced her candidacy for Congress in New Mexico's Second Congressional District.

Yvette Herrell for Congress

She states: Nothing is more important than protecting the future of our country for generations to come - and we can do that by securing our borders, stopping out-of-control spending, bringing down energy costs for families, and returning to the conservative principles that made our country the greatest in the world.

We are going to take this seat back in 2024. We are going to restore our conservative values. We are going to work to keep America free and strong.

I want to thank Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, for joining me in Las Cruces on Monday to kick off this race and for every enthusiastic patriot that came to share in our energy.

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Applications Open for Healthy Food Financing Fund

Up to 20 projects will receive support to increase access to healthy food

SANTA FE, N.M. – The New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) is pleased to announce fiscal year 2023 funding for a new grant-based pilot program, the Healthy Food Financing Fund (HFFF).

In FY 2023, HFFF will award $400,000 in competitive grants, between $20,000 and $100,000 each, to a range of food enterprises across the state of New Mexico.

The HFFF will be open for applications on Tuesday, April 11. EDD will be host an informational webinar at 11 am, Friday, April 14. The deadline for applications is Tuesday, April 25.

HFFF is an integral part of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Food Initiative designed to strengthen the local food supply chain capacity and increase market opportunities for New Mexico farmers and agricultural producers, manufacturers, and food enterprises.

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DVS to Present 2023 Military Honors Spring Training Conference

April 21 (8am-4pm) at the Las Cruces/Sonoma Ranch Golf Course, 1274 Golf Club Rd.

LAS CRUCES—The New Mexico Department of Veterans Services (DVS), the New Mexico National Guard, and AARP New Mexico will present the 2023 Military Honors Spring Training Conference & Competition on April 21 in Las Cruces. The conference will be from 8am-4pm at the Sonoma Ranch Golf Course, located at 1274 Golf Club Road.

This will be the first of two honor guard conferences scheduled this year, and is an opportunity for southern New Mexico honor guards to attend a conference more convenient for them than the annual summer training conference held in Albuquerque. A date for this summer’s conference will be announced by DVS as soon as details are finalized.

New Mexico’s Honor Guards are all-volunteer units that perform the flag-fold, rifle volley, and bugle rendition of Taps at most funerals of honorably discharged veterans in the state.

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