This week on Newsmakers, KRWG’s Jonny Coker speaks with the Las Cruces Police Department’s community outreach coordinator, Lieutenant Joy Wiitala. They talk about the officers’ relationship with the community, how the culture has changed within the department over the years, current initiatives to build trust within the community and more.

Author M. John Fayhee joins the program to talk about his new book, “A Long Tangent: Musings by an old man & his young dog hiking every day for a year”. Fayhee and his dog Casey hiked in the Gila, near home and they help us explore our relationship to nature, growing older, and dogs. Later in the program, we’ll meet an El Paso author who grew up in Nazi Germany.

Education in New Mexico is a challenging topic. The state ranks at or near the bottom of national lists for reading, math, graduation rates and other metrics. Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Ignacio Ruíz, who has been on the job since August 1st, 2023, joins the program to discuss his plans for student and staff success and how he plans to address these complicated issues.

In this episode, KRWG explores the viability and economic impact of Spaceport America. Jonny Coker speaks with Executive Director of Spaceport America, Scott McLaughlin about issues surrounding the spaceport, including taxpayer investment, tenants of the spaceport, and the future of New Mexico as a spaceflight destination.

New Mexico’s film industry has grown in recent years, due in large part to tax incentives the state offers. Last year, the New Mexico Film Office, Film New Mexico, reported over $855 million was spent in the state compared to just over $625 million in 2021. On this episode of “Newsmakers”, KC Counts speaks with New Mexico State Senator Jeff Steinborn, co-founder and Board President of Film Las Cruces, and Amorette Jones, the new Director of Film Las Cruces, about the industry and how the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike is impacting it locally.

Scientific evidence continues to show that human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, have continued to warm the Earth’s surface and its oceans and continue to have an impact on the planet’s climate. That’s according to NASA.gov. New Mexico’s State Climatologist Dr. David Dubois joins the program to discuss the growing challenges faced by our planet and how we’re being affected in southern New Mexico and the region.

In this episode, we investigate potential solutions to curb the growing seismic activity in the Permian Basin from a scientific and policy-making perspective. Jonny Coker talks with New Mexico Democratic State Representative Angelica Rubio and Republican State Representative Jim Townsend to get their perspectives on growing seismic activity in the region as well as issues facing the oil and gas industry.

In this episode, we begin with a package exploring the increase of seismicity in the Permian Basin, what's causing it, and what's being done to stop it.

In this episode, we will learn about a new facility being opened up by the Casa de Peregrinos Food Bank. We will also talk to U.S. Congressman Gabe Vasquez about food insecurity and how it relates to the farm bill. Finally, we will be hearing from the Regional Manager for the Roadrunner Food Bank Shelby Koza about the public health implications of food insecurity, and how the farm bill will affect food banks, food pantries, and other related organizations.

On this episode, we begin by speaking with U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján about renewed efforts to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to New Mexicans near the Trinity Site before the expiration of RECA in 2024. We will also speak with Alicia Inez Guzmán, a journalist for Searchlight New Mexico, about her reporting on the impacts of the nuclear industry in the state.