Featured

Rain Thursday did not dampen Artesia residents’ spirits as students, staff, community leaders and Mayor Jeff Youtsey joined a 30-minute indoor walk at Zia Intermediate School.

Since 2017, Yarn United has brought Artesia residents together at the Artesia Public Library to crochet blankets, quilts and Worry Worms. The group meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, sharing projects, techniques and yarn. For more information, contact the library at 575-746-4252.

The two days of rainfall also bring the possibility of flooding across the state, and significant rises in water levels in the Pecos River, Rio Felix and other rivers in southeast New Mexico that could meet or exceed their banks.

Time is near for the Red Dirt Black Gold Festival.

Spencer Theater for the Performing Arts in Alto announces its 2026–27 season, featuring Broadway comedy, classical music, timeless theatre, ballet, western swing and tribute concerts. Highlights include Menopause The Musical, The Nutcracker, Richard Thomas in Mark Twain Tonight!, Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, and tributes to Barry Manilow, Jimmy Buffett and John Denver. Tickets are available at spencertheater.com.

Haaland met with representatives from the group With Many Hands and staff with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) during her visit. It was part of "Deb’s Roadrunnin’ Tour," a three-day series of campaign stops in eight communities. Other stops in the tour that day included Carlsbad and Hobbs.

United Way of Eddy County’s ninth annual Day of Caring brought hundreds of volunteers together across Carlsbad, Artesia and Loving on Sept. 17.

The fifth annual Cavern City Renaissance Festival returns to Carlsbad Beach Sept. 25–26, transporting visitors to a world of knights, pirates, music, fire dancing and fantasy. Enjoy live performances, Festival Quest, themed foods including turkey legs and meat pies, plus local ales and mead. Tickets start at $22.18 for adults.

A complete guide is coming soon.

Artesia residents gathered downtown Sept. 12 for the monthly Oil Patch Market at Heritage Plaza, where local vendors sold homemade planters, baked goods, snacks, caps and other unique items. Food trucks, music and family fundraising activities added to the event. The next market is scheduled for Nov. 7 during Balloons, Bands and Brews.

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Artesia native Krista Bartock remembered watching the attacks as a teenager and honored the first responders who never came home. The flight nurse handed out refreshments as firefighters and community members climbed Bulldog Bowl’s stairs 22 times, recreating the World Trade Center’s height and commemorating the lives lost.

A five-person emergency lift at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant plunged 1,600 feet after its cable snapped during testing, intensifying concerns about aging hoist infrastructure and workplace safety. While no one was injured, union officials and watchdogs criticized the Department of Energy and contractor SIMCO for inadequate transparency and prioritizing waste disposal over worker protection.