By Todd Fuqua tfuqua@elritomedia.com | Ruidoso News

RUIDOSO – Ruidoso, quickly becoming known as a prime destination for triathlon excellence, will be the site of an Ironman event, July 11-12, 2026. Community members gathered at Downshift Ruidoso on Wednesday to celebrate the announcement.

General registration for the Ruidoso event will open April 23, 2026. Volunteers are also needed to help coordinate and put on the event. Those interested in participating should visit the Ironman 70.3 Ruidoso page at www.ironman.com/races/im703-ruidoso-new-mexico. To volunteer, visit www.ironman.com/races/im703-ruidoso-new-mexico/volunteer.

Judy Stowers, regional director for Ironman, said she expects up to 2,500 athletes to come to Ruidoso, particularly in the week before, to train and prepare.

“Ruidoso is known for its horse racing and endurance type of events,” Stowers said. “When we toured the area in March, we determined that this community has the infrastructure and support from local officials needed to hold the event.”

“I’m from a small town, and every time I come here, it feels like I’m home,” she added. “This is an important milestone for Ironman and Ruidoso. Our mantra is ‘anything is possible,’ and we’re excited to bring this to the community in Lincoln County. We could not be more excited to be here.”

The Ironman announcement comes on the heels of Ruidoso’s selection as both a Gold Level XTERRA off-road triathlon event this August and next year’s XTERRA World Championships, making this area a premier destination for elite multisport events.

The difference between XTERRA and Ironman events is the terrain, with XTERRA being run on rugged off-road trails for cycling and running while IRONMAN follows a classic road triathlon format featuring a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile road cycling course and 13.1-mile run.

While Ironman races have been held since the first event in 1978 in Hawaii, this will be the first-ever Ironman competition of any kind held in New Mexico. It will also feature more than just one race – a 70.3 triathlon, a 5150 triathlon, and a sprint triathlon, all of which are part of the internationally renowned Ironman series of races.

The Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, refers to the distance of the course in miles while the 50150 triathlon series, introduced in 2011, gets its name from the race’s Olympic distance of 51 kilometers. The sprint triathlon is half the distance of the 5150.

Ruidoso’s event schedule is unique for an Ironman event, as all previous races have been one-day affairs. A two-day event featuring three races is a first. The 5150 and sprint triathlons are scheduled for July 11; the Ironman 70.3 will be run on July 12.

Each of these Ironman series consist of more than 100 qualifying races in 40-plus countries, with the top-ranked athletes from the events advancing to the Ironman 70.3 and 5150 World Championships, being held this year in Marbella, Spain, Nov. 8-9. The World Championships rotate locations yearly around the globe.

Men and women who compete at the Ruidoso event will qualify for the 2027 World Championships.

The course for the Ironman 70.3 is still being finalized. It will start with swimming at Grindstone Lake, with the bike leg running from there down Carrizozo Canyon to Sudderth. Contestants then will ride down Highway 70 toward Hondo before turning back for Ruidoso. Once there, they will disembark for the running leg, which will wind its way through village streets before finishing at Winfield Park.

Shane Asbury, who has put on numerous outdoor racing events in southern New Mexico through his company Wanderlust Running, was contracted by Ironman to be the race’s director. He said Ironman regularly employs local racing professionals at events around the world to better connect with the community.

“Everyone I’ve met so far working this event is local,” Asbury said. “They want local feet on the street as the face of the race. We have a year to really put on a show here and show off what Ruidoso can mean to the marathon and triathlon industry.”

Asbury has coordinated marathons in Las Cruces, Cloudcroft and Ruidoso. He’s also a finisher in Ironman 70.3 events in Austin and Lubbock, Texas.

“I grew up running, and I turned my passion into my business,” Asbury said. “I’ve been on both sides, knowing what it takes to prepare for and compete in an Ironman event, and now what it takes to put one of these on.”

Beyond raising Ruidoso’s already considerable profile in international endurance racing, the Ironman event will also have a $14 million economic impact on the area, said Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford.

“This prestigious event represents a perfect match for our beautiful mountain community and outdoor recreation culture,” Crawford said. “We look forward to welcoming athletes and spectators from around the world to experience our hospitality and the challenge of competing at our high elevation. This will provide significant benefits to our village for years to come.”

While it’s true that men and women are circling the globe in space, writing “personal” letters with help from AI robots, and counting on “Alexa” to remember the kids’ birthdays, life on most days can still be fairly down to earth and often frustrating.

Technology isn’t always our friend.

“I can’t find the remote. I’m missing the end of the game!”

“What time does The Voice come on? I want to hear that local kid sing!”

You buy a “smart” TV only to find out it’s not smart enough. You can’t even find the onscreen program listings.

Take heart. A SAVIOR HAS ARRIVED.

Starting on Thursday, April 17, your Carlsbad Current Argus will include a weekly television and entertainment guide.

It is our slightly old-fashioned but enduringly tried-and-true solution to the vexing question: What’s on TV?

The 24-page guide, Entertainment Now, will be inserted in your newspaper every Thursday, bringing you complete television listings, streaming schedules, news and features from the world of entertainment, and a variety of puzzles and games.

And it’s FREE with your copy of the newspaper.

So put down your smart phone. Stop trying to wade through that onscreen maze to find out when and where to watch your favorite TV show. Just park your copy of Entertainment Now on the coffee table and grab it whenever you need help. Did you hear that, Alexa?

Rebecca Hauschild
For the Artesia Daily Press

The city of Artesia’s recreation department will change its tackle football program for fifth and sixth graders to flag football following a vote by the City Council on Tuesday, April 8.

The council acted after receiving unanimous recommendations from the recreation advisory committee and the city event board.

“It was unanimous,” said District 1 council representative Raul Rodriguez, who is a member of the advisory committee. “We are looking out for the future of our kids.”

Jayde Burnell, the city’s recreation supervisor, surveyed several members of the community and researched the issue before recommending the change.

Burnell said some football coaches were not enthused about the change but “everyone else is excited about it being flag football because they (participants) are still learning the skills … I think it opens us up to be more versatile.”

Rodriguez said flag football is “a growing sport. I think we’re headed on the right track. One of our goals is to grow the programs.”

In other business:

• Byron Landfair, community development/infrastructure director reported that concrete work on retaining walls is starting on the 26th Street project and crews are laying water line on Grant Street while keeping the westbound lane open.

• District 3 council member Jeff Youtsey reported that a company called The Towers LLC wants to construct a telecommunications tower at the Senior Mill site property near the CVE property line. Youtsey said The Towers would contract with communication companies to use the facility, which would be similar in appearance to a tower at ABU shopping center that has panels to cover the electronics.

• Rodriguez expressed concern about speeding traffic at Jaycee Park, suggesting the city look for ways to slow traffic and reminding the public to slow down while driving in the park.

• City Clerk/Treasurer Summer Valverde reported on projects underway at the Artesia Airport in preparation for the Roswell Air Races in September. Valverde said a quote for roof repairs has been received and will be presented to the council in the near future and that work will start on interior remodeling after roof repairs are completed. In addition, Valverde said, crews have almost finished fixing the runway and the city is working with a contractor on a bid for a new hanger.

• During the public comment period, Pastor Scott Pettus of First Church Artesia proposed bringing a skydiving exhibition to Artesia during Roswell’s air races. “We think it will be a good draw for people in the air sports world,” said Pettus, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who said he has been involved with skydiving exhibitions around the world. The exhibition would be provided by Skydive New Mexico, a 501C4 operation from Belen, Pettus said.

Adrian Hedden
El Rito Media
achedden@currentargus.com

Michael Jimenez wiped tears from his eyes as a jury acquitted him of first-degree murder after a six-day trial ended Monday in Carlsbad.

The jury had the option of convicting Jimenez on a lesser charge of second-degree murder but voted 11-1 in favor of acquittal. Lacking a unanimous verdict, the judge declared a mistrial.

Jimenez could face a future trial for second-degree murder but was released from custody after being imprisoned for four years awaiting trial in Fifth Judicial District Court.

Jimenez, 33, of Artesia was first charged eight years ago with killing Danny Mendes, 49, in a remote area of Eddy County near Four Dinkus and Haystack roads. Mendes, of Roswell, was found beaten to death in the roadway in March 2017.

Ryan Morgan, 29, first accused Jimenez of beating Mendes to death during a fight near the scene of the murder, but Morgan later recanted and said he committed the homicide. A single count of first-degree murder against Jimenez was dropped about a month after the incident.

Jimenez was rearrested in May 2021 after a former girlfriend told police he confessed to her that Morgan struck Mendes first in the head with a hammer and Jimenez finished him off with the same weapon.

For his role in the death, Morgan was charged with first-degree murder but accepted a plea deal for second-degree murder and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

At the conclusion of Jimenez’s trial, the 12-person jury unanimously found him not guilty of first-degree murder but was hung on a charge of second-degree murder. Instructions for both charges were provided to jurors, who voted 11-1 in favor of finding him not guilty of the lesser charge.

District Judge David Finger declared a mistrial, and prosecutor Ariane Gonzalez said the state would retry Jimenez for second-degree murder. A new trial date was not yet set.

Jimenez, who served four years in pretrial incarceration, was released from the Eddy County Detention Center while he awaits future proceedings.

Defense Attorney Todd Holmes said his strategy throughout the trial was based on raising doubt with jurors about Morgan’s version of events as he testified on the witness stand to Jimenez’s involvement in the murder.

“From day one, he (Morgan) was just trying to save his own criminal liability,” Holmes said. “The dude has no remorse. He was asked why (the murder) was weighing on his mind, and he said, ‘I dunno.’”

After the verdict was read, Jimenez’s family members extended their fists in victory, relieved he was being released after almost half a decade behind bars.

“I was happy when I turned to see his mom. She just started crying,” Holmes said. He’s been in jail for four years. That’s a long time. Overall, justice was served. That’s our system.”

Following the acquittal and mistrial, Gonzalez asked Finger to require a $20,000 secured bond for Jimenez’s release, which Holmes argued was tantamount to no bond after the defendant was incarcerated and unable to generate any income to pay the bond.

Finger granted Jimenez a $100,000 unsecured bond, meaning he does not have to put up the money, but will be liable for it if he misses any future court dates. In issuing his decision, which resulted in Jimenez’s release, Finger questioned whether the state had a strong case for second-degree murder as only one juror voted in favor of conviction.

“The court does find that there has been a significant change in circumstances,” Finger said. “The split indicates the case might not be as strong.”

Gonzalez argued that based on Jimenez’s criminal history – a 2018 probation violation in an unrelated case and another unrelated embezzlement conviction in 2019 – the defendant was still “a danger to the community.”

“I don’t think the history of Mr. Jimenez has changed, nor the facts of the case,” she said. “I believe Mr. Jimenez is still a danger to the community. The state feels there is still a need for pretrial detention.”

Adrian Hedden
Carlsbad Current-Argus
achedden@currentargus.com

New Mexico will be allowed to charge oil and gas companies more to drill on state land after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill into law last week.

Senate Bill 23, sponsored by Sen. George Munoz (D-4) who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee that devises the state’s budget each year, raised the cap on royalty rates oil companies pay as a percentage of their proceeds from operations on State Trust land.

It was the only major oil and gas reform bill that passed the Legislature during the 2025 lawmaking session in Santa Fe, which concluded March 22. This year’s 60-day session was focused on public safety, with several bills related to the fossil fuel industry stalling and failing to make it to the governor’s desk.

Friday, April 11, was the final day for Lujan Grisham to veto or sign bills into law. After the deadline, any bills not signed would be vetoed by default in a process known as “pocket veto.”

After it was signed, SB 23 allowed for an increase of the previous oil and gas royalty rate cap from 20% to 25% for operations on tracts of State Trust land in the Permian Basin area – lands appraised by the New Mexico State Land Office as containing the most valuable mineral resources.

The increase was expected to generate up to $50 million a year in Land Office revenue, funds that are used to support the office’s statutory beneficiaries such as public schools and hospitals.

Following his bill’s signing into law Thursday, Munoz said it would allow New Mexico taxpayers to get a higher fiscal benefit from the state’s ongoing oil boom, which led New Mexico to become second in the U.S. in oil and gas after only Texas, with which New Mexico shares the Permian.

“The money earned from oil that is extracted from State Trust lands benefits institutions in New Mexico including our public education system,” Munoz said. “Those institutions will now receive millions of dollars in new money every year.”

But the oil and gas industry is a key economic driver for New Mexico, producing almost half of the state’s budget  – about $13 billion in the last fiscal year – for state and local governments, according to the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

Throughout the 2025 legislative session, which saw SB 23 pass both the Senate and House despite staunch Republican opposition, industry leaders argued that raising the rate – even on the limited tracts of land the bill specified – could unduly burden fossil fuel producers.

Jim Winchester, president for trade group the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico said the higher rates would price smaller operators out of the lucrative region on the western side of the Permian Basin – a subbasin known as the Delaware that straddles the New Mexico-Texas border.

“Our concern lies in the periphery areas around the geologic border of the New Mexico Delaware Basin, as close as one mile from the basin’s edge where our independent members take risks (and) spend a lot of capital on infrastructure with the hope that reserves there will pay back the investments,” Winchester said during a Feb. 18 meeting of the Senate Finance Committee where the bill was passed.

New Mexico Public Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, who oversees management of State Trust land, countered that the bill was only for new leases on State Trust land in that area, and that the higher rate better reflected the “market value” for New Mexico public land sought by the oil and gas industry.

Garcia Richard advocated for raising the rate since she took office in 2019, arguing it was a necessary step for New Mexicans to get their “fair share” of the state’s oil revenue. The 25% rate was comparable, she said, with rates paid to drill on private land in New Mexico and state land in Texas.

“By bringing the state’s royalty rate for premium oil and gas lands in line with what is charged in Texas and on private lands in New Mexico, we are making a smart business decision,” Garcia Richard said. “You always want to get maximum returns for the best resources, and the oil in New Mexican’s Permian Basin is some of the best in the whole world.”

Gov. signs water bills

Although most other bills intended to add regulations on oil and gas operations failed during the session, Lujan Grisham did sign into law multiple pieces of legislation that could impact the industry in the name of water conservation.

House Bill 137 was signed into law on Tuesday, April 8, to create the state’s “Strategic Water Supply” program, which will offer grants and loans for projects to treat brackish water, meaning water high in salinity, for uses such as agriculture.

Large amounts of naturally brackish water are generated by the oil and gas industry during well completions, as the fluid is brought to the surface from underground along with crude oil and natural gas.

The governor also signed Senate Bill 21, which gave broader authority to the state of New Mexico to permit the use of groundwater resources by industries such as oil and gas operators and agricultural producers.

This bill was a response to a 2023 Supreme Court decision that confined such federal protections to “continuous” bodies of water. Supporters of SB 21 argued that many of New Mexico’s rivers and streams see portions go dry during arid conditions, meaning they were no longer federally protected and expanded state permitting was needed.

<n>