Artesia Bullldogs win 51-0 over the Chaparral Lobos.

About 2,000 people attended Artesia’s 11th annual Red Dirt Black Gold Festival despite September temperatures in the 90s. The two-night downtown event featured live music, food, drinks and vendors, with Downshift Brewing serving more than 1,800 beers. Organizers called the festival a success after moving it to Quay Avenue to improve safety and downtown foot traffic.

This Heavenly Strawberry Shortcake layers golden homemade biscuits with strawberries macerated in sugar, vanilla, and lemon, plus billowy whipped cream. Bruce Lesman’s nostalgic summer dessert serves six and comes together with simple ingredients and careful technique. Assemble the shortcakes while warm so the fragrant berry syrup soaks into the biscuits, then serve immediately with a whole strawberry garnish.

New Mexico Republican U.S. Senate candidate Larry Marker is urging voters in conservative southeastern counties to turn out in November, saying strong support in Chaves, Eddy and Lea counties could offset Democratic advantages in the north. Despite long odds, limited fundraising and Sen. Ben Ray Lujan’s strong position, Marker cites shifting registration and coordinated GOP campaigning.

Los Alamos National Laboratory sent 82 shipments of legacy transuranic waste to New Mexico’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in fiscal 2026, a 91% increase over the previous year. The shipments totaled 370 cubic meters. The increase comes as New Mexico seeks permit changes requiring WIPP to prioritize more in-state waste, while critics question continued shipments from other states.

Three keys to defeating Chaparral

Haaland, a former U.S. interior secretary and U.S. representative for New Mexico, rejected the claim that she declined to debate Hull, former mayor of Rio Rancho. At a Sept. 18 campaign stop in Carlsbad, she said her team proposed eight dates for debates to Hull's campaign, which rejected all of them.

The Artesia girls' volleyball team lost to Roswell at the Coyote Den on Tuesday night.

Noah Hoffman won the New Mexico Bass Nation Kayak Anglers’ year-end tournament at Ute and Conchas Lakes, catching 19 fish measuring 164 inches. The Clovis angler’s fourth victory of the season also secured Angler of the Year honors. Robert Williams placed second, while challenging weather tested competitors during the season finale.

Jason Sanchez won a $100,000 settlement from Eddy County after alleging officials suppressed comments criticizing the county sheriff’s office, violating his First Amendment rights. The settlement requires the comments to be read at an October commission meeting, though county officials denied wrongdoing and said the insurer settled to avoid escalating legal costs.

New Mexico’s Amendment 4 would give legislators nearly $68,000 in annual pay, alongside existing per diem and generous pension benefits. The Rio Grande Foundation argues the proposal would reward career politicians without improving governance, calling instead for pension elimination, term limits, and restrictions on public employees serving in the Legislature.

3 good things the Bulldogs did in its win.