Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced new COVID-19 regulations on Aug. 17.

Starting Aug. 20, everyone two years old and older is directed to wear a mask or multi-layer cloth face covering in all indoor public settings, except when a healthcare provider instructs otherwise or when the individual is eating or drinking.

Any business, establishment or non-profit (other than healthcare operations, utilities, or indigent care services) regularly visited by members of the public must report to the New Mexico Environment Department will monitor and report when an entity has four or more rapid responses within a 14-day period.

Rapid responses will be counted on a rolling basis.

Four or...

A new thrift store in town offers residents a chance to find great deals while helping the local pet population. The McKinley County Humane Society Thrift Store opened July 6, and has been very popular since.

“We’re popping over here,” store manager Tera Selleck said. “We’re getting donations coming in all day and lots of people have been in to shop.”

Located in the old Griswold’s Inc. at 2006 E. Hwy 66, the store accepts donations and resells them, with all proceeds going to the local Humane Society.

Christa Ramey, who took over as board Vice President in February, said she thinks the thrift shop will be good for the organization.

“The thrift store allows us...

One city councilor invites growers to locate on Gallup’s west side

When recreational marijuana was legalized in New Mexico April 12, it created a ripple effect in the law enforcement and legal communities.

On July 27 the Gallup City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission held a work session to draft an ordinance that lays out the rules regarding cannabis. The state plans to begin accepting and processing license applications for anyone who wants to produce marijuana starting Sept. 1. Retail sales of the drug will become legal starting April 1, 2022.

Jessica Lawlis, an urban planner with Dekker/Perich/Sabatin, an architectural and planning company, presented her findings...

What will the 2021-2022 School Year look like?

The Gallup-McKinley School District is still trying to figure out what the upcoming school year is going to look like.

During the August 2 school board meeting Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Jvanna Hanks gave the board an update on the New Mexico Public Education Department’s COVID-19 guidelines for the 2021-2022 School Year.

She explained that the NMPED hasn’t come out with new guidelines since the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention came out with its update July 27.

The latest NMPED COVID-19 toolkit was updated July 26. Then the CDC changed its guidelines one day later in response to the uptick in COVID-19...