The Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments is looking for a few good businesses – that need a little boost to thrive and grow.

NWNMCOG has opened a new Enterprise Loan Fund to help small businesses get the capital they need with lower interest rates and longer repayment terms than traditional loans.

The fund is built on a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and will make loans of $20,000 to $100,000 to small businesses that can show they have been in business for at least two years, are stable and have a strong management structure.

Business owners must be able to put up 10 percent of the loan amount toward the project. Loan interest rates will...

By Molly Ann Howell
Sun Correspondent

The second session of the 55th New Mexico Legislature ended on Feb. 17, and similar to past years, New Mexico schools are looking at how some of the decisions will impact staff and students alike.

Gallup-McKinley County Schools Superintendent Mike Hyatt went over the latest legislative session with the Board of Education during its Feb. 22 meeting.

First up for discussion was Senate Bill 1, which increased the base salaries of New Mexico teachers.

Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham released a statement on Feb. 14 showing her support for the bill.

“The Legislature has answered my call to deliver the largest increase in pay to New Mexico teachers in...

GMCS opens an internship program to seniors

By Molly Ann Howell
Sun Correspondent

Gallup-McKinley County Schools has found another way to try and prepare its students for their future. This school year was the first year of the Career Pathways Internship program.

The school district has been working with Pathways for some time. The seven pathways that the internships revolved around this year entail art, business, education, health sciences, human services, information technology, and transportation. Only seniors can participate in the internships.

During the Jan. 31 school board meeting, GMCS’s Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum/Instruction, Wade Bell, explained why the...

Week ending Friday, February 18, 2022

 

A Foot Higher

Sea level rise is accelerating along the U.S. coast and is expected to bring an additional hike of up to 12 inches by 2050, according to a new NOAA study. That will double the amount of sea level rise that has already occurred over the past century. Such a rise would threaten cities such as Miami, Boston and New York, where flooding is already occurring during the highest astronomical and storm-surge tides. While the amount of rise will vary from location to location, the new data is a blinking “code red” for the deepening climate emergency, said Gina McCarthy, NOAA’s National Climate Advisor.

 

Earthquakes

A strong...