Gallup Sun

Makeover slated for local airport

Gallup residents are getting closer and closer to flying out of their hometown.

During the Feb. 22 city council meeting, the next steps to making that a reality were taken.

C.B.  Strain, the city’s Planning and Development director, got the City Council’s nod to move forward with securing a $300,000 grant from the New Mexico Department of Transportation for airport infrastructure improvements.

Strain explained that the Gallup Municipal Airport is in need of a new roof; a new HVAC system; an upgrade to the baggage area and ticket counter; interior lights need replaced; the bathrooms need updated to meet ADA regulations; the terminal needs new...

Calling all bookworms! The Octavia Fellin Public Library wants you.

While you’ve been hunkered down enduring a pandemic, a core group of library lovers has been working behind the scenes to start the Friends of OFPL group, and everyone is invited to join.

The founding group had the supremely bad luck of starting their efforts in January 2020, otherwise known as the before-times. Then, of course, COVID-19 swept the globe and blew a lot of people’s plans back.

Unable to convene meetings and do recruiting in person, the group set to work registering as a nonprofit, writing bylaws and doing the dry, administrative groundwork to set up the Friends of OFPL. By last year they were able...

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...