Food assistance recipients lose a COVID bump this month

Low-income breadwinners are bracing for a shock this month, as one of the last remaining COVID benefits comes to an end.

Recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – commonly referred to as food stamps – will see their benefits shrink with the expiration of the COVID-related federal emergency allotment.

According to the state Human Services Department, 39.6% of McKinley County’s population receive SNAP benefits. How much of a reduction each household will see depends on how many people are in it and income level.

While the extra allotment was in place, a family of three received a maximum benefit of $740...

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In a medical emergency, even seconds may count. Peter Hunt-Rosado thinks about that a lot because he works as an emergency nurse at Gallup Indian Medical Center, where patients may have to travel long distances for care. He worries that it’s unnecessarily costing lives.

“You hear the stories or get a report from EMS that [a patient] has been down for an unknown amount of time since the first call was received, two hours prior to the arrival in the ER, or even six hours,” he said. “We’ve had patients that have been having heart attacks that have gotten into a car and driven themselves an hour just to get to us for emergency treatment. In...

WINDOW ROCK, ARIZ.– It is with great sadness and deep sympathy that Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley officially announce the passing of the late Navajo Tribal Chairman and Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah. He was 85.

“The Navajo Nation lost one of its iconic leaders last night, Dr. Peterson Zah,” Nygren said. “He was the first president of the Navajo Nation and he was a good champion even in Washington, D.C., in the '90s and the '80s.”

Nygren thanked Zah's family for sharing him.

“It’s a big loss for the Navajo Nation. I want to let Indian Country know, as well," Nygren said. "He was a huge tribal advocate across...

Parks and Recreation Director Vince Alonzo wants to put the recreation in “recreational marijuana.” Or more accurately, he wants the Gallup’s cannabis tax proceeds to help fund much-needed park maintenance and improvements.

“We’re calling it recreational marijuana. What about earmarking the excise money for parks and recreation?” He proposed to the city council in a presentation Feb. 14.

Alonzo admits that for personal reasons he was against legalizing marijuana, but acknowledged that cannabis is the state’s top growth industry, no pun intended.

The city’s share of cannabis taxes collected between last April and November was $85,000, Alonzo said, and some...