Afternoon Freeform

4 days ago | kunm.org | Bryce Dix

KUNM’s longtime General Manager Richard Towne is retiring at the end of this month after 30 years leading the station. The station's new general manager, Jeff Pope, arrived in Albuquerque last week. He is a veteran of public radio, having most recently served as general manager of Blue Ridge Public Radio. He was also executive director at KJSD in Cortez, Colorado. KUNM sat down with him and asked him about his plans and how he first found public media.

1 week ago | kunm.org | Taylor Velazquez

The study ‘Unarresting School Safety’ points out that students of color and those with disabilities are more likely to experience contact with school police than their peers. University of New Mexico Law Professor and study author Maryam Ahranjani said this issue was part of the landmark Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit.

1 week ago | kunm.org | Bryce Dix

In their ongoing attempt to reduce spending and boost revenue, Congressional Republicans are proposing to sell off millions of acres of public land in the West over the next 5 years. Some of that land includes parcels just outside of Albuquerque – where New Mexicans hike, bike, and ski in the Sandia Mountains. Overall, around 11 million acres of land is federally owned and managed in the Western United States by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

1 week ago | kunm.org | Greg Rosalsky

This is Part 4 in our Planet Money newsletter series on manufacturing and America. Part 1 asked why Americans aren't filling the manufacturing jobs that are already here. Part 2 dived deep into economic research that finds that manufacturing jobs pay a higher premium than many other industries. Part 3 asked whether manufacturing-based economic development could help America's heartland catch up with its major cities. Subscribe here for the next installment. As always, our podcast is here.

2 weeks ago | kunm.org | Taylor Velazquez

A new report says  1 in 4 kids are at risk of hunger in New Mexico. The meal gap grew by 6 million from last year’s report, resulting in a lack of over 66 million meals statewide. Katy Anderson, vice president of strategy partnerships and advocacy at Roadrunner Food Bank said hunger is increasing nationally, but New Mexico’s challenges stem from many of the SNAP benefits that expired in 2023 once the COVID-19 emergency declaration was lifted.