Lea County added three reported deaths on Wednesday due to COVID-19, according to the N.M. Department of Health, and 12 new cases. The department reports the deaths were: A male in his 50s from Lea County. The individual was hospitalized. A female in her 60s from Lea County. The individual was hospitalized and had underlying conditions. A male in his 60s …

It was the perfect way to send off one of Lea County’s top ranchers. One of Lea’s best people. Bill Lee, who passed away Jan. 26, had his casket branded with his ranch’s Lazy J brand, during his graveside service Tuesday at Lovington Cemetery. Bill may have been known as an honorable man. He may have been called “Sen. Bill …

SANTA FE (AP) — A Republican lawmaker in New Mexico who voted in favor of a Democratic-backed abortion bill has left the GOP, officials said. House Minority Leader Jim Townsend said on Friday that state Rep. Phelps Anderson of Roswell changed his voter registration to “declined to state” after voting to repeal a 1969 abortion law that bans and criminalizes …

In New Mexico and the United States as a whole, recent months have seen unprecedented attacks on the traditional energy sector from policymakers in Santa Fe and Washington. The potential harm of President Biden’s ban on oil and gas production on federal lands has been well-documented. Our State, New Mexico, will be disproportionately impacted by such a ban, particularly if …

Crews have started preliminary work on a long-anticipated $65 million construction project to bring additional medical care to the Hobbs community. Earthwork began in early January for Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital at Millen Drive and Lovington Highway northwest of Hobbs, Meredith Cunningham, spokesperson for Covenant Health in Lubbock, Texas, told the News-Sun last week. First announced in August 2019, Covenant …

Lea County added one new reported death on Friday due to COVID-19, according to the N.M. Department of Health, and 14 new cases. The department reports the one deaths was: A male in his 70s from Lea County. The individual was hospitalized and had underlying conditions With that death, Lea County has had a cumulative total of 126 deaths related to …

Lea County added one new reported death on Friday due to COVID-19, according to the N.M. Department of Health, and 14 new cases. The department reports the one deaths was: A male in his 70s from Lea County. The individual was hospitalized and had underlying conditions With that death, Lea County has had a cumulative total of 126 deaths related to …

The New Mexico Environment Department announced this week O’Reilly’s Auto Parts in Lovington has been fined $242,827.20 for violations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NMED claims the store allowed employees to work while COVID-19 symptomatic. One of those employees died due to the virus, according to the release. In July the News-Sun wrote an article following the death of Veronica …

Darr Angel remembered the first time he met Bill Lee. The longtime Lea County rancher was around 10 or 12 years old when he met Lee who was dressed in a white pressed shirt, starch jeans, a clean hat and a nice looking vehicle. “He looked like how a rancher was supposed to look,” Angel said. “At the time my …

For all those thousands of people who have anxiously awaited the return of sports in New Mexico, for all of those who are still in I’ll-believe-it-when-I-see-it mode, Monday offered another glimmer of hope. Though still weeks away from actually happening, another important step was taken Monday toward bringing sports back. Five days after the announcement that the state’s Public Education …