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NM wildfire claims office director on ‘administrative leave’ following six-figure payout

February 13, 2026
A middle-aged man with a bald head and gray beard wearing a striped shirt sits indoors, looking slightly to the side with a serious expression.

Announcement follows revelations Jay Mitchell and wife received $500K far from Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon perimeter by Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico This story was originally published at Source New Mexico, a NMPBS partner. Jay Mitchell, director of a multi-billion-dollar federal claims office for northern New Mexico wildfire victims, has been placed on “administrative leave” following…

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NM news desert grows with closure of longtime Gallup newspaper

February 3, 2026
Front page of a newspaper announces that "The Independent" is folding after 62 years, with a photo of the newspaper's building and related headlines about its closure.

by Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico This story was originally published at Source New Mexico, a NMPBS partner. The Gallup Independent, the longtime newspaper serving a town of 20,000 on the border of the Navajo Nation, published its final issue Saturday due in part to what publisher Bob Zollinger described as an economic “collapse” in…

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