Severe weather cleanup continues
New Mexicans around the state are cleaning up after severe weather this weekend. Here in Santa Fe, 10 homes were damaged after a tornado touched town in the midtown area. No one was injured in the tornado's 1.4 mile path, but trees were uprooted, power lines downed, and some roofs torn off of houses. Flash flooding and hail also hit the area. A 39-year-old woman died while trying to cross a flooded arroyo.
Flooding has also struck San Juan County in the Four Corners region again. As of Sunday, hundreds of people in the Farmington area remained evacuated and without power. Officials also warn that the San Juan River could be contaminated as floodwaters breached a wastewater treatment facility.
New Mexico ranks high in job growth
New Mexico added over 11,000 jobs over the past year. According to new figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that puts the state in seventh place for job growth.
The construction and mining industries had the largest growth relative to their size; both had rates of growth over 5 percent. The health care and social assistance industry also showed significant gains.
The growth comes despite many federal government jobs leaving New Mexico. Growth in local government and education more than offset those losses.
Workforce Solutions Secretary Sarita Nair said in a statement that efforts to diversify New Mexico's economy are combatting instability in the federal workforce.
Despite all of the job gains, New Mexico's unemployment rate is half a percent above the national average.
Presidential hopefuls visit NM
Two Democratic U.S. Senators eyeing presidential runs visited New Mexico this weekend- Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Arizona's Mark Kelly. Both joined New Mexico Democrats at Ben Ray Lujan's 4th in the Nation Matanza, a celebration of New Mexico's new primary election status.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told the crowd at Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta Park that New Mexico will now play a bigger role in deciding who winds up in the White House.
Neither Kelly nor Van Hollen have officially announced campaign bids. Both addressed the crowd with a populist message- making healthcare more affordable and reworking the tax code to favor the working class.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and U.S. Senator from New Jersey Corey Booker are also among the dozen Democrats that expressed and interest in running for president in 2028.
Candidates for governor to appear on The Forum tonight
The two candidates for governor will join The Forum on KSFR tonight at 6pm. KSFR recently asked Republican Greg Hull his thoughts on a potential statewide data center moratorium.
"‘Data center moratoriums’ is nothing more than a soundbite in a political in a political race, and unfortunately, it sends the message out of our state that we're not open for business," he said.
His opponent, Democrat Deb Haaland supports a moratorium. She mentioned environmental concerns in a News Nation interview last month.
"Make sure that these centers move forward with clean energy because we have clean energy goals here in New Mexico—net zero emissions by 2050," she said.
Tune into The Forum tonight at 6 for more with Deb Haaland and Greg Hull
