New Mexico News Insiders

New Mexico’s New Cold Case Unit Focuses On Genealogy Testing

Law enforcement is using genealogy testing to solve crimes that have otherwise led investigators to dead ends years ago. This week Chris & Gabby sit down with New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez to discuss his announcement of the state’s first-of-its-kind Cold Case Unit. The unit will partner with smaller departments across the state to focus on solving old cases using genealogy databases and testing to follow leads. Can your Ancestry test help solve a crime? How does law enforcement use DNA databases? What kind of crimes are they focused on? 

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

Are New Mexico's Baby Box Surrenders Truly Anonymous?

There are six 'Safe Haven baby boxes' in New Mexico and more in the works, where mothers in crisis are promised anonymity, no questions asked if they surrender a newborn. But the Children Youth and Families Department Secretary cites state and federal law, claiming newborn surrenders need to be investigated to ensure the mother made the decision willingly and the father is aware of it. If a Native baby is surrendered, federal law also requires the child's tribe to be notified. However, Safe Haven Baby Box founder Monica Kelley says the promise of anonymity often saves lives. And she hasn't slowed efforts to install baby boxes in more communities across the U.S.

What does the Safe Haven law promise parents? How does a baby box work? Listen to the full discussion to hear why baby boxes are a personal mission for Kelley. 

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

 

What Will Lawmakers Leave On The Table In 2024?

With just around 48-hours left on the clock in this year’s 30-day legislative session, what will New Mexico lawmakers leave on the table? One of KRQE News 13's legislative beat reporters, Curtis Segarra joins Chris & Gabby to in part discuss Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s public safety agenda, along with her environmental, and educational priorities. Will Democratic control help her pass controversial gun legislation? How are lawmakers addressing crime this year? What will the state’s budget look like, now that it's flush with cash again? 

Click here for more coverage on this year’s shortened legislative session. For a look at Curtis' published news stories, click here. And here's a link to more reporting work from KRQE News 13's on-air legislative reporter, Natalie Wadas.

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

FEMA Still Repaying Hermits Peak Calf Canyon Fire Victims

This spring marks two years since the Hermit's Peak Calf Canyon wildfire tore through northern New Mexico. Since that record-breaking wildfire, the federal government has appropriated nearly $4 billion to respond to the government-sparked disaster. How is the process of repaying wildfire victims in New Mexico going so far? Several lawsuits filed against FEMA suggest that the claims process is moving too slowly.  

FEMA spokesman John Mills, along with Ali Rye of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, join Chris & Gabby to discuss the status of claims filed in New Mexico and more. How much money has been paid out so far? And what are the Feds doing to try to streamline processes?

Links to resources mentioned in the episode:

• File a claim with FEMA 
• Hermits Peak Calf Canyon Documents Checklist 
• HPCC Program & Policy Guide 

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

 

New Mexico's Biggest School District Set To Pick Next Leader

This week marks the final stretch to pick a new leader for New Mexico’s largest school district. As APS Board of Education President Danielle Gonzales believes, “Where APS goes, so goes the state.” Gonzales is calling for community input during Tuesday’s scheduled town halls for students, teachers, employees, and members of the public to ask questions of the two finalists vying for the job of APS Superintendent. The new Superintendent will take the place of Scott Elder, who’s set to retire at the end of his contract in June. What will be the priority for the incoming Superintendent? How is your feedback considered when big decisions are made?

The following public forums are scheduled for January 30, 2024, at the Berna Facio Professional Development Complex: 

• 9 a.m. – noon: Public Town Hall featuring a student panel and pre-submitted questions for the superintendent finalists.
• 5 - 5:45 p.m.  APS Employee Forum, where finalists will be asked questions pre-submitted by teachers and staff.
• 6 -8 p.m.: General Public Forum, where finalists will introduce themselves and answer pre-submitted questions.

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

Nearly 10-Years Of DOJ Reforms, What's Changed For APD?

The Albuquerque Police Department is nearing a decade of reform efforts under a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice. The DOJ released findings of its investigation into APD in 2014, the same year the department came under intense scrutiny for police use of force and officer-involved shootings.

This week on the podcast, Chris & Gabby discuss the years-long reform efforts with APD’s Chief, Harold Medina. Today, APD says it is very close to meeting its goals for a reformed police department by DOJ’s standards. What does the reform process look like behind the scenes? How has the department and culture overall changed in the last decade? 

Here is a link to the full April 2014 news conference where the Department of Justice announced its findings in its investigation of APD. Here's a link to the full October 2014 news conference where APD and the DOJ announced a joint settlement agreement. To read the Department of Justice's full findings letter in its APD investigation, click here.

KRQE News 13 has extensive reporting of the DOJ's findings and settlement agreement on it's YouTube channel. Much of it can be found at this link.

**A special note: This episode of the New Mexico News Podcast was produced and recorded ahead of the department's recent announcement of several officers being placed on leave amid a new federal investigation aside from the department's reform efforts.

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

Did Tyrannosaurus Rex Originate In New Mexico?

Researchers just announced a new Tyrannosaurus species based on a fossil found in New Mexico’s Elephant Butte Reservoir in 1983. What’s now known as the Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis is believed to be at least 5 million years older than his cousin, the T. Rex as we know it. The scientific discovery reshapes the historical understanding of the most famous dinosaur ever to walk the earth. Could the Tyrannosaurus have originated in New Mexico? How do paleontologists know this is a new species? And why did it take 40 years to make this announcement?

Spencer Lucas, a paleontologist, chief curator for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, & co-author on the new study, discusses the research that went into the new Tyrannosaurus discovery. 

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

Jeffrey Epstein’s Ties To New Mexico

There are a lot of questions surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s actions in New Mexico, and this week we’re getting more answers. From mysterious land deeds, & a state investigation, to a release of names in federal court documents, KRQE investigators Curtis Segarra & Gabrielle Burkhart share what they’ve learned over years of digging into details about Epstein’s ‘Zorro Ranch' property & his dealings in New Mexico. What did the state’s attorney general’s office learn in its local investigation? What story does Epstein's flight logs to New Mexico tell, if any? Who owns the multimillion-dollar Zorro Ranch near Santa Fe today? 

Links to local reporting mentioned in this episode:

• Mysterious deed linked to Zorro Ranch 
• Man behind fake deed accused of hiring hitman
• Zorro Ranch sold in New Mexico 
• New owners of Epstein ranch protest Santa Fe property value
• KRQE obtains documents from NM attorney general's Epstein investigation

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

 

The Big News Stories Ahead In 2024

Happy New Year from your favorite podcast hosts! In keeping with tradition, Chris & Gabby give a full wrap-up of the big stories to watch out for in New Mexico through 2024. A condensed, budged-focused legislative session is about to begin. What sort of crime or gun bills will lawmakers take up? Should New Mexicans expect another gas rebate check since the state is once again flush with oil & gas money? Listeners also get a recap of the major stories from 2023 - were podcast predictions at the beginning of the year correct? 

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.

The Best Of KRQE Investigates In 2023

Gabrielle Burkhart and Ann Pierret from the KRQE Investigates team peel back the curtain on some of the biggest investigations they published in 2023. Ann obtained police videos that reveal how law enforcement is discovering more stash houses in the metro. She also shares about her trip to the border to see first-hand how smugglers get migrants across. Gabby sheds light on a traffic stop that resulted in a family being held at gunpoint, and an officer who's now in trouble. As a bonus, tune in through the end to hear which is better - water slides or roller coasters? 

Chris ends our episodes with a surprise for Gabby and Ann: a random, rapid fire "get to know your investigative reporters" question and answer segment. The questions are truly random, including one question about news stories Gabby and Ann have covered in the past. Here's the link to the story Gabby mentioned, and here's a link to the one Ann mentioned.

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.