Lou's early years coaching math and basketball at Las Cruces High School brought three consecutive state championships, and his return to NMSU in 1966 launched the era of the Amazing Aggies, with national rankings, NCAA tournament runs, and the 1970 Final Four. Lori reflects on what it was like growing up in a coaching family, following her father from Williams Gym to the Pan American Center he helped design.
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Hosts Mike O'Larey and Brian Cox welcome Mary Henson and her daughter Lori for a warmand lively conversation about the life and legacy of legendary NMSU basketball coach Lou Henson. Mary traces the arc from the beginning: how she and Lou met working summers at a pea canning plant in Illinois and later married in a Las Cruces courthouse with Lou back at practice later that afternoon.
Lou's early years coaching math and basketball at Las Cruces High School brought three consecutive state championships, and his return to NMSU in 1966 launched the era of the Amazing Aggies, with national rankings, NCAA tournament runs, and the 1970 Final Four. Lori reflects on what it was like growing up in a coaching family, following her father from Williams Gym to the Pan American Center he helped design. Republican candidates for Doña Ana County Sheriff joined Speak Up Las Cruces for a forum on leadership, transparency, public safety, and the future direction of the sheriff’s department. Candidates discussed their backgrounds in local, state, military, and federal law enforcement while outlining different approaches to accountability, officer wellness, recruitment, training, and community trust.
Democratic candidates for Doña Ana County Sheriff joined Speak Up Las Cruces for a forum on public safety, leadership, transparency, and the future of the sheriff’s department. Candidates discussed their professional backgrounds in local, state, federal, and military law enforcement, along with differing views on the performance of the current administration and the relationship between the sheriff’s office and county government.
The primary elections, the "disastrous" state of the transfer portal in collegiate athletics, and traffic etiquette at local intersections were among the key topics discussed by Peter Goodman and Walt Rubel in the opening segment of Speak Up Las Cruces.
On this episode of Café con Leche, Greg Smith spoke with Dr. Philipp Djang about the upcoming New Mexico Senior Olympic Games, which will bring athletes from across the state to Las Cruces in June. A longtime participant in senior athletics, Djang shared his path into competitive swimming and the discipline required to train and compete at a high level later in life. The conversation focused on the swimming events at the Las Cruces Regional Aquatic Center, along with the broader structure of the Senior Olympics and the range of sports offered. Djang emphasized the physical and social benefits of staying active, describing the games as both a competitive outlet and a way to build community among older adults.
With early voting starting this week, I want to thank the men and women who are directly responsible for the continuation of our democracy, the candidates running for office in this year’s election. Especially those who are running for the first time.
The old phrase, “I’m going to throw my hat into the ring” makes it sound easy. As if the only thing to lose were a fedora. In fact, this is an incredibly challenging moment to enter the political fray. In today's conversation, Shahid Mustafa brings questions and observations about the recent Supreme Court ruling, allowing Congressional redistricting that guts the Voting Rights Act, and disenfranchise Black voters. With the support of callers, the dialogue brings inquiry to matters of embedded and ongoing racism in the American culture, and possible mechanisms for changing that. We touch as well on considerations of what's happening in the Democrat and Republican parties as related to addressing issues of systemic racism.
With no guest this week, hosts Mike O'Larey and Brian Cox take stock of the past year on the Mesilla Valley Sports Show. They reflect on the many memorable guests who have shared their stories: Hall of Fame Aggie athletes who stayed in Las Cruces and gave back through coaching, pro athletes who came up through the local sports pipeline, administrators and behind-the-scenes figures who keep programs running, and community builders running everything from skateboard shops to safe routes to school programs. Along the way they also dig into the current sports moment - a hotly contested District 3 softball race, NMSU baseball's extra-inning win over UNM, men's golf advancing at Conference USA, and a standout shoutout to Aggie softball pitcher Faith Aragon, ranked fifth in the nation in strikeouts while pursuing a mechanical engineering degree. The episode is part highlight reel, part love letter to Las Cruces sports.
Incumbent County Assessor Eugenia "Gina" Montoya Ortega and challenger Shannon Reynolds joined Walt Rubel and Nancy Baker for a candidate forum on the Doña Ana County Assessor Democratic primary. Montoya Ortega, who is seeking a second term, described her work to correct long-standing inequities in how properties are valued across the county and her ongoing effort to complete a countywide reappraisal project - a statutory obligation she said has been complicated by staffing shortages and friction with the County Commission over funding. Reynolds, a former County Commissioner who resigned to qualify for this race, argued the assessor's office could play a broader role in addressing affordable housing and business recruitment through tax assessment policy, and proposed phased increases for commercial property reassessments similar to the 3% cap that protects residential homeowners. Montoya Ortega pushed back, arguing that commercial property assessment operates very differently from residential and that a cap on commercial values would hurt the state's tax base. (Rubén Reyes, a third candidate, will appear on a future episode.)
Mariel Nanasi of New Energy Economy and rate case expert Rocky Bacchus joined Walt Rubel and Nancy Baker to discuss El Paso Electric's proposed 73% rate increase, which could push average residential bills from around $240 to over $400 a month this summer. Bacchus, who has been involved in previous El Paso Electric rate cases, argued that many of the utility's capital expenditures are unjustified and that professional expert testimony before the Public Regulation Commission is urgently needed. The conversation also touched on Project Jupiter's switch from gas turbines to Bloom Energy fuel cells, which both guests acknowledged as an improvement driven by public pressure but still falling short of a fully renewable solar-and-battery solution. Both called on the city, county, and state legislature to take a more active role in ratepayer advocacy, including creating a PACE zone to help homeowners go solar.
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