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NMSU

Las Cruces Sun-News

New Mexico State's spring football game in Artesia is approaching, set for 10 a.m. Saturday.

Aggies coach Tony Sanchez is pleased with his team's progress. Ninety-four of the Aggies' 105 players are practicing, with others either not healthy or arriving this summer. Sanchez is getting a chance to assess many of NM State's 36 new players and the offense's adaptation to new offensive coordinator David Yost.

Sanchez is also emphasizing "skill development", hoping the Aggies' younger players and backups make as many improvements as possible.

"Some of these younger guys, we want to get them some more reps," Sanchez said. "Some of the guys that have been around for a long time, you can back off on them a little bit and get some of the newbies more reps. We're continuing the skill development, working on situational football, and getting some of those young guys the lion's share of reps."

The game's location in Artesia is partly due to Aggie Memorial Stadium renovations, but also a strategic move to connect with the "gritty" southeast New Mexico community. He also hopes to meet with former Aggies players in Artesia, including Ty Houghtaling, a quarterback at NM State from 1996-99 and pastor at Artesia's First Baptist Church. Sanchez says Houghtaling will host a dinner and team talk for the Aggies on Friday evening.

Sanchez wants his team to match the identity of cities like Artesia and hopes to showcase it on Saturday.

"It got me thinking, 'Let's get out of here,'" Sanchez said. "A lot of teams go around and play scrimmages in other places. I just figured the southeastern part of the state is such a gritty, tough part of the state, and I think they identify with our brand."

Offensive changes

NM State will refresh its offense with Yost.

Sanchez hopes Yost brings more balance. While finishing fourth in Conference USA with 179.2 rushing yards per game, the Aggies averaged a CUSA second-worst 143.2 passing yards per game. Yost helped Florida International rank third in CUSA with 229.4 passing yards per game as its offensive coordinator last season.

Sanchez and Yost are still emphasizing rushing, but they'll struggle to effectively utilize running backs like Seth McGowan, Dijon Stanley and Dominic Richardson if NM State can't pass well.

"Great football teams, they run the football... But, it's at a detriment if you can't throw it around the yard," Sanchez said. "The biggest thing for (Yost) is adding balance and being creative in the way we get players the ball. I think our passing game, it's going to be more evolved."

Sanchez says the Aggies' offensive line has struggled, although returning senior AJ Vaipulu has only been participating in non-contact drills. At quarterback, Sanchez has been impressed with Logan Fife and commended freshman Jaylen Patterson for graduating high school early to join NM State.

"Logan's the addition that, so far, has made the biggest difference," Sanchez said.

"Jaylen, just being a young guy, graduating early was huge for him," he also said. "These are great learning experiences for him. We're overloading him with the reps and we want to see, can he be the (backup quarterback)?"

Changes to secondary

Sanchez says NM State's secondary was its biggest defensive weakness last season, as it gave up a CUSA second-worst 251.6 passing yards per game.

The Aggies recruited five defensive backs from junior colleges and returned starters like Da'Marcus Crosby, Dakerric Hobbs and Nick Session. He's been impressed with Crosby and junior college recruits Bernock Iya and DJ Hill-Smith, believing all three will make the Aggies less vulnerable to deep passes.

While Sanchez says NM State's cornerbacks can be better, he sees an improved secondary.

"One of the big issues last year was on the back end," Sanchez said. "I think we brought in some good, athletic safeties.

"Bernock, he's done a really good job... Hill-Smith is doing good, and getting Crosby back was big. Last year, he got here in late June and he wasn't 100% healthy. It took him a while to get going. It's been really good to see him back with that safety group."

Sanchez hopes for stability in leadership

Sanchez has seen many university leaders since joining the Aggies' coaching staff in 2022. Most recently, NM State President Valerio Ferme fired former AD Mario Moccia on Jan. 2.

Ferme and acting athletic director Amber Burdge have been guiding Aggies sports since. Sanchez hopes those positions become stabilized soon.

"Since I've been here, we've had three different presidents, we've had multiple (men's) basketball coaches, we've had multiple ADs. You'd like to see some stability in the university," Sanchez said. "When you talk about moving forward, you want to have a clear vision, and I think you got to give that vision a chance. When you have as much turnover as we've had in such a short amount of time, it's hard to ever see those visions executed.

"I can't imagine coming in as a football coach and you only get a year or two... That's tough, because how do you truly make a difference? When it comes to the university, I think it's the same thing. Our president made a decision. He'll do what's best for the university and if it ends up being Amber (as the next permanent AD), I've worked with Amber for years and she's fantastic... Whatever they end up deciding, I'm all for."

Sponsor of failed bill says surviving amendments 'a good, solid win'

This article was first published by Source NM. Read more at sourcenm.com.

While efforts to pass a proposed overhaul to how New Mexico educators teach reading fell short during the legislative session, several elements were added to other successful bills, which the sponsor described as a “solid win.”

President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) sponsored Senate Bill 242, the Science of Reading Act, this session, which proposed amending the Public School Code to require new and established teachers be trained in what’s called “structured literacy,” and would have prohibited “balanced literacy techniques.” Structured literacy, a science-backed method of teaching students the foundations of reading through phonics, vocabulary and comprehension, is particularly used to teach children with dyslexia. Balanced literacy, contrastingly, uses context and visual clues.

“Forty-two other states have either already put this in their statute or they are working towards doing it now,” Stewart told Source NM of the push to require structured literacy. She also pointed to Mexico and Finland as examples of countries where using structured literacy has been successful.

New Mexico has provided a structured literacy course for elementary teachers called Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) since 2019. Stewart said “we are now seeing the results of this work in pockets around the state,” including in Gadsden and Roswell, where English language learners and children living in poverty — categories identified in the Yazzie-Martinez lawsuit as at-risk in the state — are showing improved reading proficiency.

SB242 would have also required school districts to notify parents of their children’s reading performance twice a year for K-3 students, and to notify parents if their first grade child showed reading difficulty following a dyslexia screening.

The bill found support on the Senate side, but was held up in the House Education Committee due to concerns over biliteracy needs and what lawmakers saw as a lack of attention to English language learners. Stewart presented amendments to the bill, but the committee eventually voted to table it indefinitely.

The Senate later added provisions of the original bill as amendments to several other bills. These included House Bill 167, which would require the Public Education Department to cover the cost of high school equivalency tests for some students, and House Bill 156, which would increase each of the three minimum teacher salary tiers by $5,000. Both bills included provisions to establish structured literacy as the primary approach to teaching the foundations of reading and require colleges of education in New Mexico to teach the approach.

The bills were sent to the House floor for a concurrence vote, but representatives took issue with the amendments, particularly with HB167, saying the Senate was attempting to pass a bill despite it failing in committee. The House voted not to concur on SB167, sending it back to the Senate, whose members voted to rescind the amendments in the final hours of the session. HB167 as it originally stood awaits the signature of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

However, the House did vote to concur with the science of reading additions to HB156, which also now awaits the governor’s signature.

Stewart told Source NM that her original bill was 22 pages long, but she condensed it into three to four pages for the amendments, leaving out parental notification requirements, among other points. Nonetheless, she still said lawmakers made progress on this issue.

“Absolutely a first step, a good, solid win,” she said.

Stewart, a retired educator, said she has been working to address New Mexico’s approach to literacy education for 30 years, ever since the National Council on Teacher Quality gave all universities in the state a failing grade. This prompted her to introduce House Joint Memorial 16 in 2010, directing university deans and members of the Legislative Education Study Committee to study reading curriculum in teacher education programs.

“I will continue to work with the secretary of education and the governor,” Stewart said. “As we move forward, I will continue to work with them on ensuring that our teachers are well trained.”

Leah Romero is a Las Cruces-based reporter placed with Source New Mexico through the New Mexico Local News Fellowship. She covers a wide range of topics impacting Southern New Mexico communities.

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BUSINESS

El Paso Times

Those hankering for Allsup’s famous deep-fried burritos have a new place to satisfy the craving − plus two more on the way for Las Cruces.

The iconic convenience-store/gas station chain, with roots in rural New Mexico, opened its newest store Tuesday, March 25, on the edge of El Paso, just inside Chaparral, New Mexico.

It sits on several acres of what had been a mostly lonely corner at 1510 State Line Road and an increasingly busy stretch of U.S. Highway 54. It’s next to an Alamo Fireworks Megastore, across the highway from the Edge of Texas Steakhouse, and not far from the edge of El Paso's Northeast city limit. It's also not far from the site where Facebook operator, Meta Platforms Inc., is expected to build a huge data center.

It’s part of the rapid expansion of Yesway, a 10-year-old company now based in Fort Worth. It became a big convenience-store industry player in November 2019 when it acquired the Allsup’s chain, then with 304 stores.

Yesway now has 441 stores in nine states, and growing, making it the 19th largest convenience store chain in the United States, according to the latest ranking by the trade publication CSP.

Most of its stores are Allsup’s branded stores in New Mexico and Texas. Only 70 stores bear the Yesway brand, and those are primarily in several other states in the West and Midwest.

Yesway uses Allsup's rural model to grow

“Most of our portfolio tends to be rural, small town stores at good intersections of highways. That’s been the Allsup’s model really since it was founded 60 years ago (in Clovis, New Mexico by Lonnie and Barbara Allsup). And after all the research and homework we’ve done, we’ve continued in our new-build platform identifying those same types of opportunities,” said Thomas Brown.

He’s Yesway’s chief real estate officer and also president and director of real estate acquisitions for Brookwood Financial Partners, a Boston-area investment firm that formed Yesway in late 2015. Brookwood mostly owns and manages a large portfolio of shopping centers and office buildings nationwide.

Brookwood formed Gas & Convenience Funds to create the Yesway brand to acquire and operate a portfolio of gas stations in select suburban and rural locations in the U.S.

While Allsup’s for years has operated stores in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, many of its locations, and now Yesway’s locations, operate in rural areas without grocery stores. Brown noted.

“We do really well being the grocery provider for a lot of these small towns in which we operate,” Brown said. “They (customers) aren’t going to do their weekly shopping there,” but the stores, besides selling a lot of gasoline, sell a lot of bread, eggs, and milk, he said.

27 million Allsup's burritos sold annually

The chain, including the Yesway-branded stores, also sells a lot of Allsup’s famous burritos — more than 27 million a year, according to the company.

It recently added two new burritos — buffalo chicken and bacon breakfast — to its previous lineup: the original beef and bean, the Hatch green chile cheese, and the beef or chicken Chimichanga, or Chimi.

All Allsup’s burritos technically are chimichangas, deep-fried burritos born in Arizona, according to the Food Network.

Allsup's burritos born in deep-fryer 'accident'

Allsup’s version was born by accident in 1974 when baked burritos at an Allsup’s in Clovis, New Mexico, ended up in a donut deep fryer and became an instant hit with customers, according to the company.

Sometimes referred to as “gut bombs," the burritos are loved by many and derided by some — not unlike the popular rolled tacos at another regional icon, El Paso’s Chico’s Tacos.

The burritos have become ingrained in New Mexico and Texas culture. They are featured in paintings by New Mexico artist Daniel McCoy Jr., and the subject of a song by Texas singer/songwriter Aaron LaCombe.

Food service platforms have become important for the convenience-store industry, and that often includes having a signature food item, such as the Allsup’s burrito, Brown said.

2 more Allsup's coming to Las Cruces

Yesway's plans are to continue to grow through construction of new stores in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma for now, and future acquisitions, he said.

It opened 21 new stores in 2024, including Allsup’s first Las Cruces location, and plans to open about 16 stores in 2025, including two more in Las Cruces, Brown said.

Yesway may explore adding Allsup’s on the eastern and western edges of El Paso County in the future, he said.

Yesway officials explored buying the 249-store DK chain when it was for sale in 2024. But the convenience stores, including 77 in El Paso and about 25 in New Mexico, were too small and too old to fit Yesway's expansion model, Brown said. Mexico’s huge Oxxo chain bought the DK stores in October and plans to eventually rebrand them to Oxxo.

No expansion is currently planned for Yesway-branded stores, mostly located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. A handful of Yesway-branded stores in Texas will be remodeled and rebranded as Allsup’s in the future, Brown said.

Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; [email protected]; @vickolenc on Twitter, now known as X.

Posted Tuesday, March 18, 2025 6:00 pm

Roz Brown For New Mexico News Connection

New Mexico may never be a leader in aquaculture but some fish farmers are finding success in the arid state.

Rossana Sallenave, professor and extension aquatic ecology specialist at New Mexico State University, said the U.S. is among the top five consumers of fish and shellfish. She believes aquaponics, used to raise large quantities of fish and plants in relatively small volumes of water, is highly suited to promoting sustainable agriculture.

"I think the future here in New Mexico is recirculating systems," Sallenave explained. "Because we are running out of water and that's the area of aquaculture that is really gaining some traction here in New Mexico, particularly aquaponics."

Sallenave pointed out New Mexico's unique environmental and biological resources include 15 billion acre-feet of saline water. She noted it cannot be used for traditional agriculture or for drinking water but could be used for aquaculture. Global demand for seafood is projected to increase by 70% in the next 30 years and experts believe a dramatic increase in aquaculture could help supply food needs.

According to Sallenave, aquaculture, like most farming enterprises, is highly risky because many variables must be controlled over a long period to produce a marketable crop. If control is not maintained, a crop can be lost, resulting in substantial financial losses. But she emphasized it can be a viable enterprise for those willing to educate themselves, keep abreast of new technologies and apply what others have learned. And compared to traditional agriculture, aquaponics requires significantly less fresh water.

"You can grow protein and you can grow plants in a small recirculating system which needs very little water," Sallenave outlined. "Just topping off a little bit weekly to replace evaporative losses."

Sallenave added the site selected for an aquaculture enterprise, which must meet the biological criteria for the species proposed, has a significant effect on an operation's viability. One New Mexico success story is AmeriCulture near Animas, which started producing Nile tilapia commercially more than a decade ago using geothermally heated greenhouses in pure well water from a desert aquifer.

Keywords

aquaculture, fish farmers, Rossana Sallenave, sustainable agriculture

The New Mexico Department of Transportation reports more closures Tuesday due to blowing dust and loss of visibility. These closures happened in rapid succession; please check the NMDOT's website for the latest information.

DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS in Deming to Las Cruces, Open

I-10 eastbound and westbound lanes are now open at exit 85, law enforcement will be escorting traffic due to heavy congestion.

DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS in Las Cruces to Anthony

I-10 eastbound and westbound lanes from milepost 144 (Las Cruces) to 164 (NM-TX Stateline) have areas of heavy dust with low to zero visibility.

ROAD CLOSURE - Lordsburg to Las Cruces

I-10 eastbound is closed at milepost 20 (Lordsburg) due to areas of blowing dust and low visibility. All traffic must shelter in place in Lordsburg. The NMDOT will continue monitoring the roadway. This event will be updated as conditions.

DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS in Deming to Hatch, open

Difficult Driving Conditions, NM 26 eastbound and westbound from mile marker 0 to mile marker 44, 3 miles west of Hatch. Blowing dust may cause limited visibility. The NMDOT will continue monitoring the roadway. This event will be updated as conditions change.

ROAD CLOSURE in Santa Teresa to Columbus

Closure, NM 9 eastbound and westbound from Santa Teresa & Doña Ana County Line to mile marker 87, Columbus.

DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS in Deming to Silver City, open

Difficult Driving Conditions, US 180 eastbound and westbound from mile marker 164, Deming to mile marker 131, 4 miles east of Hurley due to areas of blowing dust and low visibility. The NMDOT will continue monitoring the roadway. This event will be updated as conditions.

ROAD CLOSURE in DemingNM 11 is closed from milepost 32 (Dona Ana) to milepost 26 (Sunshine Rd) due to areas of blowing dust and low visibility. The NMDOT will continue monitoring the roadway. This event will be updated as conditions change.

NM 549 is closed from milepost 0 (Deming) to milepost 31 due to areas of blowing dust and low visibility. The NMDOT will continue monitoring the roadway. This event will be updated as conditions.

Blowing dust can cause zero visibility and it can happen in an instant. Here is a list of some tips from the NMDOT about staying safe in these conditions: