A map shows New World screwworm infested zones in Southern New Mexico, as of Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. Much of Las Cruces is now included in the infested zone.

Courtesy New Mexico Department of Agriculture

Las Cruces considered part of ‘infested zone’ as New World screwworm spreads

• By Margaret O'Hara guest4b2bb2a5139b6c593218ebe8
  • [Author email](mailto:mohara@sfnewmexican.com)
• Oct 27, 2026 Updated 1 hr ago

Much of the Las Cruces area is now considered part of an “infested zone” after state and federal agriculture officials confirmed New World screwworm cases in a Doña Ana County cow and a sheep on the New Mexico State University campus.

Within the zones — which have a radius of at least 12.4 miles around each of the infested animals’ locations — animals must be inspected and, if necessary, treated before being moved in or out of the area. The infested zone does not restrict residents’ everyday activities; they only apply to animal movement.

Other infested zones are in place in Otero, Grant and Hidalgo counties as the number of New World screwworm cases in the state continues to rise. So far, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has identified nine cases since the flesh-eating parasite crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in June, eight of which are active in Southern New Mexico.

“Protecting animal health requires awareness and action from all of us,” New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte said Tuesday in a statement. “With cases now confirmed in Doña Ana County, we encourage the NMSU community and surrounding residents to stay vigilant, recognize the warning signs and report concerns quickly.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Margaret O'Hara reports on issues affecting healthy communities in New Mexico. Her work is funded by a grant from Anchorum Health Foundation. Anchorum will not have any role in editorial decisions. The New Mexican and its Public Service Journalism Fund retain full editorial control. Philanthropically funded stories by The New Mexican are made available to all readers without a paywall.

Greg Cunningham is running an ad about how bad the price of prescription drugs are.
Hmm. I wonder why that is so? Let's look at the history of his party, shall we?

Republican politicians love talking about standing up to Big Pharma. But what happens when Congress actually has a chance to do something about prescription drug prices?

In 2003, Republicans passed a law under George W. Bush that prohibited Medicare from directly negotiating drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. Think about that. The federal government could spend billions purchasing medications for seniors, but it couldn’t use Medicare’s enormous buying power to negotiate directly with manufacturers. Pharmaceutical companies couldn’t have asked for a much better arrangement.

Fast-forward to 2022. Democrats finally passed legislation allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for certain expensive drugs, capping insulin copayments for Medicare beneficiaries at $35 a month, and limiting annual out-of-pocket Part D drug costs to $2,000 beginning in 2025. Every single Republican in Congress voted against it.

Republicans have also supported corporate tax cuts that benefited pharmaceutical manufacturers, opposed restrictions on certain drug-price increases, and backed exemptions that allow some medications to escape Medicare price negotiations.

Their defense? Lower drug prices might discourage pharmaceutical innovation. That’s worth debating, but so is the fact that American taxpayers already help finance medical research through the National Institutes of Health.

Here’s the part that makes the political argument especially interesting. A 2024 KFF poll found that 77% of Republican voters supported allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. Apparently, Republican voters and Republican lawmakers weren’t reading from the same script.

So here’s my question: If Republican politicians are serious about taking on Big Pharma, why did they prohibit Medicare from negotiating drug prices in 2003, and why did every Republican in Congress vote against giving Medicare that power in 2022?

And perhaps the bigger question: When pharmaceutical profits and affordable prescriptions come into conflict, whose interests are actually being protected?

And this is another example of Republican not caring about something until it affects them personally.

https://www.lascrucesnewmexican.com/local_news/article_57aebe1d-94d9-58c4-8234-e83c3409be4a.html

"Much of the Las Cruces area is now considered part of an “infested zone” after state and federal agriculture officials confirmed New World screwworm cases in a Doña Ana County cow and a sheep on the New Mexico State University campus.

Within the zones — which have a radius of at least 12.4 miles around each of the infested animals’ locations — animals must be inspected and, if necessary, treated before being moved in or out of the area. The infested zone does not restrict residents’ everyday activities; they only apply to animal movement.

Other infested zones are in place in Otero, Grant and Hidalgo counties as the number of New World screwworm cases in the state continues to rise. So far, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has identified nine cases since the flesh-eating parasite crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in June, eight of which are active in Southern New Mexico.

“Protecting animal health requires awareness and action from all of us,” New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte said Tuesday in a statement. “With cases now confirmed in Doña Ana County, we encourage the NMSU community and surrounding residents to stay vigilant, recognize the warning signs and report concerns quickly.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Margaret O'Hara reports on issues affecting healthy communities in New Mexico. Her work is funded by a grant from Anchorum Health Foundation. Anchorum will not have any role in editorial decisions. The New Mexican and its Public Service Journalism Fund retain full editorial control. Philanthropically funded stories by The New Mexican are made available to all readers without a paywall."Much of the Las Cruces area is now considered part of an “infested zone” after state and federal agriculture officials confirmed New World screwworm cases in a Doña Ana County cow and a sheep on the New Mexico State University campus.

Within the zones — which have a radius of at least 12.4 miles around each of the infested animals’ locations — animals must be inspected and, if necessary, treated before being moved in or out of the area. The infested zone does not restrict residents’ everyday activities; they only apply to animal movement.

Other infested zones are in place in Otero, Grant and Hidalgo counties as the number of New World screwworm cases in the state continues to rise. So far, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has identified nine cases since the flesh-eating parasite crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in June, eight of which are active in Southern New Mexico.

“Protecting animal health requires awareness and action from all of us,” New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte said Tuesday in a statement. “With cases now confirmed in Doña Ana County, we encourage the NMSU community and surrounding residents to stay vigilant, recognize the warning signs and report concerns quickly.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Margaret O'Hara reports on issues affecting healthy communities in New Mexico. Her work is funded by a grant from Anchorum Health Foundation. Anchorum will not have any role in editorial decisions. The New Mexican and its Public Service Journalism Fund retain full editorial control. Philanthropically funded stories by The New Mexican are made available to all readers without a paywall."

I'm considering transferring to NMSU from my university here in Houston, Texas. I grew up and lived, off and on, in the East Side of Houston near the largest petrochemical complex in the world. It's caused me quite a bit of grief in my life, and now I can relocate. I could relocate to another part of Houston, but honestly, I have a huge desire to leave completely and don't wish to live in a Red state anymore, where things like this are commonplace.

I was under the assumption that Las Cruces, being smaller and without major industry, would not have pollution issues, but I'm reading stuff online about it having really bad ozone. Others have brought up the dust due to the desert, but I assume dust, although an irritant, would be a good trade-off for living here in Houston.

Additionally, I've seen quite a few posts while lurking this subreddit about the Project Jupiter data center causing air pollution in the coming years. I considered this, but apparently it is being built 40 miles away, which seems to be far enough to not be very alarming (I don't mean to invalidate anyone's opinion because I only recently started reading about it).

I've already started fleshing out a plan to get out of my city by the beginning of the next year and don't want to move to some place that in some way approximates the place I am attempting to get away from. I'm aware that a simple visit to a place cannot tell you the whole story of what it's like to live there, so I felt this question was best asked here.

Thanks

My family is contemplating a trip to the Las Cruces area for spring break next year (~3/27-4/1). We were planning on visiting/hiking Las Cruces, Organ Mountain, White Sands, Cloudcroft/Lincoln National Forest, Carlsbad, Carlsbad Caverns, and Guadalupe Mountain. I have heard mention of how windy it can get in the spring. Is the wind bad enough that this trip is ill-advised for that timeframe?

New Mexico get ready. The midterm election is days away and we are about to be deluged with political candidates seeking your primary vote come 2028. Already Ben Lujan, Chris Van Hollen and Mark Kelly have plans to campaign for your vote. It is a golden opportunity to address our issues: data centers, water, health and other local issues. It's gonna be a hella of a ride. https://sourcenm.com/2026/10/25/democratic-us-senators-considering-presidential-runs-rally-party-faithful-at-new-mexico-matanza/?utm_source=newsletters.sourcenm.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=severe-weather-hits-new-mexico&_bhlid=31dc43a6767639f406535b6c40787e5ee47cbeae

Happening in El Paso, TX.

My HD antenna is not picking up Fox today or NBC, for that matter. Anyone else having issues?

We are one of the few districts that can determine how many seats Democrats have to oppose the Trump regime.

My neighbors are taking care of 2 stray kittens. They can't have them for much longer, so I'm trying to find them homes. Does anyone want one or knows someone who would?

I miss the place dearly. Specifically the burritos al carbón. I really want to replicate the tomatillo avacado crema they would put on it. Does anyone remember this sauce? Or maybe have a recipe suggestion to something comparable?

am I gonna regret letting this grow?

Had to let this kitty play through at Red Hawk today

Unfortunately I have to rehome my sweet olives. She is very loving, she does incredible well with both humans and dogs but has high aggression towards my other cat ):
Ive tried for months but she is still aggressive and my other kitty is so scared.
I want her to go somewhere loving where she will be taken care of. She really is a sweet girl and I am crushed having to find her a new home.
She is estimated at a year and a half, vaccinated, and spayed!

Con su permiso, adaptarse a la comunidad en esta ciudad en los 20s es difícil cuando recién llegas, hay muchas personas mayores agradables y muy amables pero en lo que respecta a crear grupos de la edad es difícil, está la universidad pero esos grupos parecen vivir en sus propias burbujas, los eventos de la ciudad sueles encontrar más familias que otra cosa.

ASÍ QUE me pregunto si hay más recién llegados en sus 20s con el mismo sentimiento, quizá podamos hacer un grupo y sobrellevar mejor la soledad

I'm an older (64) woman and am in search of community with others who are spiritually inclined, but not in the more traditional, Western way. I'm probably not expressing that well. Basically, I'm not inclined toward the one all knowing, all seeing version of God. Does anyone know of any gatherings/communities of similarly inclined people here in LC?

TIA