Morgan Lee, Author at The Rapid City Post

New Mexico lawmakers propose a Jeffrey Epstein probe of activity at secluded desert ranch

November 6, 2025

A secluded desert ranch where financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once entertained guests is coming under new scrutiny in New Mexico. Two state legislators on Thursday proposed the creation of a truth commission to document what went on at the ranch and explore new precautions against sex trafficking. While Epstein never faced charges in New Mexico, the state attorney general’s office in 2019 confirmed it had interviewed possible victims who visited the ranch south of Santa Fe. Epstein purchased the Zorro Ranch in New Mexico in 1993 and build a hilltop mansion. It was sold by his estate in 2023 to benefit creditors.

FILE - Actor Alec Baldwin attends his trial on involuntary manslaughter for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the Western movie "Rust," July 12, 2024, at Santa Fe County District Court in Santa Fe, N.M. (Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Malicious prosecution lawsuit by Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’ shooting moves to federal court

October 22, 2025

A lawsuit by actor Alec Baldwin alleging malicious prosecution in the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie has been reinstated and moved to federal court. Wednesday’s change of venue raises the stakes in Baldwin’s conflict with prosecutors. Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for “Rust,” was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. A charge of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin was dismissed at trial in 2024 on allegations authorities withheld evidence from the defense.

FILE - Gene Hackman accepts his Oscar for best actor at the 44th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, April 10, 1972. (AP Photo/File)

Auction house to sell Gene Hackman’s Golden Globes, watch and paintings he collected and created

October 21, 2025

An auction house plans to sell off a variety of actor Gene Hackman’s possessions. They include Golden Globe, a wristwatch and paintings he collected and created himself. Live and online auctions next month follow Hackman’s death in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this year at age 95. The two-time Oscar winner enjoyed painting and wrote novels in his later years. Auction items include a still life painting of a Japanese vase by Hackman and awards from roles in “Unforgiven” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.” Hackman’s art collection highlights postwar and contemporary masters.

First Republican enters race for governor of New Mexico in 2026 as Democrat terms out of office

October 17, 2025

New Mexico has its first Republican contender for governor ahead of the 2026 elections, as the three-term city mayor of fast-growing Rio Rancho launched his campaign. Gregg Hull on Friday outlined priorities, including greater state investments in the health care workforce and roadways, in pursuing the Republican nomination ahead of an open race for governor. He also described a “zero-tolerance” approach to crime that would revisit the state’s bail reforms. New Mexico has alternated between Democratic and Republican governors since the early 1980s. Trump lost the presidential vote three times in New Mexico, but he gained ground in 2024.

FILE - A Holtec International facility is seen in Camden, N.J., June 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Energy company abandons proposal to store nuclear waste at site in New Mexico

October 9, 2025

A private energy company is abandoning a proposal to store nuclear waste at a site in southeastern New Mexico. Holtec International described an “untenable path forward for used fuel storage in New Mexico” as it walked away from the proposal to temporarily store spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants across the nation. The New Jersey-based company confirmed its decision Thursday. Holtec said the move would allow it to work with other states that are more amenable. The New Mexico storage project was cast aside despite a favorable U.S. Supreme Court ruling in August. The U.S. is at an impasse over a permanent solution for storing spend nuclear fuel.

New Mexico Republican state Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer of Farmington, N.M., speaks at the opening of a special legislative session in Santa Fe, N.M., Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

New Mexico governor signs bills to counter federal cuts, support health care and food assistance

October 3, 2025

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed a package of bills aimed at shoring up food assistance, rural health care and public broadcasting in response to recently enacted federal cuts. Signed Friday, the new legislation responds to President Donald Trump’s big bill as well as fear that health insurance rates will rise with the expiration of COVID-era subsidies to the Affordable Care Act exchange in New Mexico. Exchange subsidies are a major point of contention in the Washington budget standoff and related federal government shutdown. New Mexico’s Democratic-led Legislature approved $162 million in state spending on rural health care, food banks, public broadcast and more.

Democratic state House Speaker Javier Martínez, center back, of Albuquerque, N.M., takes his seat at the opening of a special legislative session about proposals to shore up safety net spending in response to President Donald Trump's recent cuts, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

New Mexico Legislature approves bills to prop up rural health care, underwrite food assistance

October 2, 2025

New Mexico legislators are moving quickly to prop up funding for food assistance and rural health care services in response to President Donald Trump’s cuts in federal spending on Medicaid and nutrition programs. The Democratic-led Legislature sent bills to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday that provide $50 million to sustain medical services at rural health clinics and hospitals that rely heavily on Medicaid spending. Republicans in the legislative minority voted in unison against the spending provisions, arguing that big federal changes to Medicaid are still far away and that New Mexico should focus on reducing errors in benefit distributions. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has called for a quick response to federal Medicaid cuts.

New Mexico legislators rush to shore up safety net programs after federal cuts

October 1, 2025

New Mexico legislators are pushing to shore up safety-net spending in response to President Donald Trump’s spending and tax cuts, in a state with one of the highest enrollment rates for Medicaid and federal food assistance. In a special legislative session Wednesday, legislators sought out new state spending on food assistance, while Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is calling for a quick response to federal Medicaid cuts. Leading Democratic legislators also want to backfill federal spending cuts to public broadcasting. New Mexico could also become the latest state to break with the federal government on vaccine policy and recommendations.

FILE - The marquee at a gun shop in Los Ranchos, N.M, flashes in protest of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's order to suspend the carrying of firearms in the state's largest metro area, Sept. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

US appeals court blocks New Mexico’s 7-day waiting period on gun purchases

August 19, 2025

A panel of federal appellate judges has ruled that New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period on gun purchases likely infringes on citizens’ Second Amendment rights. The move puts the law on hold pending a legal challenge. The ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sends the case back to a lower court. New Mexico’s waiting period went into effect in May 2024. It does hold exceptions for concealed permit holders, domestic violence victims, police and sales between close relatives. Two New Mexico residents had sued, citing concerns about delayed access to weapons for victims of domestic violence and others.

FILE - Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at a news conference, March 22, 2025, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, file)

New Mexico governor declares state of emergency in rural county afflicted by crime, drug use

August 13, 2025

The governor of New Mexico has declared a state of emergency in response to violent crime and drug trafficking across a swath of northern New Mexico, including two Native American pueblo communities. The emergency declaration by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday makes $750,000 available as local governments in Rio Arriba County call for reinforcements against violent crime and other hardships associated with illicit drugs. The vast county stretches from the city of Española to the Colorado state line and has long been afflicted by opioid use and high drug-overdose death rates, with homeless encampments emerging in recent years in more populated areas.

U.S. Army Sgt. Salvador Hernandez stands beside Stryker combat vehicles while watching over the U.S.-Mexico border fence from a hilltop in Nogales, Ariz., Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A man is halted climbing the US-Mexico border wall. Under new Trump rules, US troops sound the alarm

July 24, 2025

U.S. troops are sharing command stations and vehicles with civilian immigration authorities at the southern U.S. border under an emergency declaration from President Donald Trump. A two-star general general leads 7,600 border troops and an assortment of helicopters and drones, and says the military has been freed from menial work to help apprehend immigrants, protect newly designated militarized turf and disrupt smuggling cartels. Legal experts say the strategy flouts a ban on law enforcement by the military on U.S. soil and thrusts the armed forces into a potentially politicized mission. In a twist of fate, immigrants are part of the U.S. fighting forces at the border.

A sign warns against unauthorized entry into a militarized zone along the southern U.S. border in New Mexico on June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

US expands militarized zones to 1/3 of southern border, stirring controversy

July 3, 2025

Annexed militarized zones will soon cover nearly one-third of the U.S. border with Mexico, empowering soldiers to arrest people who cross the border illegally. President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the border has allowed the Army to sidestep a law prohibiting the military from civilian law enforcement. It has been criticized by humanitarian groups and gotten a mixed reception from hunters, hikers and others who fear being locked out of public lands across a cherished landscape. U.S. authorities are moving to extend the militarized zones amid court challenges and a sharp drop in illegal crossings.

FILE - Actor Alec Baldwin approaches his wife Hilaria during his trial, July 11, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via AP, File)

‘Rust’ crew settles lawsuit against film producers and Alec Baldwin in fatal shooting

June 27, 2025

A settlement has been reached in the civil lawsuit alleging negligence in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie “Rust”. The settlement was revealed in court document released on Friday. The lawsuit was brought by three “Rust” crew members seeking compensation for emotional distress from producers of “Rust,” including lead actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin. Terms of the settlement were not available and parties to the lawsuit had no immediate comment. A charge of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin was dismissed at trial last year on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense.

Governors of Western states give mixed reactions to proposed federal land sell-off

June 24, 2025

A Republican-sponsored proposal before Congress to mandate the sale of federal public lands is getting a mixed reception from the governors of Western states. Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says the approach is problematic in New Mexico because of the close relationship residents have with those public lands. A budget proposal from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee would mandate the sale of more than 3,125 square miles of federal lands to state or other entities. It was included recently in a draft provision of the GOP’s sweeping tax cut package. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon voiced qualified support for plans to tap federal land for development.

FILE - Army soldiers look at the border wall next to a surveillance vehicle in Sunland Park, N.M., Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)

Troops begin detaining immigrants in national defense zone at border in escalation of military role

June 11, 2025

U.S. troops have begun directly detaining immigrants accused of trespassing on a recently designated national defense zone along the southern U.S. border. The effort is an escalation of the military’s enforcement roles. U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Chad Campbell described in detail during a news conference Wednesday the first detentions by troops last week of three immigrants accused of military-zone trespassing in New Mexico. Those migrants were quickly turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for processing. Troops generally are prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil under the Posse Comitatus Act, with some exceptions.

Movie armorer completes prison sentence in fatal ‘Rust’ set shooting

May 23, 2025

A movie armorer convicted in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western movie “Rust” has been released from a New Mexico prison after competing an 18-month jail term. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed signed out of the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants to return home to Bullhead City, Arizona, on parole related to her involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Halyna Hutchins. Gutierrez-Reed also is being supervised under terms of probation for a separate conviction on a charge of unlawfully carrying a gun into a bar in Santa Fe.

Morgan Lee.