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July
• Rio Rancho Public Schools marks 30 years as a district.
• Rio Rancho Public Schools and the National UFO Historical Records Center announce an agreement to house the center’s documents at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary.
• A new, updated noise ordinance goes into effect for Rio Rancho.
• Severe thunderstorms result in flash floods and power outages throughout the Metro, including Rio Rancho.
• Sandoval County receives $3 million from the Department of the Interior for Payments in Liew of Taxes (PILT) funding.
• Kathy Shallenberger is named the new activities director for Cleveland High School.
• Communities celebrate Fourth of July with a variety of activities.
• Tiger Gutierrez, a Rio Rancho volleyball coach at Volleyball New Mexico, is killed in a three-car crash caused by a suspected drunk driver.
• Cleveland High School teacher Ashlie Knoell receives the Milken Educator Award.
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• Sandoval County Fire and Rescue rescues three people from rushing waters in the Gilman Tunnels.
• Former Rio Rancho Ram Chris Newsome wins the Philippine Basketball Association MVP title.
• It is revealed that the Ridgecrest Albertsons would be sold as part of the merger with Kroger. The merger fell apart later in the year.
• Cleveland High School football player Marshall Logan rang the bell, celebrating the end of his cancer treatment.
• A new initiative from the city of Rio Rancho — Councilor Meet ‘n’ Greets — kicks off.
• Vincent Buscema Sr. faces an upgraded charge from attempted murder to murder after his son died from his injuries almost a month after he was shot. The victim, Vincent Buscema Jr., is a jiujitsu professor and part owner of Rio Rancho’s One Jie Jitsu.
• Maddison Weaver is named the new cheer coach for Cleveland High School.
• Sarah Souza of Rio Rancho wins two gold medals at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation American Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Local and state officials react to the attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. He would go on to win the November presidential election.
• Rio Rancho Fire Rescue gets two new firetrucks.
• The opening of the new Sandoval County Public Safety Building is celebrated.
• The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs brings its Wonder on Wheels museum to Rio Rancho.
• Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s special legislative session on crime falls apart.
• Local officials react to President Joe Biden’s announcement that he was ending his bid for re-election. Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee in the wake of the announcement.
• The Duke City Gladiators close out their season with a 3-13 record.
• Bernalillo baseball players Alexis Hernandez-Carrillo, Alejandro Hernandez-Carrillo and Uriel Castro qualify for the Connie Mack World Series with their club team, the Frackers.
• The Rio Rancho City Council votes in favor of a non-exclusive franchise agreement for Ezee Fiber to enter the Rio Rancho market, adding to the options for internet service in the City of Vision.
• The Sandoval County Commission approves a bond ordinance for the construction of Sandoval Flats, an affordable housing complex.
August
• A ruling by the Public Employee Labor Board finds that Sandoval Regional Health Center violated state law by attempting to stop representatives from the United Health Professionals of New Mexico union from accessing the workplace to meet with members.
• Fortune ranked Rio Rancho as the 35th best place in America for families to live in.
• Wayne Johnson gets an extended contract as manager for Sandoval County.
• Sarah Souza wins gold again, this time at the Pan American Kids Jiu Jitsu IBJJF Championship in Orlando, Florida.
• Six Cleveland High School cheerleaders receive All-American honors.
• Clyde Rachal is named the new Cleveland Storm track and field coach.
• Intel announces mass layoffs, though it’s unclear what impact they would have on the Rio Rancho location.
• Bernalillo resident Jonni Chavez-Mast takes the top spot in two categories at the Organization of Competitive Bodybuilders Natural New Mexico Bodybuilding Competition.
• Rio Rancho Public Schools students return to school for the 2024-25 school year.
• Bernalillo continues its tradition of the Matachines during Las Fiestas of San Lorenzo.
• The 2024 class of Leadership Sandoval graduates.
• The heat turns up during the annual Sunday is Funday event, though it didn’t stop thousands of residents from turning out.
• Larry Padilla is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Paul Cuevas.
• Two people are killed in an accident at the intersection of U.S. 550 and Northwest Loop Road, prompting calls a stoplight at the intersection.
• The University of New Mexico Hospitals announce raises for many of its employees, including those at Sandoval Regional Health Center. However, the hospital said the 200 employees United Health Professionals NM division of the American Federation of Teachers seeks to represent would not be eligible for the raise, continuing tensions between the two organizations.
• Records reveal that 29-year-old Breanna Esperanza died from a fentanyl overdose at the Sandoval County Detention Center the day she was set to be released.
• Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull is named president-elect of the New Mexico Municipal League.
• Vista Grande Elementary councilor Angel Brown receives the 2024 New Mexico School Counselor of the Year award.
• High school football kicks off for the fall 2024 season, as does cross-country, soccer and volleyball.
• Seventy-five acres of property south of Southern Boulevard are preserved with the designation of the Black Arroyo Wildlife Park.
• Jeremy Jones, 16, of Rio Rancho, is charge with murder, aggravated burglary, criminal damage to property and conspiracy in the death of Christopher Sanchez in Albuquerque. He allegedly shot the victim when he tried to stop the teen and others from stealing his truck.
September
• Loving Thunder announces that it will be moving back to Rio Rancho.
• Cielo Azul nurse Andrea Rice wins the Horizon Award from the New Mexico School Nurse Association.
• U.S. Cotton announces the shutdown of production at the Rio Rancho plant in 2025.
• A judge rules that Sandoval Regional Medical Center must bargain with the United Health Professionals New Mexico division of the American Federation of Teachers.
• Rio Rancho Elementary School marks its 50th anniversary.
• The anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is marked in Rio Rancho.
• The Rio Rancho Oktoberfest moves location to the Sandoval County Administration Park and expands to a two-day event.
• THE BLOCK in Enchanted Hills finally opens after several delays.
• The Rio Rancho desert gets a cleanup during the Fall Community Cleanup Day, formerly known as Rally in the Desert.
• The Sandoval County Commission votes to amend its lease with Intel, extending the company’s spending period under the Industrial Revenue Bond. Company representatives also noted that the layoffs announced the previous month were related to human resources and that local employment numbers will go up locally as technology development resources are moving from Oregon to Sandoval County.
• Autumn Rodruguez of Rio Rancho is crowned Miss New Mexico Jr. Pre-Teen.
• The Rio Rancho Public Schools Board votes to receive three handicap school buses from Albuquerque Public Schools.
• Intel in Rio Rancho looks to be a beneficiary of a deal the company made to produce chips for the U.S. Department of Defense.
• A second True Value location opens up shop in Enchanted Hills.
• Members of the public request Bibles in school libraries at a board meeting while others call for the return of Safe Spaces signage in schools.
• Corrales hosts its annual Harvest Festival.
• Sprouts opens up its new location in Enchanted Hills.
• Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at an Organized Retail Crime Conference in Bernalillo.
• Zane Skinner is sentenced to 15 years in prison for the 2022 murder of his father.
• Patrick Ethridge, the executive editor of the Albuquerque Journal, is placed on leave after he is jailed for pleading guilty to an August shoplifting charge at the Walmart in Rio Rancho. He would not return to his position. Jay Newton-Small is later named the executive editor of the publication.
