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October
• Elementary schools across the Metro, including in Rio Rancho, Corrales and Bernalillo, host Albuquerque Aloft as the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta kicks off.
• It’s a week of Homecoming ceremonies and activities for Rio Rancho, Cleveland and Bernalillo high schools.
• Rio Rancho High School girls and Cleveland boys take the Metro cross-country titles. The Rams’ boys team also gets recognized as it achieves a national ranking of No. 11.
• Notah Begay III hosts a televised college golf tournament at Twin Warriors.
• A contract between the UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center and United Health Professionals goes into effect, though the status of PRNs remains up in the air.
• Early voting for the November general election kicks off in New Mexico with record numbers turning out in Sandoval County in the first days.
• The Gilman Tunnels close for a stabilization project.
• Michael Flores, 21, is arrested in Rio Rancho for the murder of 13-year-old Michael Tubb in downtown Albuquerque. Thomas Acee would later be charged with murder in the case and is believed to be the shooter.
• The inaugural iteration of SoberFest is held in Haynes Park.
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• The effects of Hurricane Helene are felt locally as Presbyterian tells its hospitals to limit IV use.
• Santa Ana Pueblo opens its new judicial complex.
• Fall Fest brings the community together at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
• Unci Rita Long Visitor Holy Dancer, age 99, receives her high school diploma.
• Police confirm one is dead and another seriously injured after a T-bone accident at NM 528 and Pasilla Road.
• Cleveland High School and Rio Rancho complete a one-two sweep at the inaugural NMAA Marching Band State Championship, held at RRHS. Bernalillo High School, though not in the competition, fields its first marching band in a number of years.
• The Duke City Gladiators announce they will not have a 2025 season, saying, “We’re just taking a little bit of a break.” Owner Gina Prieskorn-Thomas indicates she would like to see the team return to Albuquerque in 2026.
• The National UFO Historical Records Center opens its new location at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School.
• New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez comes to Cleveland High School, calling for new legislation that would stiffen penalties for school shooting threats.
• The Rio Rancho Observer receives 10 awards from the New Mexico Press Association.
• R4Creating takes home trophies in eight categories at the BEST Robotics State Tournament in Las Cruces.
• A pre-Halloween party causes distress in the community when gunshots are fired.
• Fifteen-year-old Adrian Maestas is shot in the head and succumbs to his injuries two days later. The suspects in the murder remain at large.
November• Election night hits across the nation as former President Donald Trump becomes President-elect Donald Trump after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris. New faces will join the Sandoval County Commission and New Mexico Legislature in 2025. The upcoming session will also be the first time the Legislature is majority female.
• Bernalillo High School teacher Lorilei Chavez is named New Mexico Teacher of the Year. It’s the first time the award is bestowed upon an indigenous person.
• St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church marks its 50th anniversary.
• Bernalillo firefighter Khalen Howard is named New Mexico’s 2024 Firefighter of the Year.
• The Storm defeat the Rams in the annual city rivalry football game.
• Rio Rancho’s Keith Lee heads to Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Civics Bee, where he takes third place.
• Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declares an emergency declaration as an early snowstorm blankets the Metro. The storm led to an online learning day for Rio Rancho students.
• Veterans are honored at several events, including in Rio Rancho and Bernalillo.
• The Rio Rancho Rams boys cross-country team claim the state title, the 100th in Rio Rancho Public Schools’ history. However, standout Charlie Vause places second. The Ram girls and runner Mariah Galbraith take second.
• The soccer season comes to an end for the Ram boys in a winter storm.
• Rio Rancho High School students continue their tradition of community service with The Big Event.
• A 1994 murder case is reopened to address parole issues with the intent of amending the sentences of Jeremy Rose in the deaths of Edward and Marie Brown. The sentences of their grandson, Michael Brown, and Bernadett Setser have already been addressed.
• An accident on county land near the intersection of King Boulevard and Sheba Drive has tragic results as five ultimately die in the crash. Craig Miller Sr. and 11-month-old daughter Laila are declared dead the night of the crash. Craig Miller Jr., 6, died the next day, and Francisco Paredes died the following week. The Miller family also lost their unborn baby at 26 weeks in the crash. The remaining members of the Miller family are also hospitalized. The community begins to plan and host a number of fundraisers for the families of the victims.
• Former Rio Rancho High School wrestler Bo Nickal takes a big victory during the co-main event of UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden.
• The Sandoval County Commission approves a number of improvements for the county courthouse.
• The Rio Rancho Pop Warner U12 Spartans take the Southwest Championship Trophy, sending them to the Pop Warner Super Bowl.
• Fred Harris, a former U.S. senator for Oklahoma and current Corrales resident, dies at 94.
• The Public Employee Labor Relations Board rules that PRNs should not be included in the Sandoval Regional Medical Center United Health Professionals Union.
• Placitas resident and University of New Mexico alumna Abrianna Morales is named a Rhodes Scholar, the first UNM student in more than 20 years to receive the distinction.
December• Intel announces plans to boost productivity at its Rio Rancho location.
• A Sandoval County man is awarded $412 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed against NuMale Albuquerque LLC, organized in Wisconsin, and two other corporate entities, for botched penile injections. It is thought the award for punitive and compensatory damages is likely the largest in history for medical malpractice in the U.S.
• R4Creating breaks Montezuma Ball’s fundraising record.
• The Cleveland Storm take home the 6A state football title.
• Rio Rancho’s Johnny Acee, 17, receives the U.S. Marine Corps’ Chesty Puller Award.
• The city announces the closure of the Motor Vehicle office it operates on Sabana Grande Avenue.
• Former NBA player Kenny Thomas visits Santo Domingo School.
• Former Cleveland Storm standout Luke Wysong earns All-Conference honors for his season with the University of New Mexico Lobos. He also announces he will enter the transfer portal, eventually landing at the University of Arizona.
• Rio Rancho’s Charlie Vause becomes a national champion by winning the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon.
• Adam Kruse is charged with murder when a man was found dead in a car with a gunshot wound to the chest in Northern Meadows.
• Corrales takes part in Wreaths Across America for the first time.
• Dave Heil and Jay Block close out their terms on the Sandoval County Commission.
• An ornament created by Vista Grande Elementary student Maximo Risso helps decorate a Christmas tree at the White House.
• The Kroger-Albertsons merger falls apart, with Albertsons filing suit against Kroger “seeking billions of dollars in damages from Kroger to make Albertsons and its shareholders whole.” The proposed merger would have resulted in the Ridgecrest location changing hands.
• A Rio Rancho woman is charged with murder the day after Christmas. Darlene Valencia -Dean is accused of killing her wife, Adelita Valencia-Dean, with a shotgun blast to the stomach during a fight outside their home.
• The Big Lots in Rio Rancho announces it is closing.
• Vandals destroy a memorial dedicated to 15-year-old murder victim Adrian Maestas.
• Cleveland Storm standout AJ Manning is named New Mexico Defensive Back of the Year.
• Santa makes a visit to Sandoval Regional Medical Center via helicopter.
• Joan Bivens and Mark Leonard are named the next inductees of the Rio Rancho Public Schools Hall of Honor.
• R4Creating picks up more hardware in Dallas, placing second overall at the 2024 BEST Robotics Best of Texas Championship.
• Several Rio Rancho High School cheerleaders visit Hawaii to participate in the Pearl Harbor Parade.
• Former Cleveland High School Storm player Nic Trujillo announces his transfer from the University of New Mexico to University of Louisiana Monroe.
• Eric Brusstar faces several charges after he is accused of shooting hundreds of rounds, including at police helicopters, during an overnight standoff with law enforcement in the Corrales Heights neighborhood. A judge approves an order for the removal of his firearms. He faces five counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
