skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

More than 160 people still missing after deadly Texas floods, governor says; Ohio small businesses seek clarity as Congress weighs federal ownership reporting rule; Hoosiers' medical bills under state review; Survey: Gen Z teens don't know their options after high school; Rural Iowa farmers diversify crops for future success.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

USDA, DHS Secretaries collaborate on a National Farm Security Action Plan. Health advocates worry about the budget megabill's impacts, and Prime Minister Netanyahu nominates President Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Farmers may abandon successful conservation programs if federal financial chaos continues, a rural electric cooperative in Southwest Colorado is going independent to shrink customer costs, and LGBTQ+ teens say an online shoulder helps more than community support.

Environmental Report On USAF Flight Expansion Over Gila Delayed

play audio
Play

Monday, June 18, 2018   

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Opponents of a U.S. Air Force plan to expand its flyover zone over the Gila National Forest will likely wait months longer for a draft environmental statement.

Public comment is being taken during a scoping process by the Air Force under the National Environmental Policy Act. Residents of Silver City and Grant County were not included in public meetings last year, and some worried that it seemed the flights already had begun. Since then, retired Air Force Colonel Susan Beck, also a Silver City resident, has stepped in to get as much information as possible from the Air Force and bring it back to community leaders and residents.

"One of the things to know is that, whereas we thought the draft environmental impact statement would be coming out this fall, we've just been told that it may be on at least a three-month delay,” Beck said.

She added she was assured the state's Holloman Air Force Base is not currently conducting flyovers of the Gila area. Comments about the proposed expanded flyover zone can be submitted at HollomanAFBAirspace.com.

Silver City officials worry any expanded air space could have negative impacts on the town's tourism economy, visitors' experience in the Gila National Forest, and on Native American ruins, including the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Beck said she encourages New Mexico residents to educate the Air Force about all that exists in the southwestern part of the state.

"Let's give the Air Force all the information they need. And possibly the Air Force may decide that this is not the right place to do training,” she said.“ So, we know that they need to do training, but this may not be the place for it."

The Air Force is considering two alternatives to expand its military operations area in New Mexico. The first would expand an existing area near Carlsbad. The second would modify the Silver City location or create a new, larger area there with the size to be determined at a later date.

Public meetings - not likely before 2019 - will be held after the draft environmental impact statement is released.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Fort Laramie is one of Wyoming's many national historic sites. (Richard Wright/Danita Delimont/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The Wyoming Historic Preservation Office is a state office born from the National Historic Preservation Act, a federal law. After a three-month …


Environment

play sound

Colorado Parks and Wildlife wants to hear from all Coloradans about their updated 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan, a blueprint for preserving at-risk …

Social Issues

play sound

Advocacy groups are speaking out about how they believe congressional cuts to Medicaid will disproportionately affect caregiver LGBTQ+ communities in …


Senate Bill 31 doesn't change the abortion law but clarifies when a doctor can perform an abortion to save a pregnant person's life. (AndriiKoval/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Texas lawmakers passed the Life of the Mother Act during the legislative session. It was billed as legislation to clarify when doctors in the state …

Social Issues

play sound

Everybody loves to get something free and right now, kids aged 12-17 can get a fishing and hunting license at no cost from the Nevada Department of …

The Indianapolis Public School district is the state's largest, with a student enrollment of about 31,000, according to its website. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

School funding is ranked as the top education priority in a spring survey of 850 Marion County voters by the education organization RISE Indy…

Social Issues

play sound

A former Wisconsin mayor said the new federal budget will only worsen the current aging crisis families like hers have already been facing. Analysis …

Environment

play sound

Tributes and memorials are pouring in for victims of the deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County. The storm stalled over the Texas …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021