New Mexico Press Association

In it's announcement, the RDR did say it is “actively pursuing a solution that could allow the Roswell Daily Record to continue serving the community under new ownership or another sustainable arrangement.”

Roswell Daily Record to cease operations Company is ‘actively pursuing a solution’ that could allow the newspaper to continue, according to a social media post

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled today that government agencies cannot deny public inspection of records under IPRA's "catchall exemption" based on an agency's internal policies alone.

The Justices unanimously agreed with the plaintiff, ACLU, and amicus curiae, New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, that the New Mexico Corrections Department's policies designating use-of-force records as confidential do not have the force of law under to keep public records secret under IPRA's “as otherwise provided by law," exception.

The case began when the ACLU of New Mexico requested records about the use of force against inmates in state prison. The Corrections Department refused, arguing that its internal policies labeled the records as confidential.

The Supreme Court unanimously rejected that argument.
The Court highlighted NMFOG's arguments in the case in its ruling that an agency's internal policies are not enough to block access to public records.

If the government wants to keep records secret, that authority must come from the Legislature and be adopted through proper rulemaking procedures. The Court reaffirmed its prior ruling that under IPRA, "the citizen's right to know is the rule and secrecy is the exception."

Citation: American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico v. New Mexico Corrections Department, No. S-1-SC-40473 (N.M. June 15, 2026).
Link to opinion:https://www.nmfog.org/_files/ugd/4bad1c_688c2929941d4f8e814ae9ffaadf4f5f.pdf