Associated Press New Mexico – The Durango Herald

With Rio Grande reduced to a trickle, river managers brace for more drying

BERNALILLO, N.M. – Triple digit temperatures and a fickle monsoon season have combined with decades of persistent drought to put one of North America’s longest rivers in its most precarious ...

DATE: Jul 21, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Fatally injured New Mexico helicopter crew member called 911

ALBUQUERQUE – One of the four first responders killed in last weekend's New Mexico helicopter crash managed to call 911 before succumbing to his injuries, according to emergency dispatch rec...

DATE: Jul 20, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Crowd protests relocation of abortion clinic to New Mexico

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Anti-abortion activists from across the U.S. converged in southern New Mexico on Tuesday to protest relocation plans by the Mississippi clinic at the center of the court b...

DATE: Jul 20, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

New Mexico tax changes benefit lower-income residents

SANTA FE – The tax burden for funding state government and public schools in New Mexico is shifting slightly toward wealthier residents as the state stops collecting taxes on most Social Sec...

DATE: Jul 20, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Interior head Haaland breaks leg in hiking accident

WASHINGTON – Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is recovering after breaking her leg Sunday during a hike in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, the Interior Department says. Doctors confirmed ...

DATE: Jul 18, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Southern New Mexico county says abortion clinics not welcome

SANTA FE – A local government board in southern New Mexico approved a message Thursday saying that abortion clinics are not welcome in politically conservative Otero County – even though sta...

DATE: Jul 15, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Doctors urge access to psychedelic therapies in New Mexico

SANTA FE – Physicians and researchers are urging New Mexico legislators to allow the use of psychedelic mushrooms in mental health therapy aimed at overcoming depression, anxiety, psychologi...

DATE: Jul 13, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Regulators recommend license for spent nuclear fuel storage in southern New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – There are no environmental reasons that would prevent a New Jersey-based company from building a multibillion-dollar facility in southern New Mexico to temporarily store tons o...

DATE: Jul 13, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Rule for managing endangered Mexican wolves spurs lawsuit

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. wildlife managers are being sued over their new management rule for the endangered Mexican gray wolf, with a coalition of environmentalists saying the recently adopted cou...

DATE: Jul 13, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

U.S. awards $3B contract to manage nuclear waste repository

ALBUQUERQUE – Management of the U.S. government’s only underground nuclear waste repository will be taken over later this year by a company created by one of the largest engineering, constru...

DATE: Jul 13, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Matt King, co-founder of arts collective Meow Wolf, dies

SANTA FE – Matt King, a co-founder of the Santa Fe-based arts collective Meow Wolf that has grown into an offbeat, interactive entertainment juggernaut, has died. He was 37. Meow Wolf spokes...

DATE: Jul 13, 2022 | CATEGORY: Arts and Entertainment

New Mexico county blasts U.S. over historic prescribed fire

ALBUQUERQUE – Commissioners in a northern New Mexico county urged U.S. forest managers on Tuesday to do a more comprehensive environmental review of plans to restore large swaths of forest t...

DATE: Jul 12, 2022 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

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Patriotic drone show unfolds above Durango’s night skyAbout 1,200 people watched production from city Transit Center

One hundred forty drones took to the skies above Greenmount Cemetery at 10 p.m. sharp Saturday in a glowing and patriotic spectacle featuring vibrant images colored red, white and blue against the black backdrop of night.About 1,200 people gathered Saturday at the Durango Transit Center to watch the city’s premiere drone show produced by Verge Aero after a street dance and band performance by McCurry Trio and Desert Child for Independence Day celebrations.Spectators were treated to drone depictions of the American flag, star patterns, a soaring bald eagle and a homage to the city with drones flying in formation to spell out “Durango” to close out the street dance that started at 6 p.m. Across the valley from Greenmount Cemetery, the headlights of cars shined from Rim Drive near Fort Lewis College where more spectators watched.

Ellen Babers, Durango community events administrator, said the show went well. She heard “Ooh’s” and “ah’s” from the crowd when the drones transitioned from one image to another.She said a segment that consisted of stars rotating at various intervals, shrinking into smaller stars before expanding into the shape of a larger star, appeared to be a crowd favorite.“People really liked the Durango part,” she said. “When it spelled out Durango, people seemed surprised. Like, ‘Oh, this isn’t just a generic show, this is about us.’”Other images included an outline of the continental United States, the letters “USA,” and a spinning globe shape that gave the drone show a 3D feel.

The drones were laid out earlier in the evening in a square grid, with each drone placed 4 feet apart. Peter Smiatek, pilot and designer of the drone show, worked with a crew of about six people, including volunteers. Saturday evening at Greenmount Cemetery where the drones launched and landed, Peter Smiatek, pilot and designer with Verge Aero, and his crew of about six people, including volunteers, had laid all the drones out on the grass in a square grid. Each drone was placed four feet apart. Smiatek synced the drones to a GPS and radio tower in preparation for the evening’s show. Six minutes before takeoff, a deer wandered straight past the drone grid, narrowly avoiding stepping on them.“That could have been a disaster,” Smiatek said as his crew scanned the nearby area with flashlights. No other deer were visible.Two minutes before takeoff, the crew’s portable generator shut off – out of gas.

“We have double secure power,” he said. “The generator fell off two minutes before the show started. It’s like Murphy’s law, anything that could happen will happen. So it’s best to be prepared.”During prep, the crew ran several tests with the drones. The drones shot up 3 to 4 meters, hovered for about one second and then dropped back to their designated grid space on the grass.

Smiatek worked from a makeshift command station where his laptop and transmission tower were perched.“The base station is the heart of the show,” he said. “It’s a computer and it’s a distribution system connected to radios and an antenna. And that’s it, basically. Very flexible and a good system.”Chris Lutts, vice president of sales at Verge Aero, said he thinks Durangoans enjoyed the performance. From Greenmount Cemetery, he could hear the cheers and whistles of the audience at the Durango Transit Center.“The people we’ve been working with have been great,” he said. “Clearly, the city enjoyed it, so that’s awesome. That’s why we do this. It’s no different than any other entertainment, man. You love that feedback. It’s validation that what you’re doing is something that people really like.”cburney@durangoherald.com