Rear View: Top 2025 Stories
With this year in the rear-view mirror, what stories did Readers, well...read? Plus, the Reader team makes our picks.
We looked into the archives to see what stories were most widely read in 2025. These are the stories that shaped Cloudcroft.
Readers’ Choice Awards
Selections from the top 10 most-read articles written in 2025—plus the 2024 interview that holds the top seat.
Top-Reads for 2025:
Folks were interested in business updates, federal layoffs, village challenges, and sour deals.
Editors’ Picks
Senior Editor Hannah Dean chose the breakdown of the recent waterplant workshop as her number one must-read. Here’s why:
This workshop, where expert Robert George spoke with the current council and new council members in the audience, was a time when our wastewater plant woes were laid bare, and it felt like the grownups were finally talking.
I chose this piece because it captures a rare moment of honest reckoning. When George walked the council through our wastewater plant's problems, there was no sugarcoating—just facts, options, and urgency. Current leaders and newly elected officials sat together and asked hard questions.Setting priorities like securing the land the plant sits on, making plans, and troubleshooting solutions on the spot—plus the eruption of mingling and conversation at the meeting’s end, where former engineers, citizens, village employees, and administrators shook hands—left me feeling hopeful, even with the sh***y challenges that lie ahead.
Founder and Editor Chris Hearne chose Jonny Coker’s reporting on phone policies in Cloudcroft and New Mexico at large. Here’s why:
I chose Jonny Coker’s reporting on phone-free classrooms because it positions Cloudcroft at the forefront of one of the defining questions of our time: how do we teach and parent in the digital age?
This isn’t just a story about policy. It’s about results. Cloudcroft Middle School implemented Yondr pouches a full year before the state mandate, and the data tell a remarkable story—an 18-point jump in math proficiency, increased reading and science scores, and a dramatic drop in cyberbullying. Students are talking to each other again. Teachers can actually teach. The lunchroom is louder.
But what makes this piece essential is its nuance. Jonny doesn’t just celebrate the wins. He shows us the complications—the debate over whether we’re treating symptoms instead of causes, the challenges of enforcement at scale, the tension between restriction and education. He brings us voices from researchers who remind us that correlation isn’t causation, from administrators at larger schools who struggled with the same policies, and from the eighth grader who admits he was upset at first but now sees the benefit.
This story puts our small community on the map as a place willing to grapple with hard problems before they become crises.
Reader Reels: 2025’s Most Watched Video Reports
Weather wins: Cloudcroft’s April 19th sudden Spring snowstorm prompted a video reel report that garnered 1,129,211 views.
In second place: nearly 200k viewers learned about the New Mexico Rails-to-Trails Association with Contributing Editor Drew Gaines, and in third: our first snow of the season on November 20th.
Slow Burn: Our Most-Read Story
One story holds the most all-time reads for the Reader. Our interview with James Jackson of Mad Jack’s Mountaintop Barbecue remains the top dog for both barbecue and human-interest stories in Cloudcroft.
Get to know the legend with the Reader—though, from the nearly 20k reads, it seems most of you have.
Our reporting on Cloudcroft is a continuing conversation—not a single snapshot, but a series of stories unfolding in real time.
We’re committed to following this community through its challenges and changes. Each story builds on the last, adding depth and context as events develop and new voices emerge.
This is how we believe the news works best: staying with a story, listening over time, and inviting the community into an ongoing dialogue about what’s happening and why it matters.
Will you help us tell the story of Cloudcroft? Until midnight tonight, every dollar is doubled through a NewsMatch grant.
The Reader is proud to be sponsored in part by Cloudcroft Therapeutic Massage:
Promote Your Business
Learn about sponsorship opportunities for your business in support of the Reader. Contact us for more information at sponsorship-info@cloudcroftreader.com
Cloudcroft Reader is proud to be sponsored in part by great companies like:
Be in the Mountains Yoga & Massage
A cozy space for yoga and massage therapy at the Village PlazaOsha Trail Depot
Your destination for unique, hand-crafted treasuresCloudcroft Sandwich Shop
In the heart of downtown Cloudcroft, New MexicoJohn R. Battle, CPA, CVA, MAFF, CMAA
Personal & Business Taxes, Tax Planning & ConsultingThe Stove and Spa Store
We offer a variety of services to ensure your hearth and spa dreams are met!The Lodge at Cloudcroft
Landmark Choice Among New Mexico ResortsSacramento Camp & Conference Center
Come to the Mountain — Let God Refresh Your SoulNew Mexico Rails-to-Trails Association
We Convert Abandoned Railroad Lines Into Recreational TrailsLaughing Leaf Dispensary
Discover a world of wellness at Laughing LeafInstant Karma
Adventure Within: Transformative Yoga, Ayurvedic Wisdom, Nourishing Organics, Fair Trade BoutiqueOff the Beaten Path
Eclectic gifts & original artworkFuture Real Estate
Raise your expectations.Ski Cloudcroft
The Southern southernmost in New MexicoCloudcroft Therapeutic Massage
Maximizing Movement, Quality of Life ImprovementHigh Altitude
Your favorite little outdoor outfitter on Burro AvenueBlushing Yucca Esthetics
✨ Book your glow-up today✨The Elk Shed
Purveyors of Southwest Mountain Goods & FineryThe PAC
Pickleball Addicts of Cloudcroft—Pickleball in the CloudsPeñasco Valley Telephone Cooperative
For all the ways you love to connectBre Hope Media
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