NPR's John Burnett reports on the drought that is gripping large swaths of the American West. In Santa Fe, N.M., local officials are attacking the problem in some unusual ways.
As NPR's Southwest correspondent based in Austin, Texas, John Burnett covers immigration, border affairs, Texas news and other national assignments. In 2018, 2019 and again in 2020, he won national Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio-Television News Directors Association for continuing coverage of the immigration beat. In 2020, Burnett along with other NPR journalists, were finalists for a duPont-Columbia Award for their coverage of the Trump Administration's Remain in Mexico program. In December 2018, Burnett was invited to participate in a workshop on Refugees, Immigration and Border Security in Western Europe, sponsored by the RIAS Berlin Commission.
A beloved heirloom variety of New Mexico red chile commands high prices because of its scarcity. Finding farmers to continue cultivating it has become a challenge.