Jacqueline Devine

Hi, I’m Jackie Devine! I’m a former award-winning reporter with experience at Southwest News Media in Shakopee, MN, as well as the Las Cruces Sun-News and Alamogordo Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Network. My work has been featured by the Associated Press, USA Today, and even highlighted on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

Originally from Texas, I began my journalism career as a freelance reporter for The El Paso Times and an intern at KVIA-TV El Paso. I also served as a county and military reporter for the Alamogordo Daily News, contributing to a team that won several New Mexico Press Association awards. Personally, I’ve won four NMPA awards and hold a multimedia journalism degree from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), where I was an entertainment reporter for The Prospector.

When I’m not writing, you can find me enjoying time with my husband, toddler, and our cat Chloe. I’m passionate about coffee, music, traveling, and, of course, anything related to food!

SWNewsMedia.com •

Fun with fungi: Foraging for mushrooms with Chick of the Woods

“My main job right now is taking people out into the woods and teaching them how to find and identify common edible mushrooms, as well as poisonous ones,” Rockney said. “What I do is I basically educate people about foraging, specifically mushroom hunting. I also teach about plants and berries and other things you can forage, but my passion is mushrooms. ““I had a friend who showed me mushroom hunting about 15 years ago and I just got completely hooked and even obsessed about finding them,” Rock...
SWNewsMedia.com •

Prior Lake Polar Plunge raises over $250,000 for Special Olympics Minnesota, exceeding goal

It was a cool and crisp 26 degrees at the 2023 Prior Lake Polar Plunge held at Sand Point Beach on Saturday, Feb. 18 — perfect for plunging in the frozen lake to benefit Special Olympics Minnesota.A total of 850 brave souls took the plunge in freezing temperatures as hundreds of spectators cheered them on and got the chills just by watching. The popular event raised $253,382 for Special Olympics Minnesota, exceeding its $245,000 goal.According to the Minnesota Polar Plunge’s official website, th...
Las Cruces Sun-News •

Jackie's Top 5: Things I will miss the most about Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES – For this week's "Top 5," I will be listing the things I will miss most about Las Cruces — the city I called home for the past two years — as it is sadly my last weekly feature for the Las Cruces Sun-News.

I have gained so many happy memories here in Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley. It is the place where I met my fiancé, now husband, and it is where we bought our first home together.