Rio Brant was always a little different from the other geese.
He came from a family of Brant geese, who migrate across North America every fall to get to warmer climates for the winter weather. In 2025, Rio was grown-enough to join his family on long trip south.
During migration, Rio and his family landed in New Mexico, taking a break from the long flight. They stopped at the Rio Grande, and while the other geese were drinking water and making nests, he looked up to see a thousand colorful balloons, scattered across the sky.
Later in the day, the balloons had disappeared. Rio knew he had to see them again and find out where they came from.
Flying in the direction the balloons had been, he saw people, buildings, and smelled food. It seemed as though the city he was flying over was just emitting a warmth and a sense of hospitality he had never seen before. He flew and flew until it was dark, and he could not find the colorful globes that he had been chasing and decided to go back to his family.
The Land of Enchantment
When it was time to move on, Rio felt a pull to stay. There was something about the place, its people, its conversations, its untold stories that kept calling him back.
Rio wasn’t there to tell those stories himself. He just knew they mattered.
That’s when he crossed paths with journalists who shared that same pull; people driven by curiosity, integrity, and a commitment to uncovering stories that often go unnoticed. Together, they realized they had something in common: a belief that stories can create understanding and strengthen community.
So, Rio stayed.
Now, he works alongside the newsroom not as a reporter, but as a guide helping connect people to the journalists and stories shaping New Mexico.
Rio and the newsroom are hoping you stay too and check out the stories that he wanted to make sure got told!
