Steve Stucker’s Thank You New Mexico Tour made a couple of stops in Rio Rancho this week.

Stucker retired at the end of March after 33 years as a weatherman at KOB. In early April, KOB sent Stucker on a goodwill tour of the state that began with throwing at the first pitch at an Albuquerque Isotopes game. Since then, he has been to several locales across New Mexico to smile, laugh, take selfies with and, most importantly, thank his many fans.

Kevin Hendricks/Observer.
Steve Stucker, left, and Mayor Gregg Hull chat during Stucker’s visit to Rio Rancho Wednesday.

Wednesday, the Stucker tour made a stop at Joe’s Pasta House in Rio Rancho. Dozens of people, including Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, lined up in a room at Joe’s to joke and talk to Stucker. Nearly everyone got a selfie with the legendary weatherman, who has spent nearly five decades reporting the weather.

“Steve Stucker is a New Mexican fixture and he’s been a part of who we are as a state for a long, long time,” Hull said. “Steve has been amazing as it comes to involving himself in the community and he has become a fixture not only in in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but very much in Rio Rancho. He’s endeared himself to the citizens of Rio Rancho and really has focused on a lot of the things that Rio Rancho has done over the years. So we appreciate his involvement in our community and we appreciate his service to the state of New Mexico.”

Stucker, who also made an appearance at Weck’s in Rio Rancho early Thursday morning, was the star Wednesday night as he worked the room trading stories and laughs with fans and flashed his trademark smile in picture after picture.

“You know, it’s been so much fun, and I wasn’t really sure how it would turn out. And I’ve been overwhelmed with the variety of people all over the state,” Stucker said. “It’s just been wonderful, lots of laughs, funny stories, incidents or things that happen that I had totally forgotten about over the years, and have met a lot of really wonderful people. So it’s been a blast.”

Stucker, who lives in Paradise Hills, said his mother is a Rio Rancho resident so the City of Vision holds a special place in his heart.

“It’s wonderful; I think Rio Rancho is a great, great example to the rest of the state,” Stucker said. “I’m real high on this community that I may be looking for place with a view here someday in the near future.”