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Weekend 1 of the Austin City Limits Music Festival is in the books, and now the park grounds have a few days to recover before Weekend 2. The rain and mud made for a messy first weekend, but it was an even tougher outing for people with mobility issues.
It’s the last day to get registered in time to vote in the upcoming midterm election. What you need to do today to cast your ballot in a few weeks.
Much of the focus this election cycle in Texas has been on the open U.S. Senate seat. Today, we’ll focus on the race for governor between the incumbent three times over and an Austin state representative.
The Texas edition of the Ride to End Alzheimer’s is happening soon down in Dripping Springs. We’ve got more about the bike rides and the ways you can help ’em out.
The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:08] Weekend one of the ACL music fest is in the books. Now the park grounds have a few days to recover before round two. The rain and mud made for a messy first weekend, but it was an even tougher outing for people with mobility issues. We’ve got more about that. And it’s the last day to get registered in time to vote in the upcoming midterms. What you need to do today to cast your ballot in a few weeks. Plus, much of the focus this election cycle in Texas has been on the open US Senate seat. Today we’re going to focus on the race for governor between the incumbent three times over and an Austin state representative. That is coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:42] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:47] The Texas edition of the ride to end Alzheimer’s is happening soon down in Dripping Springs. We’ve got more about the various bike rides and the many ways that you can help them out. That’s up next on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, this is Austin Signal. I’m your host Jerry Quijano. It is Monday, October 5th. Thank you for tuning in. Nothing but clear blue skies today in the Austin area. We’re expecting plenty more of that this week with highs in the mid-80s to around 90 degrees. There’s a small chance of rain on Friday, but that’s the day the Austin Signal team is gonna be broadcasting live from the Fest, so we’re keeping our eyes on that, and we’ll keep you updated on the weather all week long here on the show. That sunshine, though, is a welcome sight after a few days of gray and thunderstorms. That rain made for a messy first weekend of this year’s Austin City Limits Music Fest and already names like ACL Mudfest or Mudfest 2026 are floating around to describe it. But as KUT’s Gabriel Velasquez-Neda found out, dealing with the tricky terrain was better for some than for others.
Gabriel Velasquez-Niera [00:02:00] It was a type of mud that if you stand too long in one spot you might sink and lose a shoe. Thank you.
Gabriel Velasquez-Niera [00:02:06] It was a fun experience for some event goers. This is a cultural moment. Macella. I love it.
Gabriel Velasquez-Niera [00:02:11] But for people in wheelchairs, crutches, or canes, navigating the terrain was a bit more difficult. Elliot Briones was at ACL on Friday and Saturday. He was getting through the mud on a motorized wheelchair.
Elliot Briones [00:02:22] I think they should have planned for extra options for people with ADA. Other than that, it’s been pretty good.
Gabriel Velasquez-Niera [00:02:31] Riones says people with other disabilities or situations have it worse.
Elliot Briones [00:02:34] People in the manual chair. If it’s not a leg finger, it’s basically, you’re in a tough spot.
Gabriel Velasquez-Niera [00:02:41] After I talked with him, we parted ways, but then I briefly looked back. Briones just got stuck in the mud twice, so yeah, it is pretty rough. The wheels of Briones’ motorized wheelchair sunk several inches into the mud. Bystanders had to push him out. KUT reached out to C3, the event organizers of ACL. We asked how they were preparing additional accommodations to account for muddy conditions for vent goers with disabilities. C3 responded in an email saying, in part, quote, We have been working to improve ground conditions for all patrons this weekend. We have placed a significant amount of additional Mobi mat for our accessibility patrons, as well as ground protection around the park.” On Saturday, event staff started laying out artificial turf and plastic mat walkways in limited areas of the event.
Dereck Shagan [00:03:29] They actually didn’t have those yesterday. It was a lot deeper, maybe about two, sometimes three inches worth of mud in the really low spots. There was high dry spots and low spots too.
Gabriel Velasquez-Niera [00:03:37] That’s Derek Shagan. This is day two for him at ACL. Shagan is getting around the festival on a crutch and a knee brace after an injury. He says navigating the mud is tricky, but he’s been cautious.
Dereck Shagan [00:03:47] Moving really, really slow. Definitely trying to avoid the standstill crowds and just keeping the crutch nearby as a don’t touch me stick.
Gabriel Velasquez-Niera [00:03:56] During the festival, unoccupied stages and screens urged festival goers to visit ACL’s Accessibility Center, north of Barton Springs Road, if they had any accessibility questions. They just had to figure out how to get there first. I’m Gabriel Velazquez-Neda in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:23] By now, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has become something of an institution in Republican politics. This is his 12th year leading the state. That makes him the country’s longest-serving governor in office right now. And if re-elected in November, Abbott would be on track to become the longest- serving governor in Texas history. While most polls currently show him in the lead over his Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa, the race has tightened as early voting and The Texas newsroom’s Blaise Ganey reports on what’s making this race more competitive and what Abbott is doing to turn up the pressure.
Blaise Gainey [00:04:57] When Governor Greg Abbott won his first governor’s race in 2014, he did it by nearly 20 percentage points. Four years later, he won reelection by 13 percentage points. His tightest reelection win, if you could even call it that, was in 2022 when he beat Democrat Beto O’Rourke by about 11 percentage points, so Abbott’s used to decisive victories against Democrats, and that showed in his campaigning. For most of this year, he didn’t even mention Gina Hinojosa by name. But that changed in the last few weeks. I don’t have anything to deceive you on. Of course I’m not deceiving you. When Abbott posted this ad on social media and finally called out his opponent, the shift came as Enahosa rose in the polls. While most still show another wins likely for the incoming governor, it’s a narrower spread than he’s used to. Two recent polls even showed the Democrat with a narrow lead, but Abbott’s dismissed it.
Greg Abbott [00:05:49] Poles don’t win elections, and Poles are often wrong.
Blaise Gainey [00:05:53] This is the governor at a recent campaign stop in Gainesville, where CBS Texas asked him about the numbers. Abbott’s campaign didn’t respond to the Texas newsroom’s interview request for this story.
Greg Abbott [00:06:05] Is exactly where my campaign stands and the outcome that I’m going to win this race.
Blaise Gainey [00:06:11] Yet that same day, his campaign announced a $12 million ad buy against Inahosa, targeting her voting record on property taxes in the Texas Legislature.
Ad [00:06:20] Enahosa will make your property taxes go even higher.
Blaise Gainey [00:06:23] Abbott’s also making that argument directly.
Greg Abbott [00:06:26] She voted more than 40 times for higher property taxes. Talk about dismantling our economy.
Blaise Gainey [00:06:33] Hinojosa disputes those claims.
Gina Hinojosa [00:06:34] I have never not once voted to increase property taxes and anyone who says otherwise is lying.
Blaise Gainey [00:06:40] The Democrat says the 40 votes cited by Abbott’s campaign are being taken out of context. While Abbott campaign argues they did give local officials more room to raise taxes. But that’s just part of Abbott new push against Hinojosa. His campaign is also going after his opponent on education, public safety and policies around transgender Texans. Kirby Goidle is a professor of political science at Texas A&M University. He thinks the calculation inside Abbott’s campaign might sound something like this.
Kirby Goidle [00:07:12] Who’s polling better than we think she should and too close for comfort and what we want to do is define
Blaise Gainey [00:07:20] her for voters. Enahosa has a much lower statewide profile than Abbott, so those ads could introduce her to voters who haven’t formed an opinion of her yet. Goito says the tighter governor’s race is also part of a broader political environment, an environment being shaped by economic concerns and cost of living nationally and in Texas, plus issues like the state’s data center boom.
Kirby Goidle [00:07:42] You look at the Senate, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, any of the races that we have polling on in the generic ballot, they’re all showing surprising democratic strength, even when the candidates aren’t very well known.
Blaise Gainey [00:07:54] But that’s only part of the picture. Joshua Blank is a research director for the Texas Politics Project at UT Austin. He says Inahosa used Abbott’s delayed focus on her to her advantage.
Joshua Blank [00:08:05] You know, Hossa took the space that Abbott gave her in the summer and really went hard introducing herself to Democrats. And that’s really been important for her, and it’s really what’s made the race more competitive in a lot of ways.
Blaise Gainey [00:08:18] Inajosa also focused much of her campaign around affordability. She says Texans often tell her they’re having a hard time getting by.
Gina Hinojosa [00:08:25] This high cost economy, people are struggling in a big way, and they need a governor who’s going to work to bring costs down.
Blaise Gainey [00:08:33] Governor Abbott’s also making this issue a central campaign theme. His Gainesville stop was part of a statewide tour focused on what he’s calling the Abbott affordability agenda, aimed at bringing down property taxes and other everyday costs. Another thing Blank at UT says might be weighing down Abbott reelection bid, some of the other Texas Republicans on the ballot.
Joshua Blank [00:08:54] Abbott’s job is made more difficult by the fact that there are people on the ticket like Paxton, like Beau French, who’ve taken positions that make running statewide more difficult. But ultimately Abbott is the leader of the party in Texas.
Blaise Gainey [00:09:08] And as election day approaches, Blink says more voters will start paying attention, including undecided ones. Ultimately, no matter who wins, the tight polls mean this will likely be the most genuinely interesting governance race Texas has seen in a long time. I’m Blase Ganey in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:36] All right, you are tuned into listener-supported public radio. This is Austin Signal right here on KUT News. We have plenty more coming your way. That’s after this break, but just a reminder that ACL Fest is continuing this weekend, and you can check out photos from weekend one on the KUT app and over at kut.org. This is Austin Signal, welcome back to the show. A reminder, we’ll keep saying it, today is the deadline to register to vote or to update your voter registration here in Texas for the upcoming midterms. That means mailed registrations must be postmarked by today. To make sure you meet that deadline, you can even visit a post office and request a manual postmark at the counter when mailing your application. And you can find out more about registering or just checking your registration status. At votetexas.gov. And the Austin Signal team was out at Austin City Limits Fest this past weekend talking to attendees about what’s on their mind. Here’s what some folks had to say about voting and those midterms.
Braydon Fleaman [00:10:46] You My name is Brayden Fleeman. Yes, I am registered to vote. I am currently still dealing with some of the de-registration part. Whenever they suspended 1.2 million voters, I was part of that that was impacted. I have since re-registered and I believe I’m correct on that. I’m still waiting on my updated card. But again, that’s been a whole, can I swear or can I like? It’s a show. Quite frankly, on the whole suspense stuff, I’ve fixed it. But the whole process has been a mess. I definitely plan to vote. I’m damn sure I’ll be ready to vote for this midterms because I think it’s one of the most important ones we have quite frankly in our lifetime. I think its a big chance to try and help impact and set things right for the future.
Caleb Whurkuff [00:11:33] Caleb Workhub.
Leona Rain [00:11:34] Leona Rain. Yeah, everyone around our age is talking about voting, voting for the midterms, get registered. I’ve seen all over social media as well. My friends posting about it, yeah.
Caleb Whurkuff [00:11:43] Yeah, I think it’s important to vote for sure. I’m 19.
Leona Rain [00:11:47] I’m 18, so first time voting.
Caleb Whurkuff [00:11:50] First time ever for me too.
ACL Attendee [00:11:57] I mean, I like keeping an eye on the local stuff. Funny enough, my job gives me time off to go vote, so more incentive to go vote, not that I needed more, but I just really keep track of everything because it starts slow, gets higher, and I’m also even keeping up with the elections out of state, you know, like I was keeping a close eye on on Tommy getting elected.
Daniel Castro [00:12:20] Daniel, Castro. I think the race that I’m like most watching right now is like Probably the Senate race for the Texas Senate. So yeah, I’m looking forward to that. Looking forward to vote for that one too.
Sofia Deloretta [00:12:37] Sofia Di Loretto Chuddy. Hailey Bosworth. Oh yeah, I’m very excited about the election coming up. I have high hopes for James Salarico. I feel like there are people coming out of the woodwork who’ve never talked to me about politics before in their life, that are like, I can’t wait for him to win. Like this man has to win, and like we’ve talked a lot about like the failing of democratic staffing. Yeah. This is like a pervasive issue that they don’t have enough staff to be running these campaigns the way that they need to be run. And that’s like a whole long issue to get into, but it really does feel like they’re just like we’re not meeting the moment as a party.
Hailey Bosworth [00:13:13] They’re playing it safe, trying to reach Republican leaning, former conservatives, exactly. And don’t get me wrong, like shades of gray, shades of purple here in Austin, but there’s so many who are then feeling still not heard because it feels like such a canned response to everything. Like, I’m an independent, but I’m like…
Sofia Deloretta [00:13:32] There’s no way that you’re gonna see me vote for the guy out in Texas 23 though At the AK guy or like both French after the stuff that he said
Guillermo Dungo [00:13:48] Guillermo Dungo. We are definitely registered early on October 15th. This administration right now, honestly, they’re f***ing everybody up. Just anybody, Republican, Democrat, anybody. We’ve got to get Texas back.
Kaden Nelson [00:14:07] My name is Kaden Nelson. Mason DuPont, Strider, Sartor, and I just came with these guys, so yeah. I am not registered to vote now. I don’t bother. I just rather worry about myself than the politics. Because it’s too much stress, try to scare us too much. So, I better off being by myself. So, I just don’t pay attention. Personally, I just think it’s important to, I mean… I just, I find it important to be involved in politics because it does affect me.
Jerry Quijano [00:14:50] October 17th is the ride to end Alzheimer’s here in Texas. That’s happening out in Dripping Springs. And today we’ve got David Cox and Laura Estes here to talk about it. David, Laura, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thanks for having us. So Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death. And I know that has to mean somebody out in the audience knows somebody who’s been impacted. So I wanted to start the interview by asking, what is your connection to this event? Why does it mean so much to you, Laura? Start with you.
Laura Estes [00:15:16] Great. It’s what we call our why. And the why for me is my mother, Pauline. She had Alzheimer’s and passed in 2021. But not only her, but her mother had Alzheimer and both of her sisters had Alzheimer’s. So I have a family connection on the female side. So it’s really, really important to me to be involved with this organization and also to raise funds for research.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:39] And how many years have you been involved with the organization?
Laura Estes [00:15:40] I’ve been involved since the start of the ride. So we’re in our sixth year right now. I have co-chaired the committee, the volunteer committee that David’s on for the last six years and have enjoyed the heck out of it and we put on a great ride.
David Cox [00:15:53] Well, David, what is your way? I lost my wife last year. And prior to that, her mother had been in a home for eight years. So she took care of her mother, and then I took care her. And my daughter, who just turned 40 years old, has genetically tested positive for Alzheimer’s. And she’s already on a medication program to help. So I got a lot of before and after ties right now.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:21] Okay, so tell us a little bit about what goes on on one of these bike rides.
Laura Estes [00:16:25] Yeah, I’ll start with this one, since I’ve been probably involved with it for the whole six years. It’s an amazing bike ride. We have distances from 13 miles all the way for the gearheads that love to do 100 miles. And so there’s other distances in between. It’s fully supported, rest stops, plenty of food, breakfast before, lunch after. It’s just a great way for people to fundraise, ride for an excellent cause.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:51] Yeah, yeah, so I’m guessing I’m just assuming here. Do you both ride your bikes during during this event? I’m a rider. I’m not a rider Okay, but do you still get joy out of watching people get involved with?
David Cox [00:17:02] With the race itself? Last year was my first year to attend it, and my daughter actually participated. We didn’t find out about the event until like 10 days before the event happened. And I just picked it up in a community impact magazine, and we were able to raise almost $5,000 in 10 days. So I had a lot of very generous friends that helped out, and it was just fun watching it. And it was a beautiful day. I mean, it wasn’t too hot. For me. The writers had a little bit different opinion there. I guess there’s a hill out there that they don’t like. But it’s just special to see people out there doing something like this.
Laura Estes [00:17:44] And I think the really, really special part of that about this whole thing is over the course of the last six years, we have raised three and a half million dollars with just this ride alone in those five years. This year we’re on track to raise another million dollar plus. And so it’s not only great for the riders and great for those that become and volunteer, but those that are also very generous with donations, a hundred percent of every dollar that we raise goes directly to research.
Jerry Quijano [00:18:10] And if people want to get involved, how is the best way they can go about that?
Laura Estes [00:18:13] So Ride to End All’s Texas. If you just Google that, it’ll pop up. It’ll bring the page up there. You can register to ride. If people are interested, obviously you can still sign up. There is a $500 minimum fundraising requirement. But also on that page, if you scroll down towards the bottom, there’s a volunteer link. Would love for people to click on that, come out and join us. Dripping Springs is beautiful this time of the year. Hopefully the weather’s gonna be great. But it is Texas. And so there’s lots of opportunities. Speeding Springs is the location that we have it. So it’s a little bit outside of Dripping Springs, a little more towards Henley. But the grounds are beautiful. And like I said, it’s it’s fully supported ride and it’s just a lot of fun. And it’s you know, most people think about Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s disease and they think you know there’s not a whole lot of hope, but there is a ton of hope. And this ride is all about research and research money to give us more Hope. More medications for folks that are getting early diagnosis, more things that can be done. Five years ago, there wasn’t much you could do when you had an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Today, it is 10, 20 times better than it was then and only getting better every year.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:23] OK, well, you mentioned that fundraising goal that people should need to reach before participating. Can you just say that again and just remind us of how people can get involved?
Laura Estes [00:19:31] Absolutely, it’s a $500 minimum fundraising ride. And so as long as they raise that by the time that the ride starts on Saturday morning the 17th, then all is good. You get a t-shirt and a medal with that. And then if you raise 750, you get a really cool ride into Alzheimer’s Texas Jersey. And so we find that most folks that have some sort of connection and tell their story really have a pretty easy task on the fundraising side of things.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:57] Well, my last question, David, you said last year was your first year participating, getting to be there in person. What is one of your favorite memories? I know you’ve been there all six years. What is on of your favorite memories from participating, being there and just being in community with everyone?
David Cox [00:20:13] Well, it’s special when you see somebody, especially, you know, you’ll have somebody come in and say, how could they ever get on a bicycle? You know, they’re older than me and I’m an old man. And they come in, and they’re happy, they are smiling most of the time.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:27] And maybe not during the hell, but
David Cox [00:20:29] And they’ve enjoyed doing something, you know, just the physical exercise, being out with other people doing the same thing, but it’s also helping people. So it’s kind of special in that way. It gives you a good feeling when somebody comes across the finish line. My daughter, who rowed last year, is a marathoner. And it’s the same. I’ve been to so many marathons the last 10 years. Do you see these people? How could they ever run 26.2 miles? But they do it and they come across, they’re hurting, they’re crying, they are smiling, but it’s, you know, they’ve accomplished something and that’s the same thing you see when these people cross the finish line. Hey, I did something and not only that, I did good for other people in doing this event.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:13] Yeah, yeah, we hear it in public radio. We always say it feels good to do good You know, and I think is this event sounds a little bit like that for you Laura. What about you?
Laura Estes [00:21:20] Yeah, you know, for me, I think a lot of folks that have had that have dealt with Alzheimer’s as caregivers, et cetera, feel like they’re on a very solitary journey. So you really feel alone. A lot of the times, this is a sense of community. You’re there with people who have been through the same thing that you’ve been through in many ways. And so it’s just that overall sense that that as a community, we are making a difference. And there’s just joy in that. And it’s just a lovely feeling all day long. It’s very positive, very uplifting, and you know you’re doing good work for the right reasons.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:57] All right. We have been speaking with David Cox and Laura Estes from Riot and Alls. We’re going to have more about this in today’s podcast, Show Notes. Sounds like there’s plenty of ways to get involved. Laura, David, thank you for your time. Thank you.
Laura Estes [00:22:08] Thanks for having us. Come out and enjoy us.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:10] Enjoy the ride with us. That’s right. And thank you out there for spending part of the day here with Austin Signal. That is it for us today. But we have more in the show notes in kut.org slash Signal. And another reminder, this Friday we’re planning a one hour live special coming to you from ACL Fest at Zilker Park. That is if the weather cooperates. Still a small chance of rain on Friday, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed and keep you updated with the latest. We’ve got some great interviews and stories to share with you. So put that on your calendar. The Austin Signal team is Reina Sevilla, Alexandra Hart, Kristen Cabrera, and I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. We’ll be back at the same time tomorrow. Talk to you then.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
