burn ban

KUT Afternoon Newscast for September 23, 2025: Truck driver accused of killing five people in I-35 crash indicted

Central Texas top stories for September 23, 2025. Driver in deadly I-35 pile-up indicted on 22 counts. Travis County imposes burn ban. Leander mayor stepping down. Austin Resource Recovery getting more eco-friendly facility. Lower gas prices. 20th annual HAAM Day.

This podcast is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public radio. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 19, 2025: A Texas Democrat is sleeping at the Texas Capitol to protest GOP redistricting and state trooper escorts

Central Texas top stories for August 19, 2025. House Democrats are back in Texas and the House Speaker wants to keep it that way to push through new Congressional maps. ACC and immigrant rights advocates are trying to intervene in a case that ended access to in-state tuition for students without legal status in Texas. A bridge over Cow Creek in Northwest Travis County is open again. Voters in the Hays school district will decide whether to give themselves a roughly 15% tax rate increase. A ban on outdoor burning was lifted today for parts of Northwest Travis County.

This podcast is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public radio. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for July 11, 2025: A bill to provide more money to counties for alert systems is getting another chance

Central Texas top stories for July 11, 2025. Texas state lawmakers are looking at whether they could have done more to make the state ready for floods. Texans are doing what they can to help people recover from the deadly and destructive flooding. The Presidential Disaster Declaration has been expanded to include counties in the Austin area. A member of Congress from Austin is calling for an independent investigation into the federal response to devastating flooding in Central Texas. As of today, there’s still one person missing in Burnet County. A burn ban is in effect for northwest Travis County, the part of the county most affected by flooding.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for May 16, 2025: State lawmakers have yet to pass a bill to increase public school funding

Central Texas top stories for May 16, 2025. Austin and counties to the south are under a Heat Advisory until tonight. Austin-area public education advocates say the current proposal being debated by lawmakers does not do enough to help schools. A case involving the City of Austin and a proposed redevelopment along Lady Bird Lake was heard in court this week. Travis County is shifting to a new way to let people know about burn bans and wildfire danger.

KUT Morning Newscast for March 14, 2025: Five people killed in 17-vehicle crash on I-35. 

Central Texas top stories for March 14, 2025. Five people, including a child and an infant, were killed in a collision involving 17 vehicles on North I-35 near Parmer late last night. AISD might sell the former Rosedale Elementary School in Central Austin to cut costs and increase revenue in the face of a $110 million budget deficit. The Austin Police Department is working to fill hundreds of officer positions. A Red Flag warning will be in effect for parts of Central Texas today from noon to 9 p.m. UT men’s basketball team beat Texas A&M last in a double overtime game.  

KUT Morning Newscast for March 6, 2025: Low humidity today will result in near critical fire weather conditions in the Austin area.

Central Texas top stories for March 6, 2025. The National Weather Service says wind gusts as high as 30 miles per hour and low humidity will create near critical fire weather conditions today. The Lower Colorado River Authority is entering tougher drought restrictions. As the city of Austin works to redevelop some of its buildings, works of art housed inside them could be destroyed. 

KUT Afternoon Newscast for December 10, 2024

Central Texas top stories for December 10, 2024. Today is the last day of Early Voting in runoff elections. The first freeze of the season is on the way tomorrow morning. Austin activated its cold weather shelters for tonight. A Freeze Warning is in effect from midnight until eight tomorrow morning across Central Texas. Williamson County has hired its first county manager. A federal judge has blocked a rule from the Biden administration that would have given DACA recipients access to the Affordable Care Act. Travis County’s ban on outdoor burning is being allowed to expire as scheduled at midnight.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 20, 2024

Central Texas top stories for August 20, 2024. The Austin area is under an Excessive Heat Warning until tomorrow night. The Austin ISD school board is asking voters to approve a new tax rate in November. There’s one last candidate for Austin mayor. The Austin City Council is facing another lawsuit from the environmental nonprofit Save Our Springs Alliance. The City of San Marcos is looking to reallocate some federal COVID relief funds that are set to run out soon. Travis County is now under a burn ban.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 24, 2023

Central Texas top stories for October 24, 2023. Early voting turnout on day 1. Travis County transit service expansion. APD officer murder trial continues. San Marcos tree removal. Travis County burn ban lifted. Orange and White scrimmage.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 17, 2023

Central Texas top stories for October 17, 2023. Travis County burn ban extended. Ascension Seton expansion in Williamson County. Sims Elementary School site update. E-scooter incidents. Downtown Austin jail needs more judges. Hays CISD threat update.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 16, 2023

Central Texas top stories for August 16, 2023. Front brings northerly winds, drier air. Austin and Travis County declare wildfire disaster. Travis Co extends ban on outdoor burning. Williamson Co reports its first human case of West Nile of 2023. Hole in the Wall gets grant securing 20-year lease. Erwin Center to go out slowly, not with a bang.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for July 17, 2023

Central Texas top stories for July 17, 2023. Excessive Heat Warning, but with lower humidity. Williamson could issue burn ban tomorrow. Local housing market cooling, but prices still high. More room for bikes on Barton Springs Road. How White House loan forgiveness plan affects Texans. Blues on the Green this week.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for July 11, 2023

Central Texas top stories for July 11, 2023. Mail delivery paused in Travis Heights because of aggressive hawk. More Texas students will get free school breakfast. Austin Public Safety Commission wants more transparency from DPS. Hays Co bans outdoor burning. Hays getting animal resource center. Zilker Great Lawn closed for maintenance again tomorrow.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 25, 2022

Central Texas top stories for October 25, 2022. Travis Co burn ban, Williamson Co tornado, Austin airport record day, limiting standardized testing, AISD board candidates, Early Voting numbers, mail ballot ID rules

KUT Afternoon Newscast for September 27, 2022

Central Texas top stories for September 27, 2022. Travis County approves budget. New Central Health budget. AISD security meeting tonight. Eanes ISD bond meeting tonight. Lockhart ISD cancels election. Travis Co burn ban enacted.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 9, 2022

Central Texas top stories for August 9, 2022. Monkeypox health emergency. Hays County water emergency. Neurotoxins in algae. Travis county burn ban. Mental health in prison. AISD bond meeting.