KUT’s Transportation Reporter Nathan Bernier discusses the issues Capital Metro has faced with its QR code scanners.
CapMetro
KUT Afternoon Newscast for February 20, 2025: The cold weather kept Austin’s first responders busy.
Central Texas top stories for February 20, 2025. A Cold Weather Advisory will be in effect tonight. Austin-Travis County EMS answered several cold-related calls this week. CapMetro is rolling out its long-awaited Rapid lines this weekend. New federal budget cuts may affect Austin-based nonprofit Foundation Communities.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for February 3, 2025: New rules for mining crypto.
Central Texas top stories for February 3, 2025. New rules are now in effect for crypto-currency mining in Texas. Austin ISD’s Board of Trustees is taking stock of bills that could impact public education funding. Texas House Democrats are calling on the governor to put public schools ahead of school vouchers. The City of Austin is looking to make some changes at parks, trails and greenbelts to prevent vehicle break-ins. Work is now starting to convert an abandoned railroad line in South Austin into a 6.5 mile trail. The weather rollercoaster continues.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for January 23, 2025
Central Texas top stories for January 23, 2025. Immigration advocates and City of Austin officials say they’re concerned about a slew of new policies that could lead to mass deportations under President Trump. Austin City Council Member Krista Laine has been found in violation of a city ethics policy. One more freeze is in the forecast for Austin tonight.
KUT Morning Newscast for January 22, 2025
Central Texas top stories for January 22, 2025. The winter storm is behind us, but cold weather lingers as Austin sees the coldest temperatures registered this winter. Reproductive rights activists are considering how to move their cause forward in Texas. The median sales price of a home in Austin rose last month.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for January 20, 2025
Central Texas top stories for January 20, 2025. Winter weather hits the Austin area. The city of Austin is activating its 24-hour emergency operation center. Travel impacts are expected from tonight’s winter storm. Plumbers have not seen an uptick in burst pipes so far this winter. HEB is adjusting store hours ahead of tonight’s winter storm.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for January 10, 2025
Central Texas top stories for January 10, 2025. Austin’s cold weather shelter response has improved. Groups in the San Marcos area are working to shelter unhoused residents during this week’s cold snap. Texas plays Ohio State tonight in the Cotton Bowl for a spot in this year’s college football national championship game. The Austin Animal Center is offering a free spay and neuter clinic to reduce overcrowding at shelters. The curtain is finally lifting on Austin’s long-planned light-rail system. Training buses will be traveling along new MetroRapid routes ahead of the launch in the Spring.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for January 9, 2025
Central Texas top stories for January 9, 2025. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect in the Hill Country. Travis County has a new Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar. CapMetro introduces tap-to-pay. Former Army Sergeant Daniel Perry is back in court today.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for January 6, 2025
Central Texas top stories for January 6, 2025. It’s cold enough to drip your faucets overnight. How Austin is preparing for this week’s freezing temperatures. CapMetro is offering free rides to warming centers during this week’s cold weather. Texas has done away with safety inspections on non-commercial vehicles. Texas plays Ohio State Friday night for a spot in this year’s College Football National Championship game. Six Austin City Council members are being sworn into office today.
KUT Morning Newscast for November 4, 2024
Central Texas top stories for November 4, 2024. Crews continue working to contain a wildfire in Bastrop County. Election Day is tomorrow, millions of Texans cast their ballots during early voting. In Travis County, about half of registered voters cast their ballots during early voting. Conflicts over LGBTQ student rights, lessons about race and book bans are costing public schools a lot of money. Georgetown is finding ways to increase the city’s water supply. Trains in San Marcos are sounding their horns again.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 28, 2024
Central Texas top stories for October 28, 2024. Some Early Voting locations will be open late this week. The gas rate increase that the City of Austin refused to support may still happen. A federal judge might block the University of Texas from enforcing its decision to suspend a student involved in a pro-Palestinian protest last April. Why firefighters and paramedics in Pflugerville oppose a ballot initiative that would cut sales taxes. Capital Metro is planning to build a second set of train tracks along the Red Line in East Austin. The U.S. Department of Energy is investing more than $20 million in a new facility in Taylor to help recycle and repurpose electric vehicle batteries. The City of Austin is changing the way it does curbside collections of brush, bulk items and hazardous materials.
KUT Morning Newscast for October 23, 2024
Central Texas top stories for October 23, 2024. CapMetro announced its Metro Rail will go back to its regular schedule. Travis County is seeing a record number of people show up to the polls. AID voters will decide on a tax rate increase. The Austin City Council is expected to vote tomorrow on a new police labor contract.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 22, 2024
Central Texas top stories for October 22, 2024. High turnout for early voting in Travis, Hays and Williamson Counties. Voter turnout remains strong on the second day of early voting. Austin ISD officials say approving Proposition A is critical to giving teachers raises and keeping them in the district. The latest on the cleanup efforts for a train derailment in East Austin.
KUT Morning Newscast for October 22, 2024
Central Texas top stories for October 22, 2024. Work is underway after seven train cars turned over early this morning following a freight train derailment in East Austin. Travis County saw more in-person voters Monday than on the first day of early voting in the last three November general elections. The Austin City Council is set to vote this week on a long-term labor contract with the city’s police union. Officials in Mexico are joining local leaders to push for expanding passenger rail from Texas into Mexico.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 11, 2024
Central Texas top stories for October 11, 2024. Austin looks to buy building for new HQ for Police, Fire, EMS. Standing only option at most CapMetro stops. Hot and dusty for ACL weekend two. Dealing with ACL traffic. Festival as classroom for some ACC students. Texas vs Oklahoma in Dallas Saturday.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 4, 2024
Central Texas top stories for October 4, 2024. Monday is the deadline for Texans to register to vote. Williamson County has hired its first-ever county manager. A chance to weigh in on where CapMetro buses should go is coming up over the next two weeks. A vote on a proposed new contract between the City of Austin and Austin Police had been planned for next week but is now being postponed. Longhorn sports. ACL weekend one kicks off.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 26, 2024
Central Texas top stories for August 26, 2024. Austin Community College kicked off its fall semester today. Police in Round Rock say additional warrants have been secured for one of the suspects arrested in connection with the deadly gunfire at this year’s Juneteenth celebration. The Texas Juvenile Justice Department is the focus of a scathing report from the U.S. Department of Justice. CapMetro swore in its first-ever police chief today. People in West Travis County can now resume watering their lawns and filling up swimming pools. The Texas Longhorns kick off their first season in the Southeastern Conference this weekend.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 14, 2024
Central Texas top stories for August 14, 2024. Austin City Council adopts 2024-2025 budget. Logistical issues in the way of legal counsel for low-income people accused of crimes in Travis County. Williamson County does not have a medical examiner. Hays County Commissioners approved putting a bond for roadway improvements on the November ballot. Austin residents can participate in a free Emergency Preparedness Training tomorrow. Capital Metro’s new high-frequency bus lines won’t be fully up and running until 2026. The Major League Soccer summer transfer window closes today.
Dozens of earthquakes rattle region west of Fort Worth
President Biden visits Texas and unveils his plan to reform the Supreme Court, including a call for term limits.
Protests and claims of fraud as Venezuela president says he won another election. Could that spur more migration to the U.S.?
Scurry County, west of Fort Worth, has felt more than 90 earthquakes in the past week.
Why Austin is pulling the plug on a plan to transition to battery-powered city buses.
And: Photographer Richard Doherty snaps images of the place where he’s lived for more than 40 years in his new book “Framing Oak Cliff: A Visual Diary of a Dallas Neighborhood.”
Investigation finds worker deaths from trench collapses were often preventable
President Biden is in Austin to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act – and is expected to deliver a speech that could have big implications for the future of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The surprise arrests in Texas of two leaders of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel were a major victory for the feds, but now there are hints that the backstory involves a double cross. One of the state’s top experts on Mexico’s drug cartels explains.
A new survey finds that two-thirds of Texans support Gov. Greg Abbott’s school voucher plan.
And: A new investigation from NPR, Texas Public Radio and public radio program 1A finds more than 250 preventable deaths in trench accidents.