Central Texas top stories for March 25, 2025. Recent budget negotiations in Washington left Central Texas without tens of millions of dollars for local projects. Williamson County officials are searching for a new County Judge. The Round Rock Police Department says an investigation continues after a crash on I-35 yesterday killed one person. UT women’s basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA.
I-35
KUT Afternoon Newscast for March 14, 2025: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is ordering the reversal of changes to the sex listed on documents for Transgender Texans.
Central Texas top stories for March 14, 2025. I-35 southbound in North Austin is back open this afternoon following a horrific crash overnight. The Austin area is under a Red Flag Warning until 9 o’clock tonight. The latest on a lawsuit against Austin-based conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from the family of Sandy Hook victims. Williamson County Commissioners voted today to promote Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey to help oversee the court until a new county judge is appointed. Williamson County is partnering with neighboring Burnet County to grow the region’s space industry.
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 November 20, 2024
Central Texas top stories for November 20, 2024. The City of Austin has to rethink the project to build caps on I-35. A conflict between two local health organizations came to a head yesterday when Central Health’s CEO fired the CEO of CommUnityCare. The State of Texas is offering land for Donald Trump’s upcoming administration to build its first mass deportation camp. The San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District is considering switching to a four-day school week. The National Weather Service says high – almost critical– fire weather conditions are expected today in most of Central Texas.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for November 19, 2024
Central Texas top stories for November 19, 2024. The Texas State Board of Education votes to advance an elementary reading curriculum that includes Bible stories. Liberty Hill ISD is likely to have to make some painful budget cuts after a ballot measure that would raise the district’s property tax rate failed to pass. A small number of Travis County ballots added to the total this week did not change the outcome of the race for Austin mayor. The plan to install highway decks over I-35 in Central Austin is being reconsidered. Dementia research is the focus of a Texas legislative initiative announced this week. A luxury development in the Hill Country now has the green light to take water from Lake Travis. The Southwest Research Institute has been selected by NASA to develop the next generation of coronagraphs.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for November 13, 2024
Central Texas top stories for November 13, 2024. The family of Raj Moonsinghe filed a lawsuit against the City of Austin and APD. A wastewater system serving a number of area cities will soon undergo rehabilitation and an expansion. Immigrant rights groups are planning to fight back against President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed mass deportation. Cities along the I-35 corridor are experiencing rapid growth. Alex Jones’ Infowars property was auctioned off today. Gas prices are on a downward trend. No end in sight to drought conditions in Central Texas.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 1, 2024
Central Texas top stories for October 1, 2024. The City of Austin has unveiled its most detailed vision yet for the I-35 caps. The federal government is giving borrowers who have defaulted on their student loans extra time to apply for a program that will return them to good standing. A longstanding legal battle over the environmental impact of development in Dripping Springs arrived at the Texas State Supreme Court today. Hays County is a step closer to establishing its own animal center. On the ballot in this fall’s election are half of Austin’s 10 city council seats and the mayor’s office. TxDOT is warning about the increased risk to pedestrians from drivers less able to see them as the days get shorter.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for September 27, 2024
Central Texas top stories for September 27, 2024. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the City of Austin. Austin ISD voters will soon be deciding whether to approve a new tax rate that would generate millions of dollars in additional revenue for the district. Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium just became the first soccer-only stadium in the world to earn TRUE Gold certification. A big expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is officially cleared for takeoff. You’ve got a chance tomorrow to get a first look at new plans for the future of I-35. Travis County wants to get the word out about a new scam call tactic.
Biden administration bets on Texas Instruments in the chip manufacturing race
Another August day, another forecast for record-setting heat – and plenty of questions about whether the power grid can manage the strain. So far, so good, to the surprise of many who’ve been bracing for calls to conserve electricity. What different about the energy mix this go-round?
Texas Instruments recently received a $1.6 billion Department of Commerce grant for new chip-building facilities.
In the least populated county in Texas, where truly every vote counts, a judge has overturned an election. We’ll hear about a shakeup in Loving County.
Plus: A new pin on our growing Texas Museum Map, this time in the border town of Eagle Pass.
Central Texas top stories for August 21, 2024.
Austin Pets Alive is expanding its efforts to move animals from under-resourced shelters in Texas to out-of-state foster and adoptive homes. Manor ISD’s school board decided this week to ask voters to approve a new tax rate in November. An Austin ISD trustee who represents voters across the entire district, Noelita Lugo, is not running for reelection in November. The City of Austin has put out a help-wanted sign for artists.
‘The Stadium’ reconsiders the role of our modern arenas
The Democratic National Convention kicked off with an emotional evening and Texans among the featured speakers.
A jury found that the parents of the accused gunman in the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting were not responsible for his actions.
Highway lanes are shrinking in Austin. It’s part of national trend – but what does it mean for safety?
Why an effort to ban books in a Rio Grande Valley high school library failed.
Also: A new book from historian Frank Guridy delves into why sports stadiums are more than places to cheer on your favorite team.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 2, 2024
Central Texas top stories for August 2, 2024. Lisa Davis is one step closer to becoming Austin’s next police chief. A community in Southeastern Travis County will finally be getting clean drinking water in their homes for the first time. Venezuelans are protesting in Austin and in places worldwide tomorrow in response to president Nicolás Maduro refusing to provide clear evidence that he won last Sunday’s elections. This is the last day to tell the city what you think should be built on top of I-35 after TxDOT lowers the main lanes through Central Austin. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services is out with its annual ratings for U.S. hospitals. A couple of local school districts are hosting back-to-school events tomorrow. More Longhorns bringing medals home from Paris.
Inside San Antonio College’s hands-on mortuary science program
We’re taking a look at the remaining Supreme Court decisions this term, on gun rights, abortion, freedom of speech online, and homelessness, just to name a few.
Texas Democrats and Republicans build bipartisan consensus to tackle the state’s affordable housing crisis.
A petition drive in the Valley aims to change the McAllen city charter, to give voters more power in shaping policy.
San Antonio has a new funeral home, the only one in the country operating on a college campus.
And: saving the Texas tortoise and horned lizard – how a rancher and her dog are helping scientists find the elusive critters.
Driven Out: Progress Coffee’s fresh start in Austin cut short by I-35 expansionDriven Out:
Imagine spending three years turning an old gas station into a cafe. And then right when you’re about to open, you realize the place will be torn down to make room for a highway.
That’s what’s happening to Progress Coffee on I-35 in Austin next to the upper decks. TxDOT has the green light to widen the highway, and more than a-hundred homes and businesses will be forced to move. We have an ongoing series about those displacements called Driven Out.
For this edition, KUT’s Nathan Bernier takes us to the locally owned coffee joint that’s had a long-brewing relationship with I-35.
The state’s only sugar mill is closing. What’s next for sugar cane farmers?
New laws – one from Texas – to regulate platforms like Facebook and TikTok are getting Supreme Court scrutiny today, with potentially profound implications.
Years of drought have devastated sugar growers in South Texas – so much so that the state’s only sugar mill is closing.
Austin’s I-35, the spine of the region’s roadway grid, is about to undergo the largest expansion since the highway opened in 1962. Nathan Bernier joins with a drill down into what it means.
And: We’ll learn about a device that can help blind and low-vision people experience the eclipse.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for February 21, 2024
Central Texas top stories for February 21, 2024. Numbers from the first day of early voting. The Del Valle ISD school board president resigned in protest of a former trustee being re-appointed to the board. Construction on I-35 is neverending. I-35 expansion explained. Leander lagoon plans. Hays County’s workforce is growing fast. Longhorns sports.
KUT Morning Newscast for February 20, 2024
Central Texas top stories for February 20, 2024. Early voting in the March 5th primaries starts today. Home prices in and around Austin continue to drop. EPA announced tighter regulations on how much soot is allowed in the air. TxDOT is holding open houses this week to determine future projects along the I-35 corridor.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for February 14, 2024
Central Texas top stories for February 14, 2024. St. David’s North Austin Medical Center has resumed full operations after a car crashed through its front entrance. The University of Texas is punishing four students who participated in a pro-Palestinian protest last December. Migrant encounters along the southern border were significantly lower in January. Three big road projects in the Austin area are getting the go-ahead. December jobs report. Austin City Council is taking up a resolution addressing climate change. Uber and Lyft drivers rallied at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Longhorns basketball.
Remembering renowned ventriloquist Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Estrada
Ready? Or not? As primaries fast approach, an effort to prepare young Texas voters to cast their very first ballots.
A federal complaint filed over Texans being wrongfully kicked off Medicaid rolls.
The latest on a challenge to Texas’ new law prohibiting social media companies from censoring political speech online.
A new TV series on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X inspired by the groundbreaking work of a Texas professor. We’ll talk with him.
Also, the Standard’s Kristen Cabrera on the death of a beloved entertainer: San Antonio-based ventriloquist Ignacio “Nacho” Estrada.
KUT Morning Newscast for January 29, 2024
Central Texas top stories for January 29, 2024. Changes coming to Austin’s rules around euthanizing dangerous dogs. Activists sue to block I-35 expansion. Democrats running for Senate spar over immigration at debate. Sample ballots are now available for the primary election in March. Austin ISD is working to reduce an over $50 million budget deficit. ACC opens military network.