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.
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.
Remembering political trailblazer Eddie Bernice Johnson
The death of a giant in Texas politics: reaction to the passing of longtime political trailblazer Eddie Bernice Johnson.
A new year brings a new mayor in Houston. What John Whitmire plans to do to address the most pressing issues facing the city.
What 2024 heralds for one of the busiest thruways in Texas: the north-south corridor of Interstate 35.
An economist with the Dallas Fed shares red flags for Texas employment.
The San Antonio-Havana connection: A new cross-cultural art exchange between the two cities.
Also: Longhorn Nation recovers from a semifinal loss to Washington in the College Football Playoff.
How a Texas constitutional amendment would aid childcare centers
With the House of Representatives on hold in the absence of a speaker, a possible vote today could be a turning point.
Texas voters are about to face a big decision: a constitutional amendment aimed at boosting the availability of child care options. Lina Ruiz of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells us more.
Two games in for the Astros and Rangers, what’s Major League Baseball’s first All-Texas league championship looking like?
More than 100 homes and businesses are on the fast track to demolition as the state moves to expand a portion Interstate 35.
KUT Morning Newscast for September 28, 2023
Central Texas top stories for September 28, 2023. Ozone day of action for Central Texas. Travis County takes I-35 concerns to the federal government. Texas Education Agency monitors assigned to Austin.
‘Death Star bill’ could destroy local protections for renters
As police departments across the nation back off dangerous high-speed car chases, the trend in Houston is running the opposite direction.
Texas is about to pull out of a multi-state partnership designed to curb voter fraud. Why, and who’s behind the shift?
There’s a hearing tomorrow in a challenge brought by several cities to a new Texas law barring local governments from passing ordinances on labor, agriculture, finance – and even the rights of renters.
Also, Texas author LaToya Watkins on her new book, “Holler, Child,” cited by many critics as one of the most highly anticipated of 2023.
Railroad Commission approves South Texas coal mine expansion
In the first Republican debate of the new presidential election season, an issue top of mind for Texans – border policy – takes center stage.
The Texas Department of Transportation is giving a final green light to a highway expansion in downtown Austin that would add at least four lanes and get rid of the road’s existing upper decks.
There’s pushback on solar development in rural northeast Texas.
Energy regulators greenlit a 12,000-acre expansion of a South Texas coal mine on Tuesday, despite locals’ environmental concerns.
And with strays being turned away by many animal shelters, a first-time cat owner – the Standard’s Sean Saldaña – reflects on his first month with his new pet.
Roads to Everywhere
(Episode 2) I-35 is more than a road. It’s been sculpting Austin’s housing scene for more than 60 years, encouraging endless sprawl and making gridlock a lifestyle. Take a drive with us through the highway’s history.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for March 06, 2023
Central Texas top stories for March 06, 2023. Group sues Austin over building height limits. SXSW starts this week. I-35 comment period closing tomorrow. San Marcos looks at speed limit change. Health insurance bill filed. Community college funding change proposal.
KUT Morning Newscast for January 24, 2023
Central Texas top stories for January 24, 2023. Fire related deaths in 2022. TxDOT I-35 feedback meeting. Hays county homeless count. Williamson county homeless count. Travis county summer youth employment program.
KUT Morning Newscast for January 5, 2023
Central Texas top stories for January 5, 2023. I-35 expansion displacement concerns. San Marcos police accountability. APH basic needs survey. Cedar Fever.
KUT Morning Newscast for November 16, 2022
Central Texas top stories for November 16, 2022. I-35 expansion. Tesla labor rights violations. AISD superintendent meeting. Leander ISD recapture. Cold case tips.
KUT Morning Newscast for August 26, 2022
Central Texas top stories for August 26, 2022. Mayor Adler’s final State of the City address. Manor ISD clear bag policy. 2023 Teacher of the Year finalists. I-35 expansion project community meeting this weekend. City of Kyle bond election. UT volleyball.
Where should I-35 be covered? Neighbors fight for relief from planned highway expansion
Communities seeking to mitigate the effects of the I-35 widening find most of the city’s resources are targeted at downtown Austin. KUT’s Nathan Bernier has the story.
Texas Standard: March 16, 2022
This week wildfires have burned huge swaths of Texas. But the state’s growing population means they could be even more dangerous in the future. And Texas’ law to restrict abortion access gets a copycat, and probably not just one. Plus, police in El Paso want more resources to fight opiate abuse. And An apartment complex in Austin might have to make way for I-35. Plus foodies in Arlington promote local eats. All that and more coming up today on the Texas Standard: