(Sally Beauvais / Marfa Public Radio)
By Carlos Morales
Next year, far West Texas may become home to a new festival.
Austin-based C3 Presents — which is known for producing major festivals like Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits — is reportedly planning to hold the festival on a ranch outside of Marfa’s city limits, heading north toward Fort Davis.
Marfa Mayor Ann Marie Nafziger has been in talks with C3 Presents over concerns she’s heard from the community. And now the festival company plans to attend a public meeting in Marfa on April 11.
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Officer Nathan "Hayden" Heidelberg's cruiser is on display for mourners to visit outside of the Midland Police Department. (Mitch Borden / Marfa Public Radio)
By Mitch Borden
Midland Police Officer Nathan “Hayden” Heidelberg, who was killed in the line of duty earlier this week, will be laid to rest Friday.
The service will be held Friday afternoon followed by a procession through the cemetery where he’ll be buried. Heidelberg was 28 years old, and is survived by his parents.
Events surrounding Heidelberg’s death are still coming to light, but here is what is known at the moment:
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Events company C3 Presents will attend a community forum to discuss a proposed festival in far West Texas. The forum will be April 11 at 6 p.m. at the U.S.O Building in Marfa. (Carlos Morales / Marfa Public Radio)
By Carlos Morales
Next month, an Austin-based event company will be center stage at a community forum in Marfa. The company is planning to address concerns over a proposed festival in far West Texas.
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The Legacy Storytellers who shared their stories at the Southeast Senior Center in Midland.
The storytellers and organizers from left to right are: Lois Hillary, Evelyn Dixon, Barbara Johnson , Willie Renee Young, Elnora Robinson, Sue Roseberry, Elnora Hill, Barbara Conner, and Iris Hall-Sanders. The only storyteller not depicted is Carolyn Haywood.
(Mitch Borden / Marfa Public Radio)
By Mitch Borden
In a senior center at the heart of Midland’s black community, Nine women stood to tell stories from their lives and share some lessons they’ve learned over the years. This event was in celebration of Black History month, but it’s also a part of a larger effort by the Midland Storytelling Festival to help people develop storytelling skills.
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State Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, and other House members held a press conference Tuesday to announce their school finance bill. (Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune)
By Aliyya Swaby, Texas Tribune
With Texas House lawmakers unveiling their long-awaited school finance proposal Tuesday and the Senate’s version likely close behind, teacher pay appears to be emerging as one of the biggest sticking points between the two chambers.
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Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, at a state Senate Committee on Nominations hearing on Feb. 7, 2019. Miguel (Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune)
By Kiah Collier, Texas Tribune
For years now, Texas Sen. Lois Kolkhorst has aimed to strengthen protections for Texans whose property may be seized by the governmental or private companies building roads, oil pipelines and other projects considered to be for the public good.
The first bill the Brenham Republican ever filed as a state senator in 2015 would have forced the entity seeking to condemn property to reimburse landowners for attorney and professional fees if they were caught making lowball offers for the targeted land; state law requires them to make a good faith offer, but many landowners complain that the initial offers often don’t jibe with the true value of their properties.
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(Mitch Borden / Marfa Public Radio)
By Mitch Borden
The Texas housing market has had a great few years. Sales are up, home prices are up, and the Texas Realtors Association is saying 2018 may have been a peak year. The Midland -Odessa area is no different.
In fact, both communities don’t have enough homes to meet the housing demand the current oil boom is generating, but the two cities are seeing signs that construction is on the rise. In 2018, the number of building permits Midland and Odessa issued was up, according to a new report by the Texas Association of Realtors.
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Property taxes and school finance are likely to be on Gov. Greg Abbott’s list of emergency items. (Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune)
By Laura Isensee, Houston Public Media
For decades, Texas has struggled with education funding. Usually lawsuits trigger change, but this legislative session could be different.
Right after the 2019 Texas Legislature kicked off, the state’s “Big Three” — all Republican leaders — reaffirmed school finance as a priority in a joint press conference.
Then at his inauguration speech, Gov. Greg Abbott declared the state must invest more in public education.”
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Balmorhea State Park superintendent Carolyn Rose points to the "structural damage" park staff discovered back in 2018. (Carlos Morales / Marfa Public Radio)
By Carlos Morales
One of the state’s historic swimming holes has re-opened after nearly a year of being closed.
Often dubbed the crown jewel of West Texas, the swimming hole at Balmorhea State Park is considered one of the largest spring-fed pools in the world. The pool — which each day the San Solomon Springs pumps 15-million gallons of fresh water through — was closed for nine months after park staff found “structural damage” to the pool’s wall during an annual cleaning.
“We are definitely ready to go back to being a real state park,” said Balmorhea State Park superintendent Carolyn Rose. “It’s all about the pool here, that’s the thing.”
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Dwight David Eisenhower was the first United States President to be born in Texas, but he didn’t know until he was a grown man.
On this edition of The Rambling Boy, Lonn explains how the president, who though he was born in Kansas, was actually from Denison.
The Rambling Boy is broadcast Mondays after the 10 am newscast and again after the 7 pm newscast.
By Mitch Borden
A Midland Police officer was shot and killed while on duty, according to the City of Midland.
Officer Nathan Heidelberg was responding to reports of an alarm at a residence when he was shot Tuesday morning around 2:30 am. He died several hours later, according to Midland Mayor Jerry Morales.
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On this edition of The Rambling Boy, just in time for Texas Independence Day, Lonn discusses the lives of Sam Houston’s sons.
The Rambling Boy is broadcast Mondays after the 10 am newscast and again after the 7 pm newscast.
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June 17, 2018 – A crowd of more than 2,000 gathered at a border crossing in Tornillo, Texas early Father’s Day to protest the separation of children and parents. (Sally Beauvais / Marfa Public Radio)
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June 30, 2018 – A protest in Alpine, TX (Diana Nguyen / Marfa Public Radio)
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June 17, 2018 – The father’s day protest was led by former Congressman Beto O’Rourke. (Sally Beauvais / Marfa Public Radio)
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June 16, 2018 – A view of the temporary Tornillo shelter from Mexico. (Carlos Morales / Marfa Public Radio)
Immigration policy dominated headlines in 2018. The Trump Administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy was scrutinized for causing the practice of family separation and an increase in the uptick of migrant children held in facilities like the Tornillo Shelter.
The continuing coverage submissions for Marfa Public Radio explores the practice of family separation, the path to reunification, and looks at the Tornillo shelter and the policies that caused it to open.
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On this episode, Ian Lewis speaks to Stephanos Papadopoulos, a poet and current fellow at the Lannan Writing Residency in Marfa.
Papadopoulos was born in North Carolina and raised in Paris and Athens. He currently lives in Bend, Oregon. Papadopoulos is the author of three books of poetry, Hotel-Dieu, Lost Days, and The Black Sea. He is also the editor and co-translator of Derek Walcott’s Selected Poems, translated into Greek.
Papadopoulos will read at the Crowley Theater on Sunday, March 3rd at 6 pm.
West Texas Talk is broadcast each Thursday at 6:00 PM and each Friday at 9:00 PM.
