KRTS 93.5 FM Marfa Public Radio

Thanks again to the many members, volunteers, supporters, visitors, local businesses, and friends from near and far who made Marfa Public Radio’s fall membership drive such a success.

We’ve received some questions about the mail out of premiums.

We wanted to let you know that, in order to waste less, we’ve started a new process for our membership merchandise, ordering items only after we have our final tallies of items and sizes.

We are currently in the final stages of preparing this order of membership premiums, including Marfa Public Radio shirts, hats, patches, tote bags, bandanas, and bumper stickers. Merchandise will be shipped to you in November.

Your donations make it possible for Marfa Public Radio to broadcast the high-quality news, stories, and music that you expect, and it ensures that the station continues to thrive as a beacon of radio for West Texas and beyond.   Thank you again for becoming a member!

A handful of protestors turned out in three Texas cities Monday to ask San Antonio-based Whataburger to stop using styrofoam cups.

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Almost two weeks have passed since the election, but Jones had been holding out hope and waiting to see all outstanding ballots counted.

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The Wolfcamp shale play in West Texas is a major driver of growing oil and gas production in the Permian Basin, according to a new report from the Energy Department.

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received some 23,000 comments as it decides whether to approve a temporary high-level nuclear waste storage site in Andrews County.

The company behind the plan is Interim Storage Partners, a subsidiary of Waste Control Specialists and Orano. The group applied for a license from the NRC to store spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants around the U.S.

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On a dark, moonless night, a week before Thanksgiving last year, 36-year-old Border Patrol agent Rogelio Martinez and his partner Stephen Garland were on duty along a rural stretch of highway in West Texas.

The two, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were “conducting routine checks of culverts in the area,” about12 miles east of Van Horn.

What happened next that night has been the center of controversy and debate.

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Alpine Police arrested a member of the Texas National Guard this week, charging him with sexually assaulting a woman after he reportedly attempted to rape her.

Luis Ontiveros, 30, was arrested after officers received a report of a sexual assault at a hotel in Alpine. Ontiveros is in the Big Bend Region for Operation Guardian Support, which began in April when President Trump called for a military presence on the border.

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The Texas Senate race was very, very close – closer than any statewide election in recent history – and Latinos could be part of the reason why.

“Latinos are becoming a political force to be reckoned with in the state,” said Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez, the executive director of Jolt, which works to get young Latinos, in particular, politically engaged.

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Marfa Public Radio is happy to announce the hire of its new Permian Basin reporter, Mitch Borden, who comes to Texas from Alaska Public Radio. Mitch is Marfa Public Radio’s first reporter position dedicated to the Permian Basin. Based in Midland, Mitch will cover major news developments in the region while also looking for the untold local stories that define the place.

Mitch was born in Michigan and graduated from Northern Michigan University with a B.S. Art & Design in photography. Mitch first picked up a microphone as a radio producer at KNOM in Nome, Alaska. There he did everything from covering the Iditarod to hosting the morning music show. He subsequently trained at the Transom Storytelling Workshop and at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies before returning to the 49th state to work as a reporter and producer at KMXT in Kodiak, and as a fisheries reporter for KDLG in Bristol Bay. Mitch also served as a producer for the hit podcast Midnight Oil for Alaska Public Radio and volunteered as a first responder for the community of Nome.

Marfa Public Radio strives to connect West Texans to each other and to the world — from the region’s breaking stories that our news staff covers to the voices of West Texas that we celebrate. This position will make it possible for Marfa Public Radio to make the daily news and stories of the Permian Basin part of its award-winning coverage.

This position is made possible through the generous support for public radio from the Midland philanthropic community: Permian Basin Area Foundation, FMH Foundation, Abell-Hanger Foundation, the Henry Foundation, and the Yarborough Foundation. The Marfa Public Radio Midland Fellowship is awarded to a journalist who shows promise in his or her career. It is a twelve-month opportunity to delve into and report on the stories that matter.

Mitch may reached at mitch@marfapublicradio.org.