KRTS 93.5 FM Marfa Public Radio

By Public Radio Staff

Upcoming public testing for the coronavirus will take place in Alpine, Marfa, and Fort Davis.

Testing will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or until supplies run out. During recent rounds of testing, some locations have seen long lines form, so local officials advise arriving early.

By Mose Buchele, KUT

Julia Trigg Crawford took the news that the Biden administration had canceled permits for the Keystone XL pipeline with a certain amount of skepticism. After all, she said, the pipeline is running oil every day under her North Texas farm.

By Neelam Bohra, Texas Tribune

Some rural Texans are facing the threat of losing phone and internet service after the state recently slashed subsidies that help providers offer service in sparsely populated areas.

By Carlos Morales

Following a federal lawsuit, Village Farms, a major agriculture company, has agreed to implement additional coronavirus protections for its workers at its facilities in Monahans, Texas. 

Issued by a federal judge in El Paso, the Jan. 15 court agreement outlines several safeguards the company will provide its Monahans workforce, including on-site quarantine housing for workers who are symptomatic but haven’t been tested for the coronavirus as well as transportation to get tested.

By Carlos Morales

Beginning next year, a new trail at Big Bend National Park will take visitors on a brushy, three-mile trek around the base of Lone Mountain. 

Dubbed simply as the Lone Mountain Trail, park officials describe the new addition as a “moderately challenging” hike with striking views of the Chisos, Rosillos, and Dead Horse Mountains. 

By Mitch Borden

Both major hospitals in the Midland-Odessa area are beginning to receive thousands of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine each week. This positions the two cities to become the vaccination hubs not only for the Permian Basin but also for West Texas as a whole. 

Marfa Public Radio’s Ari Snider caught up with Permian Basin Reporter Mitch Borden to talk about mass vaccination efforts in the Midland-Odessa area. 

By Mitch Borden

In the coming days, the state is expected to send thousands of doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to Midland Memorial Hospital and Medical Center Hospital in Odessa as the two facilities prepare to administer vaccines on a massive scale.

Here’s what you need to know about the vaccine rollout in the two Permian Basin cities.

By Mitch Borden

At the beginning of 2020, the oil industry in the Permian Basin was humming along without any idea that looming on the horizon was a historic oil bust. Months into last year, an eerie quiet—brought on in part by the coronavirus pandemic—settled over the West Texas oil fields as prices plummeted. One of the places where the industry’s muted activity became clear: the notorious U.S. 285, also known as ‘Death Highway.’

In this episode of Quiet & Loud, we take a look at how this active road that runs through some of the busiest parts of the Permian Basin has changed.

By Carlos Morales

For a little over a month now, the state has been distributing COVID-19 vaccines produced by biomedical companies Pfizer and Moderna, but the rollout has been confusing and frustrating, especially for residents in rural communities. 

Here are some answers to questions we’ve received.

By Mitch Borden 

A week after she swarmed the U.S. Capitol along with an insurrectionist mob, the FBI has arrested one-time Midland mayoral candidate and business owner Jenny Cudd. 

Cudd, who posted a 25-minute video recounting the Jan. 6 riot that left five dead, was taken into custody Wednesday morning in connection with the riot at the capitol. She’s been charged with two misdemeanors. If convicted, Cudd could serve up to a year in prison and be fined over $100,000. 

By Alex Samuels, Cassandra Pollock, and Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune

Much about the session — including how it will be conducted during a pandemic — remains uncertain.

The 2021 session of the Texas Legislature will commence Tuesday under pervasive uncertainty.

By Carlos Morales

Over the course of the pandemic, the number of people visiting Big Bend National Park has fluctuated wildly — first dropping to all-time lows in the Spring, then smashing records in the final months of last year.

The end-of-year visitor spike is part of a national trend, as thousands have flocked to outdoor destinations across Texas and the country, even as many public health officials advise against travelling. 

By Ari Snider

Marfa musicians Primo Carrasco and David Beebe are familiar names in the Far West Texas music scene. The duo has played together for years now, but just released their first album earlier this month — just in time for the new year. 

In the Big Bend region, officials in Presidio are encouraging residents to shelter in place and limit traveling. The notice comes after local cases surged to record highs last month, making Presidio County one of the nation’s top coronavirus hot spots at the time.

Local health authorities say most cases, then and now, are from the city of Presidio, where the predominantly Hispanic community faces barriers to accessing quality healthcare and frequent testing. 

By Ari Snider

These days, there’s not a whole lot going on in Ruidosa. By most estimates, the town is home to about 15 people. But it used to be one of the more substantial settlements in the Big Bend region, and now a local group is working to restore one of the last monuments to that past era before it crumbles back into the earth.