KRTS 93.5 FM Marfa Public Radio

AEP is working to restore power to the top of Brown Mountain. An outage caused by a storm damaged a piece of equipment and is keeping 93.5 FM (Marfa and Fort Davis broadcast) off-air.

By Marfa Public Radio

Marfa Public Radio has won three National Edward R. Murrow awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) for its reporting in 2018. This is the first time the station has received this number of National Murrow awards.

The station’s only other National Murrow was awarded in 2016 for Lorne Matalon’s investigative reporting in the Juarez Valley in Mexico.

The awards are considered among the most prestigious and recognize “news stories that uphold the RTDNA Code of Ethics, demonstrate technical expertise and exemplify the importance and impact of journalism as a service to the community.”

Marfa Public Radio was awarded in the small market radio category for its use of social media, its website and use of multimedia and for feature reporting.

By Riane Roldan, Texas Tribune

Three vans with 20 migrant children pulled up to a welcome center at the Carrizo Springs emergency shelter Friday as dozens of shelter employees, wearing shirts with Emergency Management emblazoned on the back, stood eagerly to greet them.

“Y’all ready?” one shelter manager asked the group.

By Riane Roldan and Alana Rocha, Texas Tribune

More than a year after the Trump administration ended a controversial policy that led to hundreds of family separations, as many as five migrant children per day continue to be separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to federal data gathered by an immigrant advocacy group.

By Mitch Borden

Small land sales in Texas are up for the sixth year in a row. That’s according to a new report from the Texas Realtors Association. Those sales rose by about 6 percent last year, driven by the sales of properties affected by Hurricane Harvey — and increased development in West Texas oil fields.

By Mitch Borden

The Permian Basin’s oil industry hit its first real slow down in years over the last seven months. Companies have cut thousands of jobs and the number of oil rigs has fallen. But at the same time, the region is producing more oil than ever and labor shortages are running rampant.

By Carlos Morales

After a heated discussion that brought more than 60 people into the Presidio County Judge’s chambers, county commissioners approved a resolution labeling the county a “Second Amendment sanctuary.”

The designation appears to be the first of its kind in Texas and follows a trend of cities, counties and states across the country — mainly in rural pockets of the U.S. — that have labeled themselves as “sanctuaries” for gun owners. As they’ve been set up in other communities, these resolutions seem to follow the structure behind sanctuary city ordinances that limit local cooperation with federal officials when it comes to enforcing immigration laws.

By Carson Frame, Texas Public Radio

Every day, more than 40,000 commercial trucks cross over the Pharr International Bridge into Texas from the Mexican city of Reynosa.

Carrying things like fruits, vegetables, and machine parts, they spill out into an intersection with two gas stations. It’s a essential stop for many of the truckers, who often have to idle for hours on the three-mile-long bridge waiting for U.S. customs officials to scan and approve their loads.

By Sally Beauvais

On Wednesday, Presidio County officials postponed their vote on a request by business owner Liz Lambert for permission to serve alcohol until 2 AM at her Marfa hotel, El Cosmico.

The commissioners court plans to adopt an area-wide policy for unincorporated parts of the county before revisiting Lambert’s request.

By Diana Nguyen

On Tuesday — a trial took place in Marfa for an assault case. The defendant, a high-profile artist who lives part-time in Marfa — was found not guilty of the Class C Misdemeanor charge.

Marfa Public Radio’s Diana Nguyen was at the trial and talked to Carlos Morales about what unfolded.

By Sally Beauvais

It’s Saturday night in West Texas. On a stretch of land outside of the border town of Presidio, cars are lining up two-by-two behind a straight, quarter-mile racing strip illuminated by stadium lights.

A summer storm has just passed through the area, but the weather’s calmed. The sun’s going down on the surrounding mountains as families tailgate out of their truck beds, lined up along the concrete track.