West Texas Wonders
West Texas Wonders is a new journalism initiative from Marfa Public Radio that invites you to take part in the stories we cover. It’s guided by you, our listeners, and your curiosity about our region – from the border to the Basin.
Here’s how it works:
You submit a question about West Texas that you’d like us to investigate. We’ll run regular voting rounds so you can weigh in on what you most want answered. If your question is picked, a Marfa Public Radio reporter will work with you to find the answer. Finally, we present the answers on-air and online.
You can ask us anything about West Texas, silly or serious, big or small, from that weird street name in your neighborhood to where our tax dollars go.
You can ask questions you don’t otherwise hear in the news —
Do ranch brands and gate symbols in West Texas have secret meanings behind them?
I’ve heard it’s legal to drink beer on the street in Marfa. Is it?
Or you might ask —
Oil and gas companies generate a lot of money in the Permian Basin — how much of that wealth supports the rest of the state, and how much of it returns to the community?
Will it be up to individuals and private companies to raise money to repair the Balmorhea pool?
So, ask away: What have you always wondered about West Texas, the region or its people that you’d like us to investigate?
If you do much highway driving in Texas, it’s a familiar sight: old, rusted trucks packed to the gills with toys, motor oil, textiles, and building materials traveling down the interstate. Sometimes, they’re hauling an additional truck — “IN TOW” … Continue reading →
The Rambling Boy teams up with Marfa Public Radio’s Sally Beauvais in an attempt to answer some of the tough history questions that have been submitted to West Texas Wonders.
Listener Josh Knight asked West Texas Wonders whether the meteor crater in Odessa was actually produced by a crash, and, if so, what ecological impact that collision might have had. Marfa Public Radio looked to Nature Notes for the answer. … Continue reading →
By Mitch Borden It doesn’t take much to see the Permian Basin’s economy is doing pretty well right now. Just look at Midland and Odessa, the two cities’ unemployment rate is around two percent, wages are high and property values … Continue reading →
Rachel Maxwell of Alpine wants to know what the highest level of education the Burro Lady achieved was. Harry Hudson of Dallas wants to know how Mrs. Kerr of Fort Stockton’s marriage proposal related to rainfall. Gretchen Coles of Marfa wonders … Continue reading →
Listeners Linda Beranek, Guadalupe Espinoza, and Josh Knight are among many Marfa Public Radio listeners who have submitted questions about esoteric local history to West Texas Wonders. So we turned to resident historian Lonn Taylor, also known as The Rambling … Continue reading →
