Board members for the Austin Independent School District are considering an outside nonprofit to handle three of its middle schools with chronic failing grades. Another failing grade for these campuses would give the Texas Education Agency the authority to take over the district as a whole. We’ll have more about community meetings happening this week. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has notified AISD of a complaint alleging the district violated the state’s bathroom bill. We’ll dig into the st...
Mar 11, 2026•26 min•Season 2026Ep. 48
George Davis Jr. is one of the victims who had to be hospitalized after the deadly shooting at Buford’s on West Sixth Street. He reached out to 911 for assistance, but had to turn to help of strangers to get him to the hospital. Davis is recovering now and trying to find the people who he says helped save his life. We’ll hear more about his experience that early morning and his recovery journey since. Possible changes for smokable hemp in Texas could be happening sooner rather than later. We’ll ...
Mar 10, 2026•26 min•Season 2026Ep. 47
Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden was open for business over the weekend, just days after a shooting left three people dead and more than a dozen injured. Some Austin residents felt the opening was rushed after such a tragedy. We’ll hear from others who felt showing up was the right thing to do. The Austin Police Department has new rules for how its officers contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We’ll hear more about the change. After the suspected shooter in the attack was identified, a woma...
Mar 09, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 46
We’re learning more about the alleged shooter in Sunday morning’s deadly incident at a West Sixth Street bar. The suspect had no prior interactions with police in Austin, but that wasn’t true for other agencies in Texas. We’ll share more about that history, and why it wasn’t enough to keep him from legally acquiring firearms. The Texas Department of Transportation has not started construction on a new boardwalk along Lady Bird Lake. TxDOT pledged $25 million for the project as part of the expans...
Mar 06, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 45
We are continuing to follow developments after Sunday’s shooting at Buford’s that killed three people. We’ll hear the latest update from the Austin Police Department that just wrapped up in the last hour…we have an update on the number of people shot and victims still in hospital, and there was a vigil last night on the University of Texas campus to honor the victims at least two are confirmed UT students. And later imagine your local box store parking lot as it’s own thriving ecosystem,and now ...
Mar 05, 2026•26 min•Season 2026Ep. 44
Election Night is over in Texas, but we’re still figuring out exactly what happened yesterday in Williamson County . Some voters waited in line for hours, only to be told they’d have to go to an entirely different polling site to vote. Others made an after-hours trip to cast a ballot, only to find out their vote may not be counted. Our team of county reporters was covering the most important races in Central Texas. They join us in the studio with their latest reporting. And the City of Austin is...
Mar 04, 2026•26 min•Season 2026Ep. 43
We’re getting more information about the three victims from Sunday morning’s shooting at Buford’s. We’ll have the latest from the KUT newsroom. It’s primary Election Day here in Texas. Four Austin-area Texas legislators are vying for the Democratic nomination of various positions. In addition to the statewide offices, there’s lots going on in the Central Texas area. KUT’s county reporters for Hays , Travis and Williamson counties are out in the field talking to voters. We’ll hear about the reaso...
Mar 03, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 39
Three people are dead and many more are hospitalized following a deadly shooting over the weekend at a popular West Sixth Street bar. The incident is being investigated by the FBI as a potential act of terrorism, but authorities say it’s still too early to determine a motive. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis and other local officials held a press conference sharing more information on the victims of the shootings . We’ll also delve into what’s known regarding the 53-year-...
Mar 02, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 41
There are still a few hours left to vote early ahead of Tuesday’s Texas party primaries. We’ll tell you what you need to know before heading to the polls to vote today or Election Day on Tuesday. We’ll also have closer look at races for two Travis County Commissioner seats and go over what exactly commissioners do. Also, the federal government is now challenging a court order to repatriate college student Any López Belloza , who was deported after trying to fly to Austin last year. Huston-Tillot...
Feb 27, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 40
We’ve all seen it: People speeding down Mopac or neighborhood streets in Austin. Maybe you’ve thought, “shouldn’t they be getting a speeding ticket?” Well, new data shows Austin Police may be handing out more of those . Austin’s Live Music Fund is about to grant another round of funding after two years of controversy and complaints over the how those funding decisions are made. Speaking of music, you can’t pin down local band The Animeros to just one genre. They span beyond bolero, psychedelic, ...
Feb 26, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 39
Early voting in the March 3 primary wraps up Friday. Turnout is trending upward across Central Texas, with more voters casting ballots in Travis, Hays and Williamson counties compared to previous primaries. We’ll taking a closer look at who’s showing up and what patterns are beginning to emerge at polling locations locally and across the state. Questions about how ballots should be counted continue to spark debate. We’ll tell you about Republicans in one Texas county who are planning to hand cou...
Feb 25, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 38
Nearly 1 in 5 Americans live in rural areas, where there are often fewer licensed therapists and longer travel distances to mental health care. But hotlines like 988 give people access to the help they need. Today, we’ll find out why the support for that lifeline is stronger in some states than others. Daniel Johnston was known for his art and music. When he died in 2019, he left behind a trove of his work. But where can you check it out? Well, some of that work is on public display for the firs...
Feb 24, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 37
A growing body of evidence shows that doulas can improve health outcomes; especially for Black women, who have a maternal mortality rate 2.5 times higher than white women in Texas. Birth workers want their services to be accessible and understood by more folks. We’ll delve more into the practice. And the Texas DREAM Act gave undocumented Texans the chance to attend college at the cost of in-state tuition. Now, Texas public universities are progressing through the first full academic semester und...
Feb 23, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 36
Four men accused in one of Austin’s most infamous murders have been declared officially innocent; two of them were convicted, one was sentenced to death. 34 years later, their records have been cleared. We’ll have more from Thursday’s exoneration hearing. An Austin-area congressional seat is up for grabs for the first time in nearly a decade. We’re going to hear from voters in the 21st congressional district about what they want and don’t want from their next representative. Plus, Austin FC kick...
Feb 20, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 35
The four men wrongly accused in Austin’s yogurt shop murders were exonerated today in a Travis County courthouse. More than three decades on their records have been cleared. We’ll hear from family members who attended today’s hearing. The University of Texas Board of Regents has approved a policy limiting from classrooms “controversial topics.” What the new policy says and the plan for putting it into effect. And, music news with KUTX’s Maile Carballo. Plus, Spurs basketball is back at the Moody...
Feb 19, 2026•27 min•Season 2026Ep. 34
The Austin Independent School District has regained control of its special education program. The Texas Education Agency assigned a pair of monitors to the program for the last three years as AISD worked to address a backlog of evaluations. We’ll have the latest from Austin’s school district . A San Marcos City Council meeting went into the early morning hours today as council members decided on rezoning property to be sold for a data center. Hundreds of folks showed up to make their opinions kn...
Feb 18, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 33
It’s the first day of early voting in the Texas primaries and there are many statewide races for consideration: comptroller, lieutenant governor, governor, as well as lots of eyes on the Democratic and Republican races for U.S. Senate. We’ll have an overview, plus plenty more on the ballots in Travis , Hays and Williamson counties, as well. Also, the Austin-raised college student who was deported while trying to visit family last Thanksgiving could soon be headed back to the U.S. We’ll have the ...
Feb 17, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 32
A $25 million contract between the City of Austin and the Long Center is under scrutiny over how the public money is being spent. The contracts and the fees inside it are tied to the city’ cultural arts grants program, raising questions about transparency and oversight. We’ll dig into the details of the contract and the future between the two sides. Texas Republicans have revived anti-Muslim messaging in races across the state as early voting begins tomorrow. It’s a change in messaging from elec...
Feb 16, 2026•Season 2026Ep. 31
Five years on from the winter storm that caused blackouts across much of the state of Texas, what’s been done to address the failures of the blackout? And is Austin and Texas ready for the next big winter test of the power grid? More about what has and has not happened since February 2021 . There’s an argument to be made that the lieutenant governor of Texas is the most influential elected official in the state. Republicans have held the position for nearly three decades. We’ll hear about the ca...
Feb 13, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 31
The University of Texas at Austin is restructuring departments in the College of Liberal Arts. The decision was announced today, but it’s a move that students and staff have been worried about for months. We’ll hear more about the departments affected. Police in Austin are still using license plate reader data months after city council ended using the technology on grounds of privacy concerns. We’ll dig into how and when APD says they’re using the data and the tech’s future use here in Austin. T...
Feb 12, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 30
Pregnant migrant girls are being sent to a South Texas shelter, where both the region and the facility lack the necessary care. The decision from the Trump Administration was made against objections from officials inside the administration. The story is a collaborative effort between The Texas Newsroom and The California Newsroom, and we’ll have from their reporting on today’s show . A new housing project in East Austin is combining affordable rent with support for musicians as they try to do th...
Feb 11, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 29
An affordable housing complex planned for the Travis Heights neighborhood is one step closer to becoming a reality. Neighbors around the proposed site say they aren’t opposed to the idea – more so the scale of it. We’ll hear more about the complex and the neighborhood it could be built in. The Austin Independent School District is looking to save money and exit some contracts for schools that are slated to close. We’ll dig into how much money they’re looking to save, and how they could do it. We...
Feb 10, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 28
The parents of an 8-year-old Austinite still missing after last July’s flooding in Texas have filed a lawsuit against Camp Mystic. It’s the fifth such lawsuit against the camp in the Hill Country where campers and counselors drowned in the floodwaters. We’ll have more about that lawsuit . Early voting in the primaries gets going next week and folks in southeast Travis County will elect a new leader for the first time in decades. We’ll hear about the candidates running for Precinct 4 commissioner...
Feb 09, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 27
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis and members of the Austin City Council met with community members this week to talk about local Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and the city and police’s role in them. The meeting was billed as a conversation but turned into a shouting match that laid bare the community tensions around ICE enforcement in the Austin area and around the country. We’ll talk more about that meeting, and we’ll hear from some of the voices who were there . Construction is ...
Feb 06, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 26
Teachers and students in the Round Rock school district say they’re seeing benefits from a statewide ban on cell phones in public school classrooms. The ban went into effect at the beginning of this school year, and some students say they feel more engaged inside the classroom and outside of it, too. We’ll have more from Williamson County. Elon Musk’s Tesla stands to lose millions in tax rebates unless they meet Travis County requirements . Another Musk-owned business is looking for the same dea...
Feb 05, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 25
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said Immigration and Customs Enforcement needs to “recalibrate” its tactics, and he isn’t the only member of the Texas GOP to comment on the operations and the rhetoric around it. The messaging comes a few weeks before early voting begins in the Texas primaries ahead of the midterms. We’ll have more about that on today’s show . Former Austin police chief Art Acevedo says ICE agents are deploying tactics that show they’re either insufficiently trained or poorly supervis...
Feb 04, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 24
Student walkout demonstrations in the Austin area continued this week in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Texas and across the country. The Austin Independent School District has come under fire from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton over such actions. We’ll hear from some of the students who participated in the walkout, as well as their parents. We’ll also follow up on an incident at a demonstration Monday in Hays County – hearing from more stude...
Feb 03, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 23
Nighttime temperatures in Austin won’t be cold enough this week to warrant the opening of warming shelters, but last month’s prolonged freeze did highlight the lack of nutritious food being served at one refuge in town. We’ll hear from someone who’s taken shelter there and the people helping to fill the need . Travis County District Attorney José Garza is joining a group of DA’s banding together to hold federal officers accountable to the rule of law. We’ll look at what brought them together, an...
Feb 02, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 22
There are about 43,000 people experiencing homelessness in Texas, and more than 3,000 of them are Austinites. We’ll take a look at the programs and services helping people get back on their feet here in the city. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/esperanza-community-austin-ged-classes-adult-education-texas/ Most people have gone down a one-way street before – and downtown Austin is full of them. But it wasn’t always that way, and soon, we could be heading back to our old ways of two-way stre...
Jan 30, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 21
Local nurses led a peaceful vigil last night in Austin for Alex Pretti, the Minnesota ICU nurse shot and killed over the weekend by U.S. immigration officers. We’ll hear about the latest instance of local folks protesting ongoing customs and border patrol activities in Minneapolis. Three Austin ISD middle schools could get a fifth failing accountability rating, which means the state might step in to run them. We’ll learn about an alternative to that, and whether or not it worked at another AISD ...
Jan 29, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 20
