Officials took the extraordinary step of taking on new debt to replace the old courthouse, which has been plagued by rats and other pests, elevator breakdowns and flooding.

The proposal comes after the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency said it needs more money to plug wells that are in some instances erupting.

Local leaders and rural revitalization experts say Texas’ smallest towns can survive — despite a shift to urban and suburban counties — but it will take investments.

Odessa City Council critics have worried Joven and his allies have focused too much on social issues and not enough on infrastructure.

The three-member board oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry. The agency has faced criticism over safety concerns linked to fracking, well blowouts and groundwater protection.

Abandoned wells in the Permian Basin are increasingly erupting with briney, polluted water. The Texas Railroad Commission says it needs emergency money to respond.

It’s unclear how much water resides underneath this booming West Texas tourist haven. That makes conservation critical.

Donald Trump has built close ties to many Texas Republicans, from judges to elected officials to policy experts.

A yearslong dispute over exporting water to growing Texas cities offers a hint at the battles to come as the state’s population booms and water supply dwindles.

A Starr County property was purchased to build border wall, while Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said the state has many options for a sprawling ranch in West Texas.

Denton has renamed itself Halloween, Texas, and has planned 31 days of events to drive up tourism and family entertainment.

LGBTQ+ advocates called the ban one of the most extreme measures enacted by a local government.

Democrats in Lubbock and Amarillo hope Kamala Harris’ candidacy and a backlash to abortion laws will help make their long-held vision of a blue wave a reality.

The South Texas city is the latest to grapple with aging water infrastructure, which officials suggested could have been the cause for the E. coli outbreak.

Experts warn that more blowouts should be expected unless oil and gas companies change their methods.

A company has long pursued the plan to move “high-level” nuclear waste from power plants across the nation to a storage facility in Andrews County.

Residents were worried about the impact on their drinking water while business leaders were excited for the new jobs.

The Supreme Court has agreed to step into a fight over plans to store nuclear waste at sites in rural Texas and New Mexico.

The lawsuit claims federal regulators have undermined the Texas oil and gas industry by misusing environmental law, negatively impacting drilling and production.

Two counties house training programs in local high schools as officials pitch corrections jobs as gateways to criminal justice careers.

Texas has seen a record number of chronic wasting disease cases this year. The state is looking for new ways to contain the spread without driving deer breeders out of business.

Under Javier Joven’s leadership, his critics say, the Odessa City Council has lost focus on municipal issues like roads and water infrastructure.

“It’s like time passes, but it also freezes,” said Rosie Granados, whose twin sister was killed during the shooting.

To help raise money the Lubbock-area food bank recruited a Michelin-recognized chef.

Before the pandemic, Ben Bilbrey worked with some of the largest oil companies. Now he’s waiting for the phone to ring.

Residents at the sprawling Terlingua Ranch near Big Bend National Park will limit residents to 1,000 gallons of nondrinking water per month.

Texas is producing so much natural gas right now companies are losing money.

Limits on who can be released without paying bail and difficulties hiring guards worsen the situation.

The town’s troubles started in 2018, when its water tested positive for the dangerous E.coli bacteria.

The Ector County school district boosted student learning but now faces financial uncertainty. It closed schools and cut costs to stay afloat, but it won’t slash teacher jobs.

An SMU study is the first scientific proof of a phenomenon local landowners have long warned was occurring.

The Odessa City Council approved the budget to replace nearly 200 water valves and 17,000 feet of pipe.

The state has built about 34 miles of wall spread out across at least six counties on Texas’ 1,254-mile border with Mexico.

Someone from Mexico won more than $1 million on a winning Texas Two Step ticket purchased at an HEB store in South Texas.

Truckers say they can wait up to 18 hours without pay to load or unload fracking sand. The drilling sites often lack restrooms.

The action comes after The Texas Tribune reported that influencers were being paid to defend impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The venue also canceled, but Fort Worth city officials demanded it still host the event. True Texas Project blamed public backlash on “woke attacks.”

A local volunteer died by suicide ahead of the center’s grand opening, reminding the West Texas community why such spaces are important.

Pecos County rancher Schuyler Wight says the Railroad Commission continues to plug wells. But each time they do, another one starts flowing.

The weeklong heat wave that baked most of the U.S. Southwest in temperatures well into triple digits is on its last legs, but forecasters are still urging people to be cautious.

No one knows how much water sits beneath the desert of Terlingua. Residents worry their wells will run dry, as developers and local officials cheer the tourism boom.

President Joe Biden’s new executive order, unveiled Tuesday, will restrict the number of asylum seekers allowed to cross the border when crossings reach a certain level.

After coming in second in the primary, Phelan was at a disadvantage heading into the runoff. With record breaking cash infusions, Phelan blanketed airwaves and hired an army of campaign staffers.

At the three-day convention, delegates moved the needle further to the right, preaching Christian nationalism and approving rules that would give them unprecedented control of elections.

Davis Riley has a four-shot lead over hometown favorite and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler going into the final round at Colonial.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton are looking to settle political scores within their own party in the upcoming primary runoff elections, in which voters will decide nearly three dozen unresolved races from the state’s March 5 primary.

One organization helping Texans pay their electric bills said the average household was $1,400 behind.

Phelan’s primary has emerged as a last stand for the Republican Party’s business-minded establishment against an insurgency primarily motivated by social and cultural issues.

Tuesday’s Texas Senate hearing comes as lawmakers are expected to propose new laws next year to enforce the DEI ban and prevent antisemitism.

A tornado touchdown was confirmed southeast of West Texas Friday afternoon, the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office told KCEN TV.

The former lawmaker registered “RaTmasTeR Holdings” along with Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi. The name is a nod to Stickland’s alias as an infamous internet troll.

Officials are worried that there’s arsenic in some of the estimated 13,500 private water wells in Ector and Midland counties.

Straus, who is Jewish, publicly confirmed the conversation for the first time Thursday. It had previously been reported by Texas Monthly.

The wind industry promises attractive salaries. But a lack of training programs and waning political support make it difficult to find new recruits.

A new operator was assigned to fix the well in Midland County, which is still not compliant with state standards.

Across this border city, which sees some of the state’s lowest voter turnout, many residents either didn’t know there was an election in March or had reasons for avoiding the polls.

The Tribune reported last year that a company called Influenceable LLC was paid to recruit influencers to defend Attorney General Ken Paxton over his impeachment.

At Texas State Technical College in Waco, medical experts discussed how Texas schools are addressing workforce shortages and what else is needed to address our state’s needs.

A nuclear power plant hasn’t been built in Texas in decades because of cost and public fears of a major accident. Now the governor wants to find out if smaller reactors could meet the state’s growing need for on-demand power.

Top officials were gathering Tuesday in southern New Mexico to mark the 25th anniversary of the nation’s only underground repository for radioactive waste.

In the staunchly conservative Panhandle, LGBTQ+ Texans say political and legal battles overlook their humanity.

Abraham George is running to lead the state party with backing from current Chair Matt Rinaldi, who announced last week he will not seek reelection. He was not arrested or charged.

A series of deadly wildfires have burned for nearly three weeks, destroying farms and ranches in several counties.

Rinaldi’s three-year tenure as chair of the GOP saw vicious infighting and historic gains for the state’s far right.

A third infant nearby also contracted botulism last August. Local and state health officials said there is no public health emergency.

In 2014, and following a two-year investigation, the Texas Ethics Commission fined Sullivan $10,000 for failing to register as a lobbyist.

All told, 11 of the 28 House candidates supported by Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks won their primaries outright, and another eight are headed to runoffs this May.

The shockwaves rippled up and down the ballot as incumbent state House members, judges and other state leaders were forced into runoffs or defeated outright.

Rural Texans are more than twice as likely to go without homeowners insurance than their urban peers.

The full scope of damage still isn’t known, but some Panhandle residents have returned home. Firefighters continue battling the infernos.

Get the latest updates as firefighters continue battling massive fires that have burned more than 1 million acres.

The Texas Railroad Commission is tasked with plugging wells. But the state regulators say their scope is limited.

Texans For Lawsuit Reform and pro-voucher groups are also spending millions.

The property is currently an observatory surrounded by open land. System officials say they’ll use it for agricultural research and other opportunities.

Most Houstonians don't think of Texas as the Wind Turbine capital of the nation, but it is!

The 2023 legislation establishing the grant program also includes new equipment for rural sheriffs.

With menu items like birria brisket ramen, the Bar-B-Que Bandidas in Lubbock are challenging the norm of Texas barbecue and a male dominated industry.

A nonprofit commissioned the report that found severe and fatal vehicle crashes in the Permian Basin far outpaced the state.

A historic $3.3 billion federal investment in broadband could connect millions of Texans to the internet. But getting the money to the right hands could be a challenge.

The party’s executive committee also formally censured House Speaker Dade Phelan on Saturday.

In a statement, Biedermann said the point he was trying to make was that leaders “selectively punish impropriety.”

Thursday's upcoming drought monitor will show more improvement

Crude oil and natural gas extraction in Texas reached record levels in 2023, according to the industry’s annual report.

In the wake of a scandal tying them to white supremacists, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks started a new PAC to support far-right candidates

College hopefuls should fill out the new federal student aid application to as soon as possible to get more funds.

Farris Wilks is a key funder of Defend Texas Liberty, the state party’s largest donor, which is under fire for its ties to white supremacists

Like local leaders in many other towns in West Texas, the Kermit City Council spent years saving its tax revenue fearing the energy economy would crash. Now it is struggling to keep up with essential services like trash and road repair.

Across the state, people are looking for ways to make Texas a better place to live as they tackle hunger, rural “brain drain,” health care obstacles and other impediments.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket company has launched for the first time since a crash in 2022.

Tim Dunn has used his wealth to establish a network of organizations that push his ultraconservative views across Texas. The deal comes amid a time of consolidation in the Permian Basin.

Occidental is buying oil and gas company CrownRock in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $12 billion.

Police say officers investigating a domestic disturbance fatally shot a man who they say ran at them with knives in West Texas.

In a Nov. 13 filing with the Texas Secretary of State, an attorney for Pale Horse Strategies LLC wrote that the firm would also conduct future business under the name “West Fort Worth Management LLC.”

In unincorporated West Odessa, residents relish their freedom. And they also go without basic services. Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett, a young Republican with Ronald Reagan good looks and politics, wants to change that.

The expansion, which will start with a smaller pilot in four high schools between Texas and New Mexico, is being paid for by the Permian Strategic Partnership, a group funded by major energy producers.

The Texas education board has approved new textbooks but called on some publishers to change their depictions of fossil fuels in the U.S.'s biggest oil and gas state.

Voters in several Texas cities have sought to decriminalize marijuana. However, their efforts have been met by reluctant city councils that say they can’t go against state law.

As oil and gas companies struggle to dispose of their wastewater in the Permian Basin, the city of Midland is challenging applications for disposal wells near one of its drinking water sources.

The legislation behind the historic investment directs state agencies to send money to the state’s smaller, cash-strapped towns that have difficulty paying for upgrades. Federal money is also expected to flow to regions that need broadband.

The voter approval rate for school maintenance and construction costs dipped in 2021 after lawmakers required school boards to call them “tax increases.”