The 89th Texas Legislature ended its 140-day sprint earlier this week. Throughout it, lawmakers set Texas鈥� budget for the next two years and passed some of their top priority legislation 鈥� but definitely not all of it.

In fact, representatives in the Texas House and Senate filed nearly 9,000 bills this session. But only around 1,200 made it to the governor鈥檚 desk. That means just shy of 14% of the bills filed actually passed.

Despite the jubilation that comes with the end of the session, some lawmakers are now mourning what could have been with their dead bills.

Some bills never go anywhere. Others make it to a committee, but are stalled and not heard on the House or Senate floor. Some move in one chamber, but die in the other.

Dead? Yes. But forgotten? Never. The death of a bill is just an occupational hazard for lawmakers.

Still, it doesn鈥檛 soften the blow.

Take Rep. Jon Rosenthal, a Houston Democrat. Back in November, that would stop marriage licenses from being issued to minors. That bill stopped short of being read on the Senate floor.

鈥淲ell, the fact that my personal favorite passed off the House floor died in the Senate, I鈥檓 sad about that,鈥� he said.

This was Rosenthal鈥檚 fourth session in the House. It was second for Rep. Caroline Harris Davila, a Round Rock Republican. At the end, she says she always thinks of the bills that didn鈥檛 make it over the finish line.

鈥淥ne of those is more transparency for lobbying in this building and for different people,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e heard of the taxpayer-funded lobbying bill, and I would love to see more progress towards that next session.鈥�

Another much-talked-about bill that died in the 89th Legislature was which would have banned minors from using social media. The bill made it pretty far before it missed a key deadline late in the session.

Its author, Republican House Rep. Jared Patterson of Frisco, , calling it the biggest disappointment of his career. Patterson wrote that he鈥檇 鈥渇elt the weight of an entire generation of kids who鈥檝e had their mental health severely handicapped as a result of the harms of social media.鈥�

Rep. Venton Jones, a Dallas Democrat, lost a few bills he filed this session. But he told The Texas Newsroom he was especially sad about one in particular.

鈥� That was a bill that would work to improve HIV testing across our state by making sure that if a person went to their doctors, that an HIV test would be offered as a part of STI screenings,鈥� he said.

Jones is the first openly HIV+ positive member of the Texas House. But he says he鈥檚 not going to give up.

鈥淲hile that bill didn鈥檛 make it this legislative session, I鈥檓 gonna keep on trying and keep on working to make sure that we鈥檙e improving healthcare access and other issues to work on for the state as we move on to the interim and next session,鈥� he said.

On both sides of the aisle, lawmakers can agree that a bill they鈥檝e spent their time on 鈥� only for it to never see the light of day 鈥� is devastating.

But luckily, they鈥檝e got some time to prep for the future. Lawmakers鈥� next regular session isn鈥檛 until 2027. Until then, they can work to get their legislation off the cutting room floor, and freshened up for next time.

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After 140 days at the Capitol in Austin, the Texas Legislature has just wrapped up its 89th session.

This year, state lawmakers . Among them were several important pieces of legislation focused on energy and the environment. Barring a veto from Gov. Greg Abbott, these will soon become law in Texas.

Here鈥檚 a breakdown of some of those measures.

A push for water security and wildfire resilience

Abbott opened this year鈥檚 legislative session by naming water as one of his top priorities.

鈥淲e will make the largest investment in water in the history of Texas,鈥� said Abbott in address. 鈥淲e will tap into new water supplies and repair pipes to save billions of gallons of water each year.鈥�

The numbers back up the need: According to the Texas Water Development Board, groundwater availability by 25% by 2070. Supply will be decreasing even as demand is expected to double 鈥� possibly much sooner.

Across the Texas Plains and Panhandle, farmers rely heavily on groundwater for irrigation, putting enormous pressure on the state鈥檚 aquifers. But that鈥檚 also changing in Texas.

鈥淥ur municipal demand is steadily increasing and will surpass the irrigation,鈥� said L鈥橭real Stepney, chairwoman for the Texas Water Development Board, before lawmakers earlier in the session.

鈥淢unicipal is going to be the number one user, and it鈥檒l be here before we know it,鈥� she added.

A new bill, Senate Bill 7, would pump into the Texas Water Fund. The money will go toward developing new water sources and shoring up old infrastructure 鈥� a lifeline for both farmers and growing cities.

Meanwhile, the Panhandle, still reeling from the state鈥檚 , saw movement on another front. Lawmakers passed SB 34, aimed at strengthening rural firefighting capacity 鈥� most of which relies on volunteers. The bill boosts potential grant funding and support for those departments.

Both the and wildfire bills are now on Gov. Abbott鈥檚 desk.

鈥� Brad Burt, Texas Tech Public Media

Lawmakers say no to renewable energy limits 鈥� but yes to grid investment

One of the big questions this session: would Texas put the brakes on renewable energy?

Proposals like Senate Bill 715 and Senate Bill 388 sought to limit the growth of wind and solar 鈥� or at least make them more expensive to develop. Supporters argued that would help stabilize the grid. Critics warned it would only drive up costs.

In a rare alliance, environmental, business and renewable energy groups pushed back and both bills failed. Bryn Baker, senior policy director for Texas Energy Buyers Alliance, was among those leading the opposition.

鈥淭his is about cost and reliability. Full stop. And if you鈥檙e talking about making things more expensive 鈥� you鈥檝e got a whole bunch of folks interested and concerned,鈥� Baker said.

Instead, lawmakers approved a major expansion of the Texas Energy Fund: $5 billion more to help build new power plants and fund grid resilience projects.

鈥� Mose Buchele, KUT Austin

Keeping chemical storage away from homes

Texas lawmakers have approved a ban on certain types of outdoor chemical storage facilities being located close to homes, a response to an Odessa-area industrial fire nearly a year ago that allegedly filled a neighborhood with 鈥渂lack sludge.鈥�

State Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa) after the in July 2024 at Permian Basin Containers, a facility where a mix of oil industry-related chemicals and liquids were stored in stacked piles of large plastic tubs.

People living right next door to the facility said in a that the fire flooded their neighborhood with a mysterious sludge that seeped into homes and cars. The neighbors also reported a strong, noxious odor in the wake of the fire. Landgraf also raised concerns about the potential for groundwater contamination from the incident.

Landgraf鈥檚 legislation, , was sent to the governor鈥檚 desk in the final days of the state鈥檚 . It creates a ban on 鈥渋ntermediate bulk container recycling鈥� facilities being located within 2,000 feet of a private residence.

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鈥� AG真人百家乐 Bubenik, Marfa Public Radio

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Logan Garza arrived in Texarkana in early 2022 when she was transferred to the Bowie County Women鈥檚 Center. The center helps people completing court-mandated rehab 鈥� and Garza was moved there because after she started a jail sentence in another part of the state, she discovered she was pregnant.

Garza says realizing she was going to be a mom was a wake-up call.

鈥淚 had a really bad lifestyle. I was just in and out of jail all the time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 found out I was pregnant with my first one; that鈥檚 whenever everything kind of clicked in place for me. I was like, I really have to get my life together. It鈥檚 do or die now.鈥�

Garza first went to juvenile detention at age 12, and she never finished high school. She knew the first step to getting back on track was to get her GED, which she did while at the Women鈥檚 Center.

But as her release date 鈥� and her due date 鈥� loomed, she didn鈥檛 have anywhere to go.

As it turns out, Garza arrived in Texarkana at an opportune moment. Local organizations that provide social services had just started working together in a new way to help people like Garza who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

The started in Texarkana in 2022 under the leadership of staff at the Literacy Council of Bowie and Miller Counties. The program originated in Arkansas, and the name comes from the idea that if you can help even just 100 families in a community, it makes a difference.

鈥榃hen life is hard, learning is hard鈥�

Jenny Walker, who was the executive director of the Literacy Council at the time, brought the program to Texarkana to address a problem that, at first glance, might seem unrelated to Garza鈥檚 need for housing. Walker wanted to help ensure the Literacy Council鈥檚 adult education students would come to class.

鈥淭he reason that they were not coming consistently had nothing to do with their motivation or their ability to be successful,鈥� Walker said. 鈥淚t was all about life.鈥�

Texarkana straddles Texas and Arkansas. Of all the adults in Bowie County, on the Texas side, and Miller County, on the Arkansas side, a combined 25% read at or below a first-grade level.

And while that number might sound high, Texarkana is only a few points higher than the national average. About 22% of American adults read at a Level 1 or lower. In Texas, it鈥檚 28%.

People at this level of literacy struggle with things like filling out forms at the doctor, reading the questions on the driver鈥檚 license written exam, or understanding ingredients on food packaging.

The Literacy Council in Texarkana offers classes and resources to help people achieve their educational goals 鈥� but many students weren鈥檛 showing up, Walker said.

鈥淚 needed to figure out a way to help bridge those gaps because those other outside areas were definitely impacting their ability to be successful,鈥� Walker said. 鈥淎nd one thing that I have said all along is that when life is hard, learning is hard.鈥�

Walker went looking for a way to help adult learners address their needs beyond education 鈥� from food insecurity to homelessness to a lack of transportation. That鈥檚 when she found 100 Families. The program was working in a few counties in Arkansas, but it had not yet reached beyond state borders, and it was not designed to focus on literacy.

The idea is simple: 100 Families centralizes communication between organizations that help people get on their feet, according to Kristina Rivas, who runs , the nonprofit that now oversees the 100 Families program in Texarkana. 

鈥淲e no longer, in our separate places, have to feel like we have to be the expert in all things,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e get to each focus individually on what our specialty is, but know that we have the right people in the community to lean on.鈥�

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Participating organizations share a database where they can access case files and other client information, as well as make referrals. So if someone comes into the Literacy Council for tutoring and staff realize they don鈥檛 have enough to eat, for example?

鈥淲e can give them a warm handoff to the next agency so that we鈥檙e not just handing them a list of phone numbers that is overwhelming,鈥� Walker said. 鈥淭hen they have to tell their story a thousand times.鈥�

This 鈥渘ot having to repeat their life story鈥� piece is actually a huge part of increasing access and reducing stigma, according to Vashil Fernandez with the City of Texarkana, on the Texas side. He is also the chair of the Texarkana Homeless Coalition.

鈥淗aving to go search out all these things when they鈥檙e already not comfortable, and if they get turned down or get denied at one place, then that completely shuts a person off,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut if you鈥檙e in a system where all the people that can help you are connected and know what you need, and you鈥檙e just showing up and getting the help, it鈥檚 a lot easier.鈥�

A common-sense solution

If you鈥檙e thinking this all seems like a common-sense solution to a problem that has plagued nonprofits and government agencies for years, you鈥檙e not the only one.

鈥淲hen Jenny and I first started to even get this off the ground 鈥� when we were approaching people 鈥� most people said, well, doesn鈥檛 something like that already exist?鈥� Rivas said.

Because 100 Families and the shared database concept was new to Texas, Rivas was met with some hesitation when she pitched it to community partners.

鈥淚 was essentially just selling a ghost,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here was not anybody within a hundred-mile radius that had tried anything like this.鈥�

There was also concern from possible partners about how the program would impact their finances, since nonprofits often have to compete for too little funding. However, Rivas says it鈥檚 had a positive impact on bottom lines.

鈥淣ot only have everyone鈥檚 collective numbers increased because we now have those referral sources in place 鈥� that helps all of us collectively write our individual grants because we鈥檙e showing that growth,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut then we鈥檝e also been able to write some collaborative grants where several of the organizations are being funded for bigger projects.鈥�

Walker and Rivas showed local leaders data about the program鈥檚 success in Arkansas, and they got folks on board. To date, 100 Families in Texarkana has brought in over 100 community partners, including the East Texas Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, the local Children鈥檚 Advocacy Center, and a number of organizations that serve people experiencing homelessness.

Logan Garza was one of Texarkana鈥檚 early 100 Families success stories.

In advance of her release from the Women鈥檚 Center in 2022, Garza was connected with a 100 Families case worker who pushed for her to be admitted to a facility that houses and assists young mothers, even though it wasn鈥檛 taking new residents at the time.

Rivas says that probably wouldn鈥檛 have been possible without the relationships built between organizations in the early days of the program.

鈥淪he would have not had anywhere to go because she was determined to stay here,鈥� she said. 鈥淥r she would鈥檝e had the only option left to go back to where she came from, which was not a good environment.鈥�

Once Garza was situated in a place to stay with her newborn daughter, 100 Families made it easier for her to pursue her education.

鈥淎t this point I鈥檓 a single mother 鈥� I鈥檓 just now getting my life together, and if I鈥檓 being honest, like the last thing on my mind was college,鈥� Garza said. 鈥淚鈥檓 like taking a leap of faith just thinking that I can do this by myself, you know, and be what she needs me to be. I didn鈥檛 think that I was going to be capable of much more than that.鈥�

But staff at the Literacy Council pushed her to stick with it. During a process when many falter and stop going to class because life gets in the way, support from 100 Families helped Garza keep going.

鈥淭hey really pushed me,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey just listen to you about how you got where you are, and they try and remind you that, you know, some things just don鈥檛 play in your favor. You know, life is hard for everyone 鈥� everyone makes mistakes, everyone messes up 鈥� but that doesn鈥檛 mean that you don鈥檛 have any potential 鈥� and that doesn鈥檛 mean that you can鈥檛 turn your life around.鈥�

Generational changes

Karen Phillips is with the Arkansas group that manages the software social services organizations are using in Texarkana to communicate more effectively. According to her data, 25% of clients who came into 100 Families over the last year throughout Arkansas 鈥� and in the Texas half of Texarkana 鈥� did not have a GED or high school diploma. Now, almost half of that group either have their diploma or are working toward it.

Phillips says clients who stick with 100 Families longer have better educational outcomes 鈥� partly because education takes time to attain.

鈥淔amilies do usually stay in the initiative for about eight months, and it takes much longer than that to get a GED or a high school diploma typically,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o the fact that we do have the increases that we have are really good.鈥�

Another thing to consider is that every student has different goals. And measuring success with adult education is complicated because literacy means much more than just improving reading skills.

Beth Carlton, who has been tutoring at the Literacy Council for several years, says her teaching includes workforce training like job interview prep and how to write a resume.

鈥淢ost jobs now are applied for online, so some people don鈥檛 have internet access at home,鈥� she said. 鈥淢any people are experiencing homelessness. They鈥檒l come in and use our computers, but they need help with that job search, so we鈥檒l help them with that.鈥�

The Literacy Council also has volunteer financial advisers to help people learn how to build their credit score and save money. Volunteers helped several hundred families complete their tax returns this spring.

So how do you take all of these different types of learning and achievements and condense it down into numbers? According to Rivas, you can鈥檛.

鈥淭he qualitative things, that鈥檚 what matters to us the most, because that鈥檚 where we鈥檙e seeing those generational changes,鈥� Rivas said.

Candy Lee has seen generational change happen under her own roof. Lee dropped out of high school after she had her first child. In 2022, as a mother of four, she decided she wanted to improve her circumstances and go back to school.

Lee met with a tutor at the Literacy Council and went on to get her associate degree from Texarkana College. She鈥檚 now at Texas A&M Texarkana and plans to go into the nursing program.

She鈥檚 also working as the general manager at the local Habitat for Humanity Restore 鈥� a job she got through a connection she made within the 100 Families network.

鈥淚t鈥檚 motivating to know that you can go from not knowing to knowing, and it pushes you to want to know more,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd the excitement about my life and where it鈥檚 heading is the biggest difference.鈥�

Now, the daughter Lee had when she was a teen is graduating high school and is off to LSU in the fall with plans to be a dental hygienist.

That right there is the point of all of it, according to Rivas.

The dashboard that facilitates this process ranks clients from a 1 to a 5 across 13 different areas including food, addiction recovery, housing and education. A 1 means a client is 鈥渋n crisis鈥� in that area, and a 5 means they are 鈥渢hriving.鈥�

鈥淲hat鈥檚 great about this is that 1 to 5 scale is in all 13 of those areas, but those definitions are becoming our community standard,鈥� Rivas said. 鈥淪o when somebody says this person is in crisis in education, regardless of where you work, you understand what that means.鈥�

A statewide solution

Texarkana is the only city in Texas that is using this dashboard model, but that won鈥檛 be true for much longer.

The City of Texarkana to fully adapt the model for wider use. As of late May, any community in Texas can get trained and start using the database for a small processing fee.

Fernandez says his team is currently trying to get information from the Texas Homeless Network into the dashboard. Fernandez hopes other state agencies along with towns and other nonprofits in Texas will join, too. But he鈥檚 not surprised Texarkana was the first place in Texas to make the leap.

That鈥檚 because Texarkana faces more barriers than the average community in trying to help people. Being in two states, Texarkana receives funding from both Texas and Arkansas to fund social programs. But there鈥檚 a catch.

鈥淓ven yesterday I was having a conversation with a shelter on the Arkansas side,鈥� Fernandez said. 鈥淭hey get rapid rehousing funds, but it can only house people on the Arkansas side.鈥�

The same can be true of Texas. And Fernandez says this extra layer of red tape 鈥� where which state ID you have determines which organization can help you out 鈥� makes collaboration through 100 Families even more vital.

Rivas says her message to people considering starting a 100 Families program in their community is simple.

鈥淲hat do you have to lose?鈥� she said. 鈥淚t can鈥檛 get any worse than it is right now by trying something that鈥檚 proven. It will change the way you do things internally, it will change your community as a whole over time, and it鈥檚 just, I mean, it鈥檚 the best thing. It really is.鈥�

That community change is reflected in the changes that happen in individual lives.

Just look at Logan Garza. She鈥檚 come a long way since she was released from the Women鈥檚 Center almost three years ago.

Now a mother of three, Garza is on track to finish her associate degree at Texarkana College in December. She wants to go on and study psychology and then get a master鈥檚 degree so she can be a counselor and help people who are going through what she鈥檚 gone through.

She鈥檚 even thought about getting a Ph.D., though she鈥檚 not sure she鈥檒l be able to swing it. But she says just having that dream shows she鈥檚 come a long way.

鈥淚 mean, I used to think that I was so incapable of making anything out of my life,鈥� Garza said. 鈥淚t used to make me so mad when people would tell me, you know, do baby steps, because I鈥檓 like, do you see how messed up my life is right now? Like, you think 鈥榖aby steps鈥� is going to fix this? Now that I鈥檝e done it, I鈥檓 like, gosh, why didn鈥檛 I just listen? Like, this is amazing.鈥�

While she completes her associate degree, Garza has been working at the Literacy Council tutoring people in GED math. Her favorite part of her job is seeing people finally understand a concept they鈥檝e been struggling with.

鈥淣ot only does it give me a sense of achievement, but it shows them like, hey, I can actually do this, like this isn鈥檛 just an impossible task for me,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so many different kinds of ways to teach math. And that鈥檚 probably one of the hardest parts, too, is figuring out which way is going to work for what person. But yeah, seeing that light bulb click is just my favorite part.鈥�

Texas Standard wants to hear from you

Texas Standard is exploring adult education as part of a series of stories. Adult ed can include GED classes, ESL classes, workforce training, or really anything that helps people be more successful in life.

Do you have an experience with adult education that you would like to share with us? Has adult ed impacted you or a loved one?

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While the state鈥檚 89th Legislature is in session, The Texas Newsroom will be helping you get to know the people behind the politics. This story is a part of an ongoing series profiling Texas鈥� lawmakers in their own words.

Sen. Adam Hinojosa鈥檚 win in November was part of one of the state鈥檚 biggest stories out of the 2024 election. He鈥檚 a Republican from the Rio Grande Valley, which had long a Democratic stronghold.

But last year, many districts there flipped from blue to red. In fact, Hinojosa is the first Republican to represent Texas Senate District 27 since the Reconstruction era.

Hinojosa, 48, is the youngest of five and was born in Brownsville.

鈥淲e moved out of the Rio Grande Valley when I was still a baby,鈥� Hinojosa said. 鈥淢y dad was working as a private investigator at the time, so he moved out of there into Houston. So we lived in Houston until I was 8 years old, and then we moved to Austin for a couple of years.鈥�

Two years later, when Hinojosa was 10, they moved to Corpus Christi. There, his father started getting involved with local politics. He鈥檇 write letters to candidates, inviting them to sit down with the entire family.

鈥淚t said, hey, we鈥檙e a family of seven,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not a PAC, we鈥檙e not anything like that, but 鈥� we鈥檙e inviting you to come meet us and just give us your position on why you鈥檙e running and what your motivation is, what you intend to do.鈥�

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Over time, his father got more involved in politics and eventually started a successful political consulting firm based in South Texas.

But politics isn鈥檛 the only thing that runs in the family. Hinojosa also inherited an inclination for music.

鈥淢y dad was a trumpet player 鈥� great trumpet player until he had to have some surgery to remove part of one of his lungs. So that stopped his music career,鈥� Hinojosa told The Texas Newsroom. 鈥淢y grandfather was a recording artist in Mexico. And so my mom鈥檚 side of the family is very, very musical. My mom鈥檚 a phenomenal singer.鈥�

Hinojosa himself can play the piano, saxophone and bass guitar. In his 20s, he got recruited to play bass in a cover band in Corpus Christi. Royce Albrecht started out as his bandmate. Some 20 years of friendship later, Albrecht is now Hinojosa鈥檚 chief of staff.

鈥淲e just actually, over the past couple weekends, brought our guitars to say we still need a little time to play some music,鈥� Hinojosa said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always a very comforting thing 鈥� stress relief.鈥�

But back to politics: Despite being around it from such an early age, going into politics wasn鈥檛 the obvious choice. Hinojosa thought he鈥檇 be a cardiologist in college and took music classes on the side.

He later pivoted. In 1999, he graduated from the Del Mar Regional Police Academy and passed his state certification test for law enforcement.

Hinojosa said he was 鈥渞eady to get commissioned by anybody. And I got some offers, but decided to go into business with my family instead.鈥�

His family owned several businesses at that time on top of his father鈥檚 consulting firm, including a retail jewelry store. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and his father passed away, leading to the closure of both businesses.

鈥淲e were looking to diversify a little bit. And because COVID impacted the hospitality industry so, so hard, a lot of businesses were looking to just get out,鈥� Hinojosa said. 鈥淲e had an opportunity to pretty inexpensively get into restaurants.鈥�

The family now runs several restaurants in Corpus Christi.

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Speaking of the pandemic 鈥� right before it started, Hinojosa married his wife, Victoria. They met when she was working as a bank teller. And he says he married 鈥渦p.鈥�

鈥淪he had access to my bank account, could see that there was no money in there, and that I was not very well-to-do,鈥� he said with a laugh. 鈥淎nd so that鈥檚 how I knew it was real love.鈥�

She brought along three children, and they recently had another together. In just five years, he went from no kids to four.

鈥淭hat was a bit of a transition,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut, I had a good upbringing, so [I was] harnessing the lessons that my father taught me 鈥� but then also trying to learn and do better than where I felt he maybe could have done things a little differently.鈥�

Hinojosa isn鈥檛 up for reelection until 2028. But thinking ahead, he said he is up for anything.

鈥淎s long as I feel I鈥檓 being productive and able to produce results, then I feel like that鈥檚 God鈥檚 sign that I should stay here,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd if not, I鈥檝e got a beautiful family I can go back to and businesses I can go back to.鈥�

Most of all, Hinojosa said he feels honored he gets this opportunity to represent his constituents.

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It鈥檚 easy to take the internet for granted. With high-speed broadband available at home and elsewhere, many of us stay constantly connected at work or school, when we shop, and even when we need health care.

But Texans who live in remote parts of the state often aren鈥檛 able to count on reliable internet. Huge chunks of federal and state money allocated in the past few years are supposed to help, but it hasn鈥檛 always worked out that way.

In Monahans, Texas, residents did something about it.

Monahans is a town of 8,000 or so, located in the heart of the oil patch. It鈥檚 sometimes called 鈥渢he Center of the Permian Basin.鈥�

Though it鈥檚 connected to the world by two major highways, the town feels remote, even isolated. And until very recently, it was really hard to get a reliable internet connection in town.

Teresa Burnett is executive director of the Monahans Chamber of Commerce. She says that securing fast, reliable broadband for Monahans isn鈥檛 just about streaming TV shows or making FaceTime calls 鈥� it鈥檚 about the economy.

鈥淲ell, we actually had very limited broadband in Monahans. We did have some providers here, but as far as providing a dependable fast-speed internet system, they did not,鈥� she said.

She realized that internet limitations was hurting Monahans.

鈥淪o we started realizing that we were losing a lot of businesses and quality-type businesses come into our area because we did not have sufficient internet to service them and all of their technology needs.鈥�

By 2020, Burnett decided something had to be done to get the town hooked up.

But it wasn鈥檛 as if internet companies were lining up to serve Monahans. Running high-speed lines the long distances required would be expensive, and the customer base needed to pay back those investments wasn鈥檛 large. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 often so hard to get broadband to rural places. Too much cost, for too little return.

Besides the money, the COVID-19 pandemic created an unexpected problem.

鈥淲e were doing it right in the middle when the pandemic hit,鈥� Burnett said.

The pandemic quickly became both a barrier and a catalyst, showing that the need for fast internet to connect homes and businesses was even greater than before, while also scrambling the usual ways and means of getting things done in the Permian Basin.

鈥淲e had to come up with some money during that time when oil was below zero a barrel,鈥� Burnett said.

But an unexpected opportunity came when Congress passed the in March of 2020, providing grants for businesses, individuals and communities.

Burnett says Monahans applied for and received a grant, which she believes was among the first broadband-related CARES projects to be approved. Other communities had used these grants for roadway or water projects.

To get the CARES money, Monahans needed to raise a 20% match. With a $300,000 grant from the Permian Basin Area Foundation, they thought they were set, raising the rest of what they needed in just three weeks.

But when the Monahans team checked in with federal officials about the grant they had been promised, they learned the funding amount had been cut 鈥� not once, but twice. In the end, the CARES Act money amounted to just $1 million of the $3.2 million they needed to design and build a fiber optic network.

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Burnett and company got on the phone with their other funders. Carroll Faulkner, who consulted with Monahans on the technical side of the project, says the community sought and received support from several sources.

鈥淭he initial raise on the project was gathered from several sources 鈥� some government, some business 鈥� and quite a bit, believe it or not, from philanthropic organizations. People like the Murray Hall Foundation out of Midland-Odessa, the King Foundation鈥� Still Water Foundation out of Austin,鈥� Faulkner said.

Altogether, the team cobbled together $3.2 million for Phase 1. They planned to provide broadband connections for 2,000 homes, businesses, schools and government facilities.

To round out their funding needs, Monahans got the venture capital firm View Capital鈥檚 American Fiber Infrastructure Fund to invest in their project. Stability and reliability were key goals, Faulkner says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an underground, fiber-optic network鈥� We wanted reliability because every time 鈥� in the oil patch, in particular, along I-20 鈥� when lines get cut, Monahans just goes without.鈥�

Broadband access lines travel two directions from Monahans, giving the network redundancy. In town, the cables that connect broadband customers are fiber optic, too, running underground 鈥� protected from the area鈥檚 high winds.

The final piece of the Phase 1 puzzle fell into place when internet service provider Hosted America agreed to offer broadband service to Monahans residents, using the network on a non-exclusive basis. That means other providers will be able to offer services, too.

Phase 1 went live a little more than a year ago.

Around town, residents have embraced a broadband offering they feel they can count on. Chis Powell is pastor of the First Baptist Church in Monahans. He streams church services for parishioners who can鈥檛 attend on Sundays.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really been a game changer as far as enabling us to accomplish a lot more ministry than we could before,鈥� Powell said.

Powell鈥檚 family benefits from the reliability of the new service at home, including his wife, who鈥檚 a nurse practitioner.

鈥淚鈥檝e got three kids鈥� Before the new broadband came in, we were paying for two different companies so that we could have enough to cover the needs of the five people here in the house. And since Hosted American came in we were able to drop, and just have the one service,鈥� he said.

At the Monahans campus of Odessa College, high school students train for nursing careers. Odessa College鈥檚 Debbie Chaney says broadband has made it far easier for students to take tests online without delays or constant computer freezes.

鈥淭he testing is what is holding up and is phenomenal. It really is because they鈥檙e all testing at one time and no lags, no nothing,鈥� Chaney said.

Burnett, who鈥檚 focused on keeping Monahans鈥� economy humming along, says broadband reliability is especially crucial if you鈥檙e running a business.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e a convenience store or you鈥檙e a restaurant鈥� and it鈥檚 during lunch time and people are trying to pay with their cards, then you have to count on them to come back and pay, Burnett said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e a motel, then people can check in and check out when they need to. But if your service is down, you can鈥檛 do that.鈥�

Just as Phase 1 of Monahans鈥� broadband project was picking up steam, planners turned their attention to Phase 2. And at that point, another potential source of funds, this one aimed squarely at what Monahans had in mind for broadband, came onto the horizon.

In 2021, the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dedicated $42.5 billion for broadband projects in underserved areas, just like Monahans. Of the total, Texas was granted $3.3 billion 鈥� the largest award to any state.

The money could support infrastructure, deployment, mapping and adoption of broadband plans. The program is called , which stands for Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment.

To the huge pot of federal money available, the state of Texas was able to add in its own billions. Voters approved $1.5 billion in broadband funding in 2023.

The initiative also set up the state鈥檚 first broadband office to administer the voter-approved funds, as well as money coming to Texas from BEAD. The state program became known as Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas, or .

With federal BEAD funds on the horizon, and the state鈥檚 BOOT program just getting off the ground, things looked promising for Monahans鈥� broadband ambitions.

The town submitted a $5 million grant request to fund Phase 2 of their plan long before Phase 1 was up and running. But Carroll Faulkner says that the way eligibility was determined was a problem for the Monahans project.

鈥淯nder the current guidelines that have been adopted by the Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO), Ward County is not eligible for a single penny of state or federal funds because the state has determined, based on their criteria, that Ward County is 100% covered by reliable, high-speed broadband鈥� And it鈥檚 a big sticking point, and a slap in the face to West Texas right now,鈥� Faulkner said.

The problem, according to Faulkner, is the set of federal maps which the state began using after the first round of BOOT grants were made to determine eligibility for funds. He says those maps are especially wrong when it comes to existing coverage in rural West Texas counties.

Challenging the maps is difficult.

鈥淵ou have to do it one address at a time. You have to provide significant evidence,鈥� Faulkner said. 鈥淪o in the case of Ward County, where a fixed wireless company鈥� said that they have everything covered 100%, you actually have to go to鈥� the individual subscriber address. And they have to run tests on their network.鈥�

Monahans did challenge what the BEAD maps said about broadband access in Ward County. But they lost out.

The first and second rounds of BOOT funding left the West Texas town high and dry. Faulkner says the bureaucratic challenge process is to blame, but he鈥檚 also frustrated with the state broadband office 鈥� the BDO.

鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely frustrating, and the BDO takes no responsibility for assisting in that effort, other than to hold the challenge process,鈥� he said.

Despite the lack of new state or federal money for Monahans, Faulkner says the town is moving forward with Phase 2 of the broadband plan, building on what Phase 1 has already brought to town.

鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely going ahead鈥� We鈥檙e in the process of getting subscribers now that helped pay for that system,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then you use that cash flow that you got from that system then to expand your system.鈥�

The community has also raised money that will help get Phase 2 started this fall, with the goal of completion by the end of 2026.

Faulkner says there鈥檚 a very human reason that broadband in Monahans has gotten as far as it has. He praised Burnett during a joint interview.

鈥淲ell, Teresa is the mainstay in fighting this through for the community, and she鈥檚 been so dogmatic about it,鈥� Faulkner says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 just made sure that this thing continues to work.鈥�

Burnett responded: 鈥淗e means that I鈥檝e been a pain in everybody鈥檚 butt, is what he means. Well, I鈥檓 passionate about it. If I start something, I want to finish. It. We鈥檙e still persevering, and one way or another, we鈥檙e gonna make this happen.鈥�

It was bootstrapping rather than BOOT or much of the federal funding programs that brought broadband to Monahans. And it may be the model communities with similar service maps will need to follow.

In the meantime, other rural parts of Texas are taking advantage of grant money. The state reports more than $620 million has been awarded through BOOT in 21 counties for projects that should be online by the end of next year.

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When I sat down to chat with Molly Hale, she had spent part of her morning pushing pieces of string through a small wooden loom.

鈥淚 am working on a tapestry, weaving out of different types of threads,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t just comes randomly what I want. I got three done over there and I also add charms to them.鈥�

Hale is an artist who produces work at SAGE Studio & Gallery, an organization in East Austin that supports and shows the work of creators with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

鈥淢y mom is my big advocate,鈥� said Hale. 鈥淪he got me into all the fiber art stuff. She taught me when I was 13 years old and I am actually 41, so I鈥檝e been doing it ever since.鈥�

Like many studios, SAGE is not just a location where people produce art. It鈥檚 a place where creatives find community.

Hale is not originally from Texas and, according to her, the transition to living in the Lone Star State was difficult.

鈥淚t took a long time to cope,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut I suffered enough, and I鈥檓 mostly thinking on the bright side of things than on the wrong side of things. I found a couple of good friends here actually in SAGE.鈥�

First founded in 2017, SAGE is not a day program where people with disabilities simply make friends and learn social skills. It is a studio and gallery space that is looking to make a name for itself and the artists it represents.

鈥淭o date, we鈥檝e paid over $200,000 in commissions to our artists,鈥� said director of external relations and cofounder Lucy Gross. 鈥淲e have artists that earn upwards of $30,000 a year from their art sales.鈥�

Artists at SAGE work with a wide range of materials like paint, pastels, colored pencils and fibers. When an artist sells an original work, they keep half of the final sale price. The other half goes to SAGE.

鈥淲e鈥檙e constantly looking for new opportunities for our artists,鈥� said Gross.

Since its inception, SAGE has done collaborations with companies like Vans, Whataburger and Austin FC. One of its goals is to help artists with disabilities break into and build careers in the mainstream art world.

鈥淢y hope is that we can sort of evolve to where we鈥檙e just showing art,鈥� said Gross. 鈥淲hether that art is made by artists with or without disabilities, that鈥檚 kind of moot.鈥�

The burgeoning progressives

SAGE Studio & Gallery is a self-styled progressive studio. These are organizations dedicated explicitly to cultivating and promoting the work of artists with intellectual disabilities.

Progressive studios have been around since at least the late 1970s. Any attempt to come up with an exact count of how many there are is an exercise in futility.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really challenging to pinpoint a specific number,鈥� said Cl茅a Massiani.

Massiani is an independent curator and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland. She is currently working on a dissertation about the history and role of progressive studios.

鈥淚 have counted over 80 studios across the country at the moment,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure by the end of my dissertation, I鈥檓 going to get to at least 90.鈥�

By Massiani鈥檚 count, California, New York and Illinois are the states with the most progressive studios. Texas has at least seven.

Part of what makes creating a definitive list impossible is that 鈥減rogressive studio鈥� is still not a widely understood term in the art world.

鈥淭here is a clear lack of scholarship, so a lot of people are not even aware that they are in existence,鈥� explained Massiani.

One of the leading efforts at raising awareness of progressive studios is , a project that has tracked, written about and highlighted the contributions of artists with disabilities since 2014.

鈥淭here is more connectivity among studios than when we started,鈥� said cofounder Andreana Donahue. 鈥淎 lot of us know each other.鈥�

This relatively small movement is still establishing itself, but there have been some recent breakthroughs in visibility.

In December of 2024, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City featured the work of , a painter who works out of the progressive studio NIAD Art Center in Richmond, California.

In conjunction with Mullen鈥檚 exhibition, MoMA added the term 鈥減rogressive art studio鈥� to its list of art terms on the museum鈥檚 website, a move that advocates view as helping legitimize their cause.

鈥淚鈥檝e been working in this field for over 10 years, so I鈥檝e been able to witness the continued convergence with the mainstream contemporary art world,鈥� said Donahue.

The pipe cleaner artist

first started making art out of pipe cleaners in third grade, when he had a teacher who incorporated them into a math lesson.

After the class was done, Beverly asked for permission to play with some of the leftover pipe cleaners.

鈥淚 made a Sonic figurine. It wasn鈥檛 the best-looking thing, but I loved it,鈥� Beverly reminisced. 鈥淪adly, the next day when I went to grab it, a janitor threw it away.鈥�

Beverley attends SAGE Studio & Gallery four times a week, and when he first started coming, he spent most of his time making figurines of anime, cartoon and video game characters.

鈥淚 like making silly things and stuff like that,鈥� he said. 鈥淏asically I kind of have like a kiddish brain.鈥�

Beverly has worked with pipe cleaners for more than a decade, and in recent years, the scope of his work has expanded. Since joining SAGE, his work has been displayed at more than a dozen exhibitions.

His favorite was a solo exhibition hosted at SAGE called 鈥淕o To Your Room.鈥�

鈥淏asically my solo show was a teenage room in the 鈥�90s and 鈥�80s,鈥� said Beverly. 鈥淚 made Rock 鈥楨m Sock 鈥楨m, Hungry Hungry Hippos. I made old classic snacks like the Lunchables Deluxe.鈥�

At the time I interviewed Beverly, he and other studio artists at SAGE were preparing for an upcoming show called , a three-day event hosted at the Loren Hotel in downtown Austin.

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For the exhibition, SAGE will display work alongside 10 other galleries and have an entire hotel room that it鈥檚 repurposing with art for a concept that Beverly explained to me.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a honeymoon for a rancher and his city girl wife,鈥� he said.

For the show, Beverly has made pipe cleaner roses, an engagement ring, cowboy boots, a champagne bottle and many other items that might be found in a recently married couple鈥檚 honeymoon suite.

One of the centerpieces of SAGE鈥檚 new exhibition is a three-foot, pipe cleaner recreation of Gustav Klimt鈥檚 The Kiss that Beverly has spent a month making.

鈥淭he frame is made out of sparkly pipe cleaners,鈥� explained Beverly. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e very very shiny, but the cons are they鈥檙e like glitter, so they鈥檙e a mess to clean up and they stick all over you.鈥�

Beverly鈥檚 reinterpretation of The Kiss is breathtaking.

It glistens and has flowers, and he stitched thousands of pipe cleaners together to make it possible. But the process of creating it wasn鈥檛 exactly fun for him.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like doing homework at school,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of boring to make.鈥�

This is not the first time Beverly has reimagined a famous piece of art. He鈥檚 also made pipe cleaner versions of The Birth of Venus, American Gothic and The Last Supper.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a headache to make these,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 worth it in the end.鈥�

Recreating the classics is not artistically fulfilling to Beverly, but these pieces are visually striking, widely recognizable and, because they sell, they make his career as an artist more sustainable.

鈥淚鈥檒l keep making artwork until my fingers give out,鈥� he said.

Artists at SAGE Studio will have around 40 pieces on display at the Friends Fair, and everything is for sale. Pieces start at $50 and go up from there.

The most expensive item will be Beverly鈥檚 recreation of The Kiss.

The asking price is $3,000 because having a disability doesn鈥檛 preclude anybody from ambition.

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In 1939, Irish author James Joyce published Finnegans Wake, a piece of literature that defies comprehension.

鈥渞iverrun, past Eve and Adam鈥檚,鈥� it begins, 鈥渇rom swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.鈥�

The book starts and ends with a sentence fragment, combines multiple languages and has no clear or linear plot.

It鈥檚 a work that鈥檚 so dense, one group that started in Austin has been working on it for more than a decade.

鈥淲e鈥檙e only reading one page at a time,鈥� said Peter Quadrino, founder and organizer of the

Every other week, Quadrino hosts a Zoom call where people from around the world gather and attempt to understand one of the most infamous books in English literature.

The group spends the first 15 minutes of each meeting socializing. Then they all go around in a circle, and each person reads two lines until they鈥檙e done with that week鈥檚 page.

After that, they spend about an hour and a half researching, annotating and trying to make sense of Joyce鈥檚 experimental prose.

鈥淲e used to read two pages per meeting,鈥� said Quadrino. 鈥淭hen at a certain point there was just so much going on in the pages and so much in the discussion that we had to lower it to one page per meeting.鈥�

Finnegans Wake is confusing 鈥� and, to many, totally incomprehensible 鈥� but the book鈥檚 complexity has made it a point of fascination for literary enthusiasts in the eight decades since it was first published.

Houston, New York, Boston, Seattle, Dublin, Kyiv and many other cities around the world host groups dedicated to reading and analyzing Finnegans Wake.

鈥淚鈥檝e spoken at Joyce conferences in I think six different countries now,鈥� said Quadrino, 鈥渁nd just being in this world, I鈥檝e made so many friends.鈥�

The Finnegans Wake Reading Group of Austin, TX is moving through its book at a glacial place 鈥� and that鈥檚 the point. Their focus is the journey, not the destination.

鈥淚 never really consider what it鈥檚 going to be like when we finish because I don鈥檛 want it to end,鈥� explained Quadrino, 鈥渁nd if we do finish, we鈥檒l just circle right back to the beginning and keep reading.鈥�

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While the state鈥檚 89th Legislature is in session, The Texas Newsroom will be helping you get to know the people behind the politics. This story is a part of an ongoing series profiling Texas鈥� lawmakers in their own words.

A Texan her whole life, Rep. Lauren Simmons grew up in Houston鈥檚 Third Ward.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I spent most of my life,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淚 attended schools in the neighborhood. So, I always tell people I鈥檓 a very, very proud Jack Yates lion.鈥�

She鈥檚 talking about Jack Yates High School, named after an African-American minister and community leader who was born enslaved in Virginia. He lived in Houston for the last three decades of his life.

Simmons says the majority of her family on her mother鈥檚 side are 鈥渧ery proud alums from that high school, and my son is actually a senior there now.鈥�

While she was at Yates High, she participated in several extracurricular activities, including marching band.

鈥淚 played the piccolo and the flute, which I enjoyed so much,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淚 taught myself how to so I could be in the band.鈥�

Simmons also played soccer 鈥� she says she wasn鈥檛 quite an Olympic athlete but she was one of the top in her area, making the second team all-district one season.

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Outside of school she worked at Target, where she met her future husband.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very, very silly story. He has a twin brother,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淗is twin brother worked the day shift, and he worked overnight. I met his twin brother first. He said something that kind of offended me and then just walked away.鈥�

At the time she didn鈥檛 realize the boy who鈥檇 upset her had a twin.

鈥淲hen I saw the twin at night, I went up to him and I kind of chewed him out, and he said, 鈥榞irl, I don鈥檛 even know who you are,鈥欌�� Simmons said.

Eventually the two properly introduced themselves and began dating. Fast-forward to senior year: Simmons had chosen to go to the University of Texas at Austin. At first she thought they鈥檇 just break up. But he decided to move to Austin with her and find a job in town.

That was when her life took a huge transition.

鈥淢y freshman year of college, I got pregnant with my son, who鈥檚 17 now,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淚 had to grow up really fast.鈥�

During that time she continued to go to college.

鈥淚 would bring him to class. I would pump at night so I could have milk in the daytime,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淲e were not able to really afford daycare, so we had to be very intentional about our schedule. He worked overnight; I went to class during the day. It was really rough.鈥�

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After graduation, she and her husband moved back to Houston, where she found a job working as a resident service director.

鈥淚 really, really enjoyed it. One, because I love interacting and engaging with people, but I would run into families that reminded me a lot of the situation I was in when I had my son,鈥� Simmons said.

During that time Simmons welcomed her second child, her daughter, who鈥檚 now 10.

Simmons credits working in social services 鈥� and her job with the Texas State Employees Union as a union organizer 鈥� for opening her eyes to government. After learning more, she decided to speak out about what she was seeing.

鈥淚 went to a community meeting about the takeover that was happening in our school district, and I had a video that went viral just by accident,鈥� Simmons said.

In that 2023 video, she criticizes the state for replacing Houston ISD鈥檚 superintendent and elected board of trustees with a new superintendent and board appointed by the Texas education commissioner. One post of that viral video has nearly 9 million views. While what she said that day didn鈥檛 change the outcome for Houston ISD, it did change the trajectory of her life.

鈥淭hat took us on a whole different journey because we were getting interviewed all the time and we just went from being like these little, just a random kind of family that nobody knows or cares about to like every time my kid would get on like social media, he would see like an interview that he had done or that video would pop up,鈥� Simmons said.

Now, she鈥檚 in the Texas House and says she鈥檚 making her kids proud.

鈥淚 remember my daughter, she was talking to her cousin, and she was like, 鈥榶ou know, my mom is like a boss,鈥欌�� Simmons said. 鈥溾�楽he has staff, she has like an office and her name, it鈥檚 like outside on the wall.鈥欌��

When Simmons isn鈥檛 at the Capitol, she鈥檚 spending time with her family back in Houston鈥檚 Third Ward. Her son is graduating from Jack Yates High this year and headed to his mom鈥檚 alma mater, UT Austin, something she says she didn鈥檛 force on him.

鈥淚 want him to be happy, so I was really hands-off in the process but you know I don鈥檛 necessarily hate the idea that my big baby will be in Austin,鈥� Simmons said.

So, if she wins her reelection, the pair could cross paths during Texas鈥� next legislative session in 2027.

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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, a Texan, in front of the White House last week about a dangerous pest on its way back to the United States.

鈥淭he New World Screwworm, the NWS for short, is a scourge that is making its way from Latin America up through Mexico,鈥� Rollins said. 鈥淎nd if it hits America, it is going to be absolutely devastating to our cattle industry at the top of the list, frankly to a lot of our industries.鈥�

The New World Screwworm 鈥� actually a fly 鈥� was a huge problem for U.S. livestock and wildlife until it , and pushed south all the way to Colombia.

Recently however, the screwworm鈥檚 steadily made its way north, back toward the United States. The U.S. needed Mexico鈥檚 help to control the screwworm, and .

For years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has strategically dropped sterilized screwworms from airplanes to prevent their spread. Rollins said that authorities in Mexico held this up with bureaucratic delays and taxes on equipment.

鈥淭he sterile flies on the planes that we鈥檙e trying to land, that is what will push that New World Screwworm back into the south of Mexico and into southern Latin America,鈥� Rollins said. 鈥淲e were having all sorts of trouble landing those planes. They wouldn鈥檛 let us land them.鈥�

So Rollins wrote a letter to Julio Berdegu茅 Sacrist谩n, Mexico鈥檚 agriculture and rural development secretary, saying that if these delays continued, the U.S. would stop accepting imports of Mexican cattle.

The impasse between the two countries . But a bigger problem remains: pushing screwworms back south again before they reach the United States.

Controlling the screwworms

Generations of American ranchers fought screwworms.

鈥淚n the past when we did have screwworms, and we鈥檙e going back to the 1960s, 鈥�70s, I remember reading about cases in the Dakotas,鈥� said Max Scott, a professor of entomology at North Carolina State University.

Their screw-shaped larvae burrow into the sensitive spots of mammals, causing disease, infection and death.

鈥淭his is a critter that we don鈥檛 want back in the U.S.,鈥� said David Anderson, a livestock professor and extension economist with Texas A&M University. 鈥淚f you have livestock, you鈥檙e going to be out there all the time checking your animals for any wound. 鈥� I think would be a pretty devastating thing if we were to get it back.鈥�

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A Texas entomologist named was one of the researchers who made a major breakthrough in screwworm control, called the sterile insect technique.

Since female screwworms mate only once, Knipling realized he could collapse their population by releasing sterilized male screwworms. Labs in Kerrville and Mission sterilized billions of screwworms over the second half of the 20^th century with nuclear radiation.

Over the decades, wave after wave of sterilized screwworms pushed the insects all the way to Panama鈥檚 border with Colombia. The barrier is maintained by a joint venture between Panama and the United States called , which conducts air-drops of sterile insects and on-the-ground inspections. It鈥檚 saved an untold number of animals鈥� lives, as well as billions of dollars.

鈥淭he screwworm sterile release program had been very effective for you know, 20 years 鈥� longer, maybe,鈥� Scott said.

A renewed threat

In 2022, however, the flies broke through COPEG鈥檚 barrier and started to spread north. No one knows exactly why this happened, but the illegal movement of people and cattle, as well as regulators being stretched thin by the pandemic, likely contributed.

鈥淭he fly started to spread northward through Panama, up into Costa Rica and Central America and then, the first detection November of 2024 in Mexico,鈥� said Jenny Lester Moffitt, who was in charge of the screwworm program at the time as USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. Moffitt was a Biden administration appointee and left the agency in January.

When USDA got word that screwworms had reached Mexico in November, they , like Rollins threatened to do last week. During that time, the agency installed inspection equipment in southern Mexico and started dropping sterile insects in the country. To keep them from reaching the U.S., Moffitt also realized that they would need more flies.

鈥淪tarting in November when we had the first detection in Mexico, realizing that we were going to need to have more flies to release, and we needed to really not just rely on the one production facility that we have in Panama,鈥� she said.

The facility in Panama can produce 100 million sterile flies per week.

鈥淭he 100 million flies out of that Panamanian facility are not enough flies to push it back down to Colombia probably in my lifetime. It鈥檚 going to take an increased amount of flies,鈥� said Wayne Cockrell, a rancher from College Station who chairs the cattle health committee for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

In early April, Cockrell went to Panama with a group of other Texans to see where the flies are made. He was impressed by its size, its staff, and its continuous operation.

鈥淚t was absolutely much larger than I anticipated,鈥� Cockrell said. 鈥淭hey have their own water treatment facility, their own sewer treatment facility, backup power. They鈥檙e operating 24 hours a day 鈥� they can鈥檛 have a breakdown and say 鈥極h hey, they鈥檝e ordered the part; it鈥檚 going to be here in a week.鈥欌��

Push for a US sterilized insect plant

If the plant in Panama shuts down for any length of time, Texas ranchers鈥� best tool to fight screwworms goes away. That鈥檚 why Cockrell is one of many in the cattle business pushing to get a sterilized insect plant built on this side of the border, as soon as possible.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to put as much pressure as we can on USDA to give us a plan and give us some figures. And that鈥檚 not just cattle, that鈥檚 all across livestock. I mean this affects the grain farmer in Kansas or Nebraska just as much, because with a reduction in cattle numbers, that鈥檚 a reduction in demand for grain,鈥� Cockrell said.

He and other members of the cattle raisers association met with Rollins in a private meeting at the Texas A&M Beef Center last week to discuss the issue. stressed the need for a new screwworm plant.

鈥淭his is not going away. You鈥檙e never going to eradicate New World Screwworm. You鈥檙e going to push it back. You鈥檙e going to put a Band-Aid on it,鈥� Polk said. 鈥淏ut Texas, the United States of America, need a facility, and need a facility quick. You鈥檙e talking about 24 to 36 months.鈥�

Polk said that Rollins was receptive to the idea of a new sterile fly facility. He has identified sites in South Texas that might be suitable.

A sterile insect plant can鈥檛 just go anywhere. It uses nuclear radiation to sterilize screwworms, which would complicate any review process. It also needs lots of water, a few hundred staffers, and a wide berth from any neighbors who might be offended by its odor (which is 鈥渢he smell of death,鈥� according to Cockrell).

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican whose district includes much of Texas鈥� border with Mexico, in March urging the USDA to look into building a sterilized fly facility in the southwest.

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Texas Parks and Wildlife is getting another 671 acres in far West Texas thanks to a donation from the Nature Conservancy in Texas.

Heath Canyon Ranch, located just outside Big Bend National Park, . And while it鈥檚 a small addition to the Black Gap鈥檚 103,000 acres, it contains what the Nature Conservancy calls a strategic inholding and river access point.

The conservancy bought the land and is donating it to the parks department with the coordination of Big Bend and some donors.

James King, with ranch real estate firm King Land & Water, helped coordinate the sale and joined the Standard to share the details.

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

Texas Standard: Could you start by telling me what鈥檚 so special about this 671 acres? 

James King: Well, the location of it is probably one of the most strategic river access points in the whole Big Bend region. There鈥檚 a paved road, there鈥檚 Farm to Market 2827, and that鈥檚 the road that goes to Stillwell Store and goes to the headquarters of Black Gap.

But it goes all the way to the Rio Grande, and there was a historic bridge there called La Linda Bridge. And so that area, you could easily get into and off of the Rio Grande. And so it has served as a strategic location for the utilization of the wild and scenic river there on the Rio Grande.

And although it鈥檚 a small piece of land, it鈥檚 kind of, I would say, probably one of the most important small tracks there for the public to enjoy the Rio Grande River.

禄 MORE: 

I was going to say, I鈥檓 looking at a map and trying to figure out how this sort of interacts with other areas here. Paint a picture for those who can鈥檛 see this: The Black Gap Wild Management Area borders Big Bend National Park. So how will this acreage kind of interact with those already established areas? 

Well, there鈥檚 been a lot of effort in conservation and public use in this area of Texas. There鈥檚 over a million acres of public lands in this part of Texas. Texas is 96% private lands. But in this neck of the woods, it鈥檚 a playground for the rest of the state.

One of the key things about this property is downstream from here, Black Gap has, I think, probably 25 shelters. They鈥檙e little places you can drive, get a permit, go camp out on the river. And so, literally, you can put a canoe in here and canoe down and get access to these river shelters.

Another piece of the puzzle here: It鈥檚 the takeout point for Boquillas Canyon. Boquillas is a legal crossing on the Rio Grande, and many outfitters put in there for a two-night overnight trip. And they take out at La Linda Bridge, which is Heath Canyon. So not only is it an important place for Big Bend National Park, but it鈥檚 also important for Black Gap WMA.

Well, people might be hearing you and planning their trips right now, because that sounds lovely. Do we have a timeline, though, when this will be open and available for folks to use? 

It鈥檚 open. It鈥檚 been open for a long, long time. And so the family that owns this is the Andy Curry family. So Andy has always provided for that access.

Andy passed away. Their family decided to sell. And so this maintains the permanent public access for the river.

So right now, there are many outfitters. They鈥檙e in Terlingua, they鈥檙e in Marathon, they鈥檙e in different places. And you can get an outfitter or you can put your own canoe and negotiate a shuttle and enjoy this part of the river.

禄 MORE: 

Well, I鈥檝e got to say, your firm works a lot on this type of project. What does it take sometimes to get land back to the public? 

Well, so in this circumstance, this property came on the market. We learned about it the day after it went on the market, and our family put it under contract immediately.

We knew how strategic it was, and we were competing against another party that wanted to more commercialize the area. And literally, we assigned our contract to the Nature Conservancy.

So, what it takes is direct action. We knew how important it was. We did it for free. We didn鈥檛 make any money. We forgo any commission. We did it because it needed to happen.

And, of course, the Nature Conservancy and Texas Parks and Wildlife are longtime partners with King Land & Water, and I actually worked at the Nature Conservancy for 20 years. So those organizations, as well as many others, work real hard to conserve the unique places in Texas.

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