Voices on the Line: Inside the Final Push for Travis County Votes

byLucas Armbruster

Inside the Travis County Democratic Party headquarters on Banister Lane, a constant hum of overlapping voices fills the room. Volunteers sit at folding tables, holding their phones and watching their laptop screens automatically cycle through numbers using Scale to Win, a cloud-based predictive phone dialing system.

“This is really an important time, and I’m really hoping for some change,” said George Vance McGee, a Travis County Democratic Party volunteer who returned to phone banking this election cycle after decades away from the headsets.

In the days before the Nov. 3 election, this high-volume dialer setup at Banister Lane represented the traditional, centralized approach of campaign field strategy. The Travis County Republican Party ran a different operation, highlighting two contrasting voter-mobilization strategies in Central Texas.

For phone banking volunteers, the challenge isn’t just navigating technical difficulties, but also weathering the emotional consequences of cold outreach. Out of every 10 calls dialed, only two or three result in an actual pick-up. The rest vanish into voicemails, disconnected numbers, or incorrect records.

Austin Keeps Day of the Dead Alive

bySaile Aranda

Burning candles and bright orange marigolds decorate San Jose Cemetery II as guests walk through the smoke of copal incense on the Day of the Dead, a Mexican tradition celebrated annually on Nov. 1 and 2 for more than 3,000 years.
Joaquin Rodriguez, founder of San Jose Montopolis Cemetery Association, said he thinks these traditions have been happening for so long because it’s a way of having a common language within the community.
Rodriguez, who was adopted, said he always felt connected to Mexican culture although it was never practiced in his home. As an adult, he sought out connections to his birth family and ancestors, which helped him find his heritage. 

Dachshund Owners Celebrate Their Four-Legged Friends at Texas WienerFest

byAlly Bonsall

More than 2,000 dachshunds filled the grounds of Sherwood Forest Faire on Halloween for the fourth annual Texas WienerFest.  
Halloween morning stirred with the pitter-patter of thousands of paws. Adorned in costumes, the tiny dogs traipsed through the morning dew at Sherwood Forest Faire, their low-rider stomachs mere inches from the grass, with their excited owners in tow.
“It’s kind of like this weird little wiener community,” dachshund owner Nicole Brooks said. 

Iconic Texas Food Brands Stay Out of Politics. Midterm Candidates Are Using Them Anyway.

byAdele Doat

A frenzied crowd of supporters met Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico as he emerged from the Whataburger on Guadalupe Street after an October campaign rally at the University of Texas at Austin. Whataburger is not the only emblematic Texas food brand Talarico has featured on his Instagram profile in the final stretch of the 2026 midterm election campaign. Last week, he also stopped by a H-E-B grocery store, a Mr. Taco restaurant and a Buc-ee’s. In contrast, Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, meanwhile, has centered his social media presence on rallies featuring an abundance of American and Texas flags.

Austin Man Dies Climbing Matterhorn

byBayliss Flynn

A 20-year-old Austin man known for his mountain climbing videos died this week after a rockfall on the Matterhorn, his family and authorities said Thursday.
Kieran Liner, who moved to Austin in 2020, was climbing Tuesday with his roommate Eli Hawkins at an altitude of about 11,500 feet when the rockfall occurred, his sister, Precenia Newman, told Reporting Texas.
Valais Cantonal Police said one of the climbers on the Hörnli Ridge route up the Matterhorn, a peak in the Alps between Switzerland and Italy, lost sight of his companion due to rockfalls and immediately called authorities about 6 a.m. Tuesday. Formal identification of the deceased was underway, police said.
Newman said Liner’s family was notified of his death by the U.S. consulate in Switzerland.
“You don’t cage a beautiful bird.” Newman said. “We weren’t going to stop him no matter what. If he had something in mind, he was going to do it.”

Austin’s Own ‘Field of Dreams’ Celebrates Community Over Competitiveness on the Sandlot

byJackson Bauer

The crack of a wood bat is drowned out by chatter, laughter and live music at a small field 12 miles east of Austin where baseball is secondary to community.
“For me, it’s about creating an inclusive environment and something that feels really homegrown or authentic,” said Matt Orr, 39, who manages events at the Long Time, a baseball-themed event space.
Over the weekend, as the Brewers and Rays began the major-league World Series, the Long Time hosted its own Fall Classic. Seventeen teams from as far as San Francisco and Minneapolis played in the “Sandlot World Series,” a three-day event of baseball, good vibes and fun.

Guadalupe Street Says Goodbye to an 800-Pound Dinosaur and 45 Years of Wheatsville Co-Op

byAdele Doat

Halloween cobwebs cover empty shelves at the Wheatsville Co-op on Guadalupe Street, sending a message of quiet surrender to financial struggle for a store that has long held a special place in the community. “It seeps magic,” General Manager Tanya Carney said.
Sunday was the grocery store’s final day on Guadalupe. Founded in 1976 by a group of UT students, the co-op moved to Guadalupe Street in 1981, Carney said. From now on, Wheatsville will focus its efforts on its South Lamar Boulevard location, she said.  
Declining revenue and feared disruption of the Project Connect Orange Rail Line prompted the store’s closure.

NBA Fans in Austin Hope Spurs-Rockets Game Leads to Something Bigger   

byGraham Neal

    A rowdy Austin crowd packed the Moody Center on Friday to watch an in-state NBA rivalry, offering yet another sign of the city’s enthusiasm for professional sports. The reigning Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets squared off in each team’s second game of the season, with the Rockets earning a […]

‘Enough Is Enough’: Austinites Demand Change After Cornell Sexual Assault

byGabrielle Caumon and Ella Grady

  Sexual assault survivor Samantha McCoy led protesters at Austin City Hall on Thursday in the wake of the Jane Doe case at Cornell University — but insisted that her organizing efforts weren’t just for her. “We march for those who could not be here,” said McCoy, who organized Thursday’s protest at Austin City Hall. […]

Singer Sara Bareilles Tells UT Students: Give Grief the Space to be Heard

byAlly Bonsall

Following crises like the death of loved ones, IVF struggles and political turmoil, singer Sara Bareilles said she has learned that grief does not need to be fixed; it needs to be witnessed.
The Grammy Award-winning singer, actress and composer shared her ideas surrounding grief with students from the University of Texas School of Social Work at the Cactus Cafe on Tuesday. 
“The experience of grief is so universal,” Bareilles said. “People are tethered to this network that we don’t talk about. We don’t realize it’s a deep point of connection always.” 

Political Influencer Piker Challenges UT Free Speech Policy and Security Protocols

byVikram Sundaram

Twitch streamer and left-wing pundit Hasan Piker called the University of Texas hypocritical in its policing of left-wing speech in his remarks to UT students Wednesday at the William C Powers Jr. Auditorium, his first major public appearance on a southern college campus.

Para Pacientes y Médicos Nacidos en el Extranjero, el Miedo a las Políticas Migratorias Se Convierte en una Barrera para Acceder a la Atención Médica

Versión en inglés En una clínica dental rodeada de tiendas y restaurantes latinos en Round Rock, la Dra. María Teresa Rodríguez empezó a notar algo diferente entre sus pacientes.  La dentista dominicana, mejor conocida por sus pacientes como Tere, ha vivido en Tejas por más de una década y, durante los últimos ocho años, ha […]

Reporting Texas TV – April 16, 2026

Journalism students at the University of Texas at Austin produced their Fifth newscast for the Spring 2026 semester. Our mission is to empower students with hands-on journalism experience while providing our audience with insightful coverage of campus events, local news, and issues that matter most. By fostering a collaborative environment, we cultivate the next generation […]

For Foreign-Born Patients and Doctors, Immigration Fears Become a Barrier for Care

byErika Gonzalez and Noemi Castanon

After more than a decade of running a dental clinic in Round Rock, Dr. Maria Teresa Rodriguez began noticing something different among her patients. More patients are arriving with advanced infections after avoiding clinics for weeks. Others are trying to pull their own teeth at home. Families terrified of filling out basic medical forms because they fear it could affect their immigration status.
“People are coming in extremely scared,” Rodriguez said. “And when people are afraid, they stop doing things they never should stop doing.”
Doctors, community clinics and public policy experts say the United States’ increasingly restrictive immigration climate and recent federal changes in public health insurance programs are affecting both immigrant patients and foreign-born physicians working here.

Another Baseless Conspiracy Theory: The Artemis II Mission Was Faked.

bySamantha Rubin and Oisakhose Aghomo

    As NASA prepares for more missions like Artemis ll, public interest in space has spiked again.  But alongside the excitement is an uptick in skepticism doubting NASA’s achievements in online conversations. “Anything that has that level of attention… makes itself ripe for conspiracies,” said Asheley Landrum, an Arizona State University journalism and mass […]

Science Fare: How Teachers Are Using the Artemis II Mission to Build STEM Excitement

byMax Mazoch

While Artemis II will be remembered for its accomplishments beyond our planet’s atmosphere, one of the most important breakthroughs happened back on Earth. Artemis II — whose crew travelled a record breaking 250,000 miles away from Earth —  captured the minds of millions across the globe, inspiring curiosity in people of all ages. In a […]

As Commercial Space Industry Soars, Experts Worry Regulation Is Sliding Backward

byOISAKHOSE AGHOMO

It’s the 21st century space boom, and the private sector has the stars in its sights. Yet experts caution that the Trump administration’s fondness for deregulation and institutional shakeup puts the commercial space industry on route to an unsustainable future. 

As Austinites Mourn South Congress’ Lost Identity, Businesses Prove ‘There’s Life Beyond It’

byRachel N. Madison

From its origins as a connective Central Texas strip to bustling retail hub to the site of countless indie films, South Congress Avenue has long been one of Austin’s iconic spots. But the street’s fame is taking a toll. Around a dozen of the street’s legacy businesses have relocated or closed their doors entirely over […]

Weather Models, Poised for a Technological Boost, Face a Stormy Funding Outlook

byAJ Muonagolu

With new technology like artificial intelligence and larger pools of historical and current data, weather models and forecasting are continuing to improve. However, with recent budget cuts and gaps in funding from the Trump administration, experts worry whether forecasting could decline.

From UT to the Moon: How Judd Frieling Launched the Journey of a Lifetime

byRachel N. Madison

Years before Judd Frieling was a NASA flight director for the Artemis II mission, he was a University of Texas aerospace engineering student with plans to go into the Navy. The Navy rejected Austin-born, Pflugerville-raised Frieling, however, because of his “droopy eyelids.”
“They told me, ‘You can’t fly planes,’ ” Frieling said. 
So, he shifted his sights — to spacecraft.