The Denton ISD board of trustees heard reports on how to increase student retention and possible legislative priorities for the next session during its Aug. 25 meeting.

What’s happening? The school district is looking into ways to increase student retention and identify why students are leaving after new numbers showed a decline in enrollment, Assistant Superintendent Lacey Rainey said during the meeting.

Official numbers from the Texas Education Agency's website shows that 33,101 students were enrolled for the 2025-26 school year. This is a slight decrease from the 33,306 students enrolled in DISD schools for the 2024-25 school year and goes against growth projections originally stated by the district.

Also on the agenda: The board also heard a report from General Counsel Deron Robinson about what its legislative priorities are. The top priority listed was stopping wasteful state mandates and bureaucracy and to advocate for state funding to accompany new state mandates.

The Pony held a grand opening at the end of August and celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Denton Chamber of Commerce.

The details: The family-owned and operated space will now be open during standard hours as of Aug. 28. Jessica Madsen co-owns the business with her husband Owen Madsen, her son Dorian Marsh and with Marsh’s fiancee, Bella Tylen.

“This has been a passion project for us to launch,” Owen Madsen said. “We sat and thought about what we wanted to do for the next 20 years, and we knew that would be here in Denton. I couldn’t be more proud of my family.”

The backstory: Owen Madsen said Marsh and Tylen were their muses and inspired them to follow their creative side, leave the corporate world behind and become small business owners.

The Madsens are behind the cocktail bar and Italian-inspired restaurant, while Marsh serves as the business’s director of entertainment and marketing. Tylen, a ceramicist, runs the small-scale pottery studio on site.

• 314 E. Hickory St., Ste. 121, Denton

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Since late May, all autonomous vehicle companies have been required to receive authorization from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to operate on Texas roads. During an Aug. 25 hearing, state senators heard the first testimony on autonomous vehicle safety since the new regulations took effect.

The overview: To date, the DMV has received 42 complaints about driverless vehicles, officials said.

No complaints have led the agency to suspend or revoke an autonomous vehicle operator's authorization. That occurs "when the operation has resulted in or is likely to result in serious bodily injury," according to Corrie Thompson, who leads the DMV’s enforcement division.

Zooming in: Lawmakers said they wanted to ensure driverless vehicles were not rolling out too quickly, adding that they hoped the vehicles would help address Texas' high rate of fatal crashes.

Lt. William White, who leads the Austin Police Department’s highway enforcement division, said first responders have seen consistent issues with AVs, including when a Waymo blocked an ambulance for about 28 seconds following the deadly March 1 Sixth Street shooting.