Days before he turns 101, Don Graves was honored by the city of Fort Worth.

During the Fort Worth City Council meeting on April 28, a presentation was made to rename the Northpark YMCA after him, which was approved.

The details: Presented by District 4 council member Charlie Lauersdorf and District 10 council member Alan Blaylock, Graves listened as they honored him for his military service during World War II and his impact in the community.

Graves was in the Marine Corps and is one of the few remaining Iwo Jima survivors, according to the presentation. A special recognition was presented first for his birthday May 3.

“Well, I will tell you this, there are three things I will never forget,” Graves said. “First one, I love the Marine Corps. I love that flag and I love you people.”

Stay tuned: Graves, who has sung the National Anthem for many sporting events around Dallas-Fort Worth, will sing for the NASCAR Cup Series race May 3 at Texas Motor Speedway on his 101st birthday.

Amanda Smith has been helping the next set of chefs and restaurants prepare for the real world for the past 10 years at Keller ISD.

Smith is the culinary arts practicum teacher at Keller Center for Advanced Learning and uses her real-life experience as an executive chef, executive pastry chef and executive sous chef to teach students.

The details: The teaching lessons often come as the seniors in the program operate The Heat, a student-led restaurant that serves the public.

At the restaurant, the chef and sous chef work in tandem to get food prepared at various stations. All of the students, a mix from the high schools within KISD, have been part of the culinary program since their freshman year.

Looking ahead: The menu will change during the next school year with a new class of seniors running the kitchen. KCAL posts the menu on its Facebook page.

• 201 Bursey Road, Keller

Medical City Healthcare facilities in Dallas-Fort Worth will host nearly 30 blood drives May through July to help address seasonal shortages and prepare for the FIFA World Cup, according to an April 28 news release.

The details: In partnership with the American Red Cross North Texas Region and Carter BloodCare, Medical City Healthcare will hold drives at hospitals across the region.

Summer months typically bring a decline in blood donations due to vacations and school closures while trauma cases often increase around holidays and large events, according to the release. Officials said demand may rise further this year as North Texas prepares to host the World Cup from June 11-July 19.

“That support is especially critical this summer as we anticipate an influx of visitors and soccer fans and know blood supplies are often strained during the summer months,” said Linda Braddy, CEO of the American Red Cross North Texas Region.

A hospital in Denton is getting major renovations and a retail space in Plano will be converted into a Goodwill Store and Donation Center, according to state construction permits.

Check out five major permits filed around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Retail buildings in Prosper
Two new retail buildings are set to start construction in Prosper in early July. The project is listed as The Shops at Prosper Frontier, and the two buildings will total 32,000 square feet of retail space, according to documents filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

• Location: Southeast corner of Frontier Parkway and Preston Road, Prosper
• Estimated timeline: July 1-Dec. 31
• Estimated cost: $5.4 million

On May 26, Texas Republican voters will choose their nominee for the U.S. Senate in a runoff election between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The big picture: The Republican race for U.S. Senate is one of several statewide contests that advanced to May runoffs after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March 3 primary election.

Cornyn and Paxton were the two highest-performing candidates in the eight-way primary race, with Cornyn securing 42% of the vote to Paxton's 41%.

At the polls: Early voting in Texas' runoff elections runs from May 18-22, and runoff election day is May 26.

Looking ahead: The winner of the May 26 overtime round will face the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate—state Rep. James Talarico of Austin—in the November midterm election. Third-party and independent candidates may also appear on the November ballot, and the winner of that election will be sworn in to the U.S. Senate in January 2027.