Following several violent crimes in the San Marcos downtown square in 2025, the City Council approved a partnership with Texas State University to enhance public safety in the area at a Feb. 3 meeting.

The overview: The university will provide $150,000 in funding to the city, supporting a full-time staff of four San Marcos Police Department, or SMPD, officers in the downtown square during periods of high activity, according to a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, signed by the entities.

The University Police Department, or UPD, will assign officers in the area often frequented by Texas State students, specifically during Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, according to agenda documents.

Diving deeper: The university funding will be used to cover the necessary overtime pay for officers taking on the patrol duties of the SMPD officers assigned to the downtown square.

Officers assigned to the area will maintain a visible presence, work to reduce violent and disorderly conduct, and support safe conditions for university students and the broader community, according to the MOU.

Editor's note: This article is based on a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations filing. Community Impact will provide updates as we learn more.

The overview: Kyle residents will soon have a new liquor store option, eliminating the need to travel to San Marcos or south Austin for the destination.

Construction on Kyle’s first Spec’s Wines, Spirits and Foods began Jan. 15 on the north side of the city.

What’s offered: Spec’s Wines, Spirits and Foods offers customers a wide variety of drinks, foods and barware, including:

• Red wine
• White wine
• Champagne
• Sake
• Spirits
• Cocktails
• Beer
• Hard Seltzers
• Ciders
• Cheeses
• Jams
• Dips
• Chips

• 3933 Kyle Crossing, Kyle

Starting Feb. 16, the northbound I-35 frontage road at Riverside Drive will be closed through 2029 to accommodate construction of a pedestrian bridge across Lady Bird Lake. The project is part of the I-35 Capital Express Central Project's Lady Bird Lake segment. 

The update: According to Texas Department of Transportation officials, a Riverside Drive bypass lane is now open and a temporary south-to-north U-turn at Woodland Avenue will be opened in order to accommodate the closure. Northbound frontage road traffic across Lady Bird Lake bridge will be reduced to one lane, and the existing pedestrian path and north sidewalk on Riverside Drive will be closed. This traffic pattern is expected to remain in place through 2029. 

Some context: The I-35 Capital Express Central Project is a $4.5 billion project slated to bring two nontolled high-occupancy vehicle lanes between Hwy. 290 and Hwy. 71, remove upper decks along I-35, sink sections of the roadway by about 25 feet and widen the corridor with more lanes.