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Students at the University of North Texas Frisco campus have the opportunity to work with industry partners while in an undergraduate program.

About the program: Housed at the UNT at Frisco campus, the Project Design and Analysis Degree is a three-year program in which students are tasked with doing a semester-long project each academic term, said Kevin Sanders, director of co-curricular student services for project based learning. Students work directly with local industry partners by completing various projects for the organizations throughout the program. 

Quote of note: “[Frisco is a] hub for student and industry intersection,” Sanders said.

Unofficial election results are in for six bond propositions presented by the town of Prosper, totaling $192.3 million.

What you need to know: The $192.3 million Prosper bond referendum includes:

• Proposition A would direct $92.8 million for street and road project improvements
• Proposition B would direct $29 million for police headquarters improvements, including expanding the police headquarters to have a second floor and adding new parking and other upgrades
• Proposition C would direct $34.2 million for a new public library facility
• Proposition D would direct $24 million for parks and recreation facilities improvements
• Proposition E would direct $10 million for a new public works and parks service center
• Proposition F would direct $2.3 million for downtown improvements, including renovating the historic downtown silos, adding an entryway arch and updating accessibility

Unofficial voting results from Collin County show voters maintaining support for the creation of an emergency service district in select parts of the county.

The context: If approved, the created district would have an associated property tax that would be used to fund fire protection and ambulance services to residents within the district’s boundaries. The district’s boundaries would include the extraterritorial jurisdiction of multiple cities, including McKinney, Prosper, Celina, Melissa, Princeton and more.

As of press time, all 17 constitutional amendments on the Texas ballot were poised to become law. The state propositions with the most support would either expand property tax exemptions or prohibit new taxes, while voters also favored measures aimed at funding infrastructure and research.

The overview: Some of the state propositions on the ballot included:

• Proposition 1: new funding to support the Texas State Technical College System
• Proposition 3: tighter restrictions on when Texas judges can grant bail for felony offenses
• Proposition 4: $20 billion for water supply projects and infrastructure
• Proposition 9: a $125,000 property tax exemption for businesses
• Propositions 11 and 13: expanded property tax exemptions for Texas homeowners
• Proposition 14: $3 billion to create a state dementia research institute

Millions of Texans may see delays in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits beginning Nov. 1, as the federal government shutdown reaches the one-month mark.

The latest: The federal food assistance program is set to run out of funding in November, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Two federal judges ruled Oct. 31 that the Trump Administration must use federal contingency funds, which are stockpiled for emergency expenses, to fund SNAP in November, although the next steps surrounding SNAP benefits were unclear as of press time.

The local impact: Over 3.5 million Texans receive SNAP benefits each month, according to Feeding Texas, the statewide network of food banks.

“People are at risk of going hungry if the government doesn't reopen and SNAP benefits are delayed. … These are already vulnerable Texans,” Feeding Texas CEO Celia Cole said in an Oct. 27 interview.

Food banks across the state Texas food banks previously expanded their operations to meet increased demand as thousands of federal workers go without paychecks during the shutdown.