Gold Sponsors

Austin is well known for its estimated 1 million bats but Round Rock also has a large population living under a bridge on I-35 that city staff consider a “hidden gem.”

In early spring, bats that flew south for the winter will return to roost underneath the highway’s box-beam bridge of the McNeil intersection. The colony is about a third of the size of Austin’s South Congress Bridge colony, the largest urban bat colony in the world, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

The big picture: Bats have a strong presence in Central Texas, proving a challenge to both local road crews and the Texas Department of Transportation. However, a future project to widen I-35 in Round Rock could see an increase to available habitat.

As the wintry nights of February warm to springtime in March, area residents may be familiar with the sight of small, fast and chirping nocturnal mammals flying around town at sunset during the spring and summer.

An update to plans for a community made of multiple housing types is under consideration in Round Rock.

What you need to know: The Round Rock Planning & Zoning Commission approved a request to amend a Planned Unit Development zoning for a 110.54 acre property located near the southwest intersection of Kenney Fort Boulevard and East Palm Valley Boulevard in a March 4 meeting. 

The details: Included in the proposed amendment is a shift from a mixed-use development with a "Main Street" focus, to one with a trail-oriented design. The property includes a portion of Brushy Creek at its southern border, and the proposal would relocate a portion of the regional trail along the creek farther from its banks, to connect with commercial, residential and private outdoor recreational opportunities, the amendment states.

Why now? The change is recommended by city staff, and comes at the request of The Drenner Group, representing the developer, Milhaus.

Check out six upcoming, ongoing or completed transportation projects across the Austin metro.

Upcoming projects

Old Fitzhugh Road
Project: The city of Dripping Springs is aiming to beautify Old Fitzhugh Road while improving traffic flow, pedestrian access and connectivity. 
Update: Per city officials, Old Fitzhugh Road will be restricted to one-way operations throughout construction. Driveway closures and reconstruction of private driveways will be coordinated with property owners before construction.

• Timeline: spring 2026-spring 2028
• Cost: $4.7 million
• Funding source: city of Dripping Springs, Hays County Parks and Open Space Grant, TxDOT

Dozens of Texans shared their feedback Feb. 25 on the current phase of a lengthy revision of the state’s social studies curriculum standards. Parents, educators and students urged the State Board of Education to slow the revision process down and give those drafting the new curriculum more time to work.

The overview: The state is currently overhauling the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for social studies, which are the standards dictating what public school students should learn at each grade level. The board is expected to adopt the new standards this summer before they are rolled out to classrooms in 2030.

“We have one opportunity to get this right for an entire generation of students,” said Meghan Dougherty, an Austin-area social studies specialist involved in the revision process.

Zooming in: Several educators involved in drafting the new curriculum plan said current proposals included "too much content" with a heavy emphasis on Texas history, while some appointed content advisers and SBOE members argued schools should teach lessons focused on "American exceptionalism [and] Texan exceptionalism."

Texas held its primary elections on March 3, with Republican and Democratic voters selecting their parties’ nominees for scores of federal, state and local seats. Yet for some candidates, a major hurdle still remains before the November election.

The overview: Dozens of primary races are headed to May runoffs after no candidate picked up more than half of the vote, triggering an overtime round between the two highest-performing candidates.

The details:  Texas’ runoff election is set for May 26, the day after Memorial Day. Early voting runs from May 18-22, per the secretary of state.

State law requires primary candidates to receive more than 50% of the vote to advance to a general election, meaning a candidate must earn a majority of the vote—not just the highest number of votes—to win their primary outright. This rule means crowded races in Texas primaries and special elections frequently result in runoffs.

In those races, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff.

Keep reading to learn about voting in the runoffs and who's on the ballot.