On Oct. 20, the Kyle City Council heard the results of an investigation into whether former mayor Travis Mitchell’s relationship with civil engineering firm American Structurepoint, or ASP, violated any laws or ethics codes.

What happened: ASP holds multiple contracts with the city of Kyle to design roundabouts and serve as a subcontractor for road projects. The investigation—conducted by PNT Law Firm—examined whether Mitchell, now an ASP employee, influenced the contract awards for personal gain.

The investigation found no violations of the Texas Local Government Code or the Texas Penal Code and found no indication that the contract awards were improperly influenced by Mitchell.

It was discovered that Mitchell did violate two City Charter and Ethics Code provisions regarding disclosure, according to agenda documents.

Diving deeper: The PNT Law Firm investigation found no evidence of long-term ethical violations by Mitchell, according to agenda documents. No witness could provide specific evidence regarding Mitchell's ethics with ASP beyond his current employment.

Texas State University launched its first satellite, PROVES-Maia, into space on Oct. 13. The satellite is owned and operated by the university and was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 as part of NASA’s CRS-35 mission to the International Space Station.

The overview: Texas State University’s Space Lab has spent years helping other universities prepare satellites for orbit, according to a news release. Students and researchers in the lab built and tested the satellite and will operate it once it has reached orbit.

The Maia satellite carries MOSAIC, a Texas State University-developed system that allows for the testing of different scientific instruments and spacecraft components, according to the release.

The next steps: Once the satellite has reached the International Space Station, it will remain there until it is sent into solo orbit around Earth, according to the release. The mission will then begin.

The satellite’s successful launch creates opportunities for future university research, including the testing of new technologies and the conducting of experiments in space.

In July, Texas' top elected officials directed most state agencies, appellate courts and public universities to cut spending by 3% in their base budget requests for the next two years.

The overview: Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows said those reductions will help Texas hold a "strong fiscal position" by expanding property tax relief and maintaining public education funding when the legislature returns to Austin next year.

The issue: Dozens of agency leaders have warned that the cuts, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, are not sustainable. They would cause Texas residents to lose "essential" services and lead to losses in state revenue, leaders said at the capitol and in budget documents.

Government institutions protesting the budget reductions include the comptroller's office, the attorney general, Texas' Cancer Prevention and Research Institute, state criminal justice agencies and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.