A USA Ninja Challenge gym has opened in Leander, offering children in Williamson County the opportunity to draw on gymnastics, cross-training and climbing skills.

A closer look: Opened in early May, the facility aims to make a positive impact on children in the community, co-owner Anand Panchal said. USA Ninja Challenge offers structured ninja-style fitness classes for children ages 2.5 to 17, organized into six progressive levels that build strength, coordination, and confidence through age-appropriate drills and obstacle challenges.

Each session blends obstacle training with conditioning and flexibility work, creating a full-body fitness program designed to help young athletes grow at their own pace and celebrate each milestone along the way, according to the company's website.

What else? In addition to weekly classes, the program includes day camps where kids can safely test their skills on equipment like cargo nets, balance obstacles, ropes, and warped walls while working alongside peers.
Beyond hour-long classes, the gym also hosts parties on Saturdays and will host week-long summer camps

Ever since Stacey Gomez began teaching piano after the birth of her first child, she hasn’t stopped.

Twenty-five years later, the owner and operator of Liberty Hill School of Music employs a dozen instructors to teach roughly 200 students a variety of instruments, including piano, voice, guitar, flute and more.

The setup: The school has five practice rooms equipped with soundboards created by Gomez after she moved the business into the brick-and-mortar location.

“Growth has been the biggest highlight for me so far to watch these kids grow in their musical journey,” Gomez said.

Other projects: Beyond teaching children how to make music, the business also partners with Lone Star Dance Co.

What started as a small mommy and me dance program geared towards toddlers, taught in a single room at the Liberty Hill School of Music, has now spun out into an independent dance company. The dance company closed out its May 2025 semester at the school of music before moving into a new site along Hwy. 29.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed June 3 that a case of the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly, was detected on a cattle ranch in South Texas.

The overview: The case marks the first domestic detection of screwworm in a decade and the first Texas case in approximately 50 years. The flesh-eating parasite is a threat to the state’s $15.5 billion cattle industry.

Zooming in: No additional infestations have been identified, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told reporters. Federal and state officials have emphasized that they do not anticipate issues with the food supply chain, as the screwworm only targets live animals and does not infest meat, fruit or vegetables.

However, experts have warned that a larger, prolonged screwworm outbreak could cause a spike in beef prices.

A widespread infestation is estimated to cost Texas at least $1.8 billion per year in damages, according to a USDA analysis of a 1976 screwworm outbreak. Texas cattle, sheep and goat producers would face about $732 million in annual losses.