ATX-LTW: Impact 9/11/2025

A new brewery featuring indoor entertainment opened just off Hwy. 71 in September.

The overview: Highway 71 Brewing Co. is owned by two couples, Kevin and Staci Caputo as well as Les and Shannon Butler. 

The details: The brewery offers a variety of craft beers, handcrafted mocktails and nitro cold brew coffee. Entertainment inside the brewery includes pickleball and golf simulators. Reservations can be made for pickleball courts and golf simulators, according to the business’ website. 

The Lower Colorado River Authority, which manages the Highland Lakes system in Central Texas, announced it would begin lowering Inks Lake for a period of eight weeks starting Oct. 1. 

In a nutshell: The LCRA announced Sept. 9 that the lake would be lowered to provide property owners an opportunity to work on docks and boat slips, as well as to remove debris from the lake and shoreline.

What residents should know: The lowering will cause Lake Travis, located downstream from Inks Lake, to rise by about 3.5 inches, according to a news release from the authority.

Austin-based private school Alpha School is aiming to expedite learning for more students using artificial intelligence at new academies opening across the country.

What happened: On Sept. 9, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Alpha School in Austin alongside Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath. Alpha School co-founder MacKenzie Price highlighted how the school is using AI to personalize and improve students’ education.

What they're saying: “It's the most exciting thing I've seen in education in a long time,” McMahon said about Alpha School. “I'm incredibly enthusiastic about this.”

How it works: Students complete their academic learning in two hours each day using an AI platform known as 2 Hour Learning. Price said the Alpha School model enables students to learn twice as fast as they would in a traditional school setting.

When Texas students returned to school in August, some substantial changes awaited them.

The overview:

• House Bill 2 increases state funding for public schools by $8.4 billion.
• House Bill 1481 prohibits students from using cellphones and other personal communication devices throughout the school day.
• Senate Bill 12 requires parental consent for students to receive "medical, psychiatric and psychological treatment" on campus.
• Senate Bill 13 gives parents and school boards more oversight of library materials.
• House Bill 6 gives teachers more discretion to remove repeatedly disruptive or violent students from class.
• Senate Bill 10 requires most schools to display donated posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
• Senate Bill 11 allows districts to set aside time for students and staff to pray or read religious texts at school.
• Senate Bill 965 codifies school employees' rights to "engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty."