At the beginning of 2025, the city of Kyle Police Department began considering implementing a “Drones as First Responders,” or DFR, program.

The Kyle City Council approved the purchase of two drones for the Police Department, partially funded through a Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority grant, or MVCPA, in October 2025.

The overview: The program utilizes remotely controlled drones to observe and report information during active crimes, pursuits or emergencies to first responders and law enforcement.

The drones provide a live feed to dispatchers, allowing them to communicate directly with first responders and provide direction and situational insight.

The Police Department prioritizes certain crimes and events in determining when to deploy the drones, Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett said.

In addition to the DFR program, the city of Kyle operates 38 Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras, or ALPRs, and 12 live feed cameras. Since their tentative implementation in March, the drones have seen success in their operations. DFRs can be utilized in tandem with ALPRs in the city, Barnett said.

GFiber, formerly known as Google Fiber, officially began serving its first customers in the city of Kyle. The high-speed internet provider celebrated its first offering in Hays County on July 30.

The gist: The company’s move into Kyle aligns the city with nearby municipalities, including Austin, that offer the internet service, according to previous Community Impact reporting. 

GFiber aims to deliver fast, affordable and open internet access to select U.S. cities through fiber-optic cables that provide gigabit-level connectivity, according to its mission statement.

The new internet offering will connect thousands of homes, businesses and neighborhoods throughout the city, said John-Michael Cortez, GFiber head of government and community affairs.

The background: GFiber first presented its plans to develop its infrastructure and provide service to the city during a June 2023 council meeting.

The council approved a nonexclusive public right-of-way license agreement with the company in September 2024.

In summer 2025, the provider began construction on infrastructure needed to provide the high-speed internet service in Kyle.

Check out six stories trending in the Austin area July 27-30. 

1. 8 new and coming soon businesses to west Georgetown

2. Urban Egg to open its first Austin location this fall

3. Hao Hao Vietnamese & Chinese Restaurant planned for Pflugerville

4. Two Tim Hortons locations coming to Leander’s Hero Way, Ronald Reagan

5. A Little Shady announces opening date of Kyle location

6. Road work projects around CedarView development to be completed before Scheels opening

This summer, Texas is launching a new process to study the viability of data centers and other large projects seeking to connect to the state’s power grid. The process’ strict requirements could deter major industrial projects from coming to the state, experts warn.

The overview: The Electric Reliability Commission of Texas’ new "batch study process" will require that large projects be evaluated in groups, rather than individually. The process was developed in response to Texas’ data center boom.

What they're saying: All projects that would use at least 75 megawatts of electricity will be required to participate in the batch process—including industrial and hydrogen production facilities. However, industrial and manufacturing projects operate differently from data centers and may not be able to meet some of the batch requirements, industry representatives said July 29.

In a state that works to attract major companies and bills itself as business-friendly, that’s a concern, lawmakers said.

"Where are y'all at on trying to differentiate those types of traditional, enterprise, big commercial, large load projects?" Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, asked.