A new drone factory will begin operations in Denton following Denton City Council’s approval of about $870,000 in economic incentives at an April 21 meeting. Drone manufacturing company KrateoSky plans to build a drone manufacturing and development plant in Denton this year.

Ellen McCarthy, the company’s senior vice president of global government affairs, said the company expects to earn at least 60% of its revenue through federal contracts via military applications.

The measure passed 4-3 with council members Brian Beck, Brandon McGee and Mayor Pro Tem Suzi Rumohr voting against the incentives.

The overview: KrateoSky will lease a roughly 168,000-square-foot building at 3411 Mingo Road to build a manufacturing, testing and research plant for aerial drones.

McCarthy said the facility will employ about 260 people. City documents show the salaries for those jobs will average at about $79,000 annually.

Looking ahead: McCarthy said the plant could begin operations by late fall 2026, and the company plans to move forward with the Denton facility.

Kody West will perform at Bill Utter Ford's 70th anniversary celebration May 8.

The details: West is a Denton native who is currently on tour throughout Texas. The anniversary event is free, open to the community and will include a concert from West and food, desserts and drinks from local Denton businesses, marketing director Bailee Utter Kuehne said.

The dealership is working in partnership with Union Bear Brewing Co. for beer and beverages, May’s Eats for catering and Candy Haven & Cakes for a celebratory cake, Kuehne said.

Community members are invited to come and go during the party, which will be from 7-9 p.m.

The backstory: The dealership was founded in 1956 by Bill Utter and is the longest family-owned and operated dealership in North Texas, according to its website. 

• 4901 S. I-35E, Denton

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Some Texas families began learning April 22 if they were accepted to the state’s education savings account program for the 2026-27 school year, officials said.

The big picture: Over 42,600 students will receive funding notices through April 24, the state comptroller’s office announced April 22. The first awardees include low- and middle-income students with disabilities and their eligible siblings.

Families accepted to the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program will receive state funds to send their children to private school or homeschool them.

The details: The first round of awardees is set to receive about $400 million of the $1 billion allocated for the program. Up to 100,000 students are expected to qualify for the program's first year.

The comptroller's office will run a lottery the week of April 27 to determine which low-income students will be accepted based on a prioritization system.

Stay tuned: Families that do not qualify for funding will also be notified through April 24. Additional students will receive funding awards in the coming weeks, a program spokesperson said.