Denton officials renamed the Civic Center to the Quakertown Civic Center and the city's day labor site to the Popo Gonzalez Day Labor Site following unanimous approval from city council at a Feb. 3 meeting.

Some background: City documents show council member Vicki Byrd submitted a proposal to rename the civic center in February 2024 in honor of the former Quakertown residents.

The building sits on land that once held Quakertown, a Black community that was forcibly relocated by the local government in the 1920s to create a park and distance the community from College of Industrial Arts, now Texas Woman’s University.

City documents state nearly 70 homes and dozens of businesses were torn down or forcibly relocated.

What else? Council members also approved a name change for the day labor site located at 301 Fort Worth Drive. The site will be called the Popo González Day Labor Site, named after Emilio “Popo” González, a founding member of Denton’s first League of United Latin American Citizens.

A new Monster Mini Golf will be opening in Denton in the summer, the entertainment business announced on its website.

The details: The putt-putt venue will be the first in Denton and offers glow-in-the-dark mini golf courses populated with “monsters” that move and talk, according to the business’s website.

Along with the mini-golf course, other attractions include:

• Arcade games
• Laser tag
• Bowling
• Virtual reality experience
• Food from Stella’s Kitchen
• Party rooms

• 2223 Colorado Blvd., Denton

Amy’s Aquatics, which was previously a home-based business, will be moving into a permanent brick-and-mortar location, owner Amy Clayton said.

What they offer: The business provides swimming lessons for children starting at 18 months old, and also offers private and semi-private lessons, according to its website. The swim school will run year-round.

Some context: Clayton said she has more than 20 years of experience teaching swimming lessons, and that her instruction is very hands-on and personal. Amy’s Aquatics will be located in the former AquaKids Swim School building.

• 3409 Cross Timbers Road, Flower Mound

Stay updated on five road projects around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Collin County
1. Craig Road construction
Project: The project will construct a three-lane road from Preston Road to First Street.
Update: The project is in the design phase and expected to start construction later this summer.

• Timeline: summer 2026-winter 2027
• Cost: $5.09 million
• Funding source: town of Prosper

• Timeline: Work started the week of Feb. 2 and will take six weeks to complete.
• Cost: $182,995.5
• Funding source: city of Grapevine

In the upcoming March 3 primary elections, Texas voters will have the opportunity to nominate their chosen candidates for the November midterm election. From top state officials to county commissioners, primary elections shape who is ultimately elected to dozens of seats, driving the future direction of the Lone Star State.

Yet less than one-fifth of registered Texas voters participated in recent primary elections, data from the secretary of state’s office shows.

The big picture: March Matters, a group that works to get more Texans to the primary polls, found that 146 of Texas’ 150 state House races were effectively decided during the 2022 primaries, with just four competitive seats during that year’s midterm election.

Data also shows that primary voters tend to be older and represent the more extreme wings of their political parties.

What they're saying: "When primary voter turnout is so small, when only a fraction of voters are voting, your vote counts more,” said Mark Strama, who leads the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at the University of Texas.