The City of McKinney will provide live Christmas tree collection and composting Dec. 26-Jan. 19.

What you need to know: Residents must follow these guidelines to ensure their trees are eligible for collection and composting:

• Remove lights and ornaments.
• Do not bag the tree.
• Leave the tree next to a trash cart on pickup day.

Feeling frazzled around the holidays, or looking for wellness services as the new year approaches? Check out these five McKinney businesses that opened in 2025 and offer self care services. This list is not comprehensive.

1. Iyara Thai Massage and Wellness: The women-owned business offers a variety of massage therapy services, including couples massage, hot stone therapy, and Swedish and Thai massage. Other services offered include body scrub and aromatherapy.

• Opened in September
• 3090 Laura Lane, Ste. 100, McKinney

• Opened in August
• 2750 S. Central Expressway, Ste. 106, McKinney

Revisit Community Impact’s front-page stories that ran during 2025 in McKinney. Stories include coverage of the Parks and Recreation department, water infrastructure projects in the city and the West Grove mixed-use development.

1. Youth sports soar: McKinney officials, business owners adapt to meet rising demand for local youth sports
McKinney has seen an increase in nearly every youth sports program that uses athletic fields at city parks. City officials and owners of private facilities such as Areté Athletics are working to match growth of youth sports through renovation and expansion projects.

2. McKinney’s Hall Library to see new planetarium, other upgrades in “reimagining” project
Roy and Helen Hall Memorial Library closed in June for a $20 million renovation project that’s expected to add a planetarium, new gathering spaces and other upgrades by 2026. An updated layout is expected to improve access to materials at the library, and create youth-and-teen-specific spaces.

As the year comes to an end, some trending stories are taking a look back at features shared throughout the year highlighting North Texas restaurants.

Other developments highlighted include a planned gas station and a Texas Department of Transportation road project in McKinney.

See details from these stories and more in this list of the top six most-read stories from Community Impact's DFW coverage areas from Dec. 22-26.

TxDOT’s $1B investment to extend Spur 399 around McKinney, connect to US 380

Check out 9 McKinney eateries featured in 2025

New Texas state park to offer sneak peak with exclusive Jan. 1 guided hikes

Pizza, sushi and more: Check out 6 Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant updates

Check out 11 Frisco dining features from 2025

QuikTrip off US 380 to open in early 2027

Looking for something to do on New Year’s Eve? Check out these events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area happening Dec. 31.
This list is not comprehensive, and events are subject to change.

1. New Year’s Eve at Free Play Arcade in Richardson
Ring in the new year at the Free Play Arcade with arcade games, along with food and drinks.

• Dec. 31, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
• 1730 E. Belt Line Road, Richardson

• Dec. 31, 8 p.m.-2 a.m.
• 6765 Winning Drive, Ste. 810, Frisco

2026 is a big election year in Texas. Voters will see 18 statewide races, all congressional seats, most state legislative seats and a variety of local positions on the ballot.

The overview: The Republican and Democratic primary elections will be held March 3, and the midterm election is set for Nov. 3.

Texas holds primaries for all partisan elected positions, such as state officials; state and federal lawmakers; and county judges, commissioners and justices of the peace. Third-party candidates, including independents, Libertarian Party candidates and Green Party candidates, have separate election processes will not be listed on the primary ballots in March. Eligible candidates representing various parties will appear on the November ballot.

Looking back: All statewide offices on the ballot are currently held by Republicans, although some are not running for reelection. No Democrat or third-party candidate has won a statewide office in Texas since 1994, election records show.

Check out the full article for more details on election processes and an overview of state-level races.