During the June 11 College Station City Council meeting, the council voted unanimously to approve a partnership with Texas A&M for a new tourism initiative to attract visitors to the city.

What you need to know: The Destination Strategic Plan is Visit College Station’s initiative to partner with Texas A&M to create tourist attractions that are at a larger scope than athletic events held by the university.

Visit College Station also said a huge part of the plan is to set up Texas A&M as a premier location for academic conferences, along with creating a synergy between the university and the city.

Zooming in: Visit College Station has estimated the university and city has lost up to a potential $4 million in academic business because of a lack of conference hosting. Now, the bureau is looking to host up to eight annual conferences, which could generate up to 12,000 hotel room bookings.

The takeaway: The council voted to unanimously pass this initiative, which will be implemented in phases over the next three years.

Bryan City Council voted on June 9 to close a stretch of North Houston Avenue as construction continues in the area. The street will be closed to traffic through spring 2028.

The gist: The city said it is prioritizing the safety of construction workers and residents with this closing as a multistory office building and parking garage is being built.

The portion of North Houston Avenue, between East 26th Street and East William Joel Bryan Parkway, is the target for closure.

The impact: The closure is expected to end on May 1, 2028. Traffic will be redirected to different routes throughout the two-year period.

Feral Fitness celebrated its grand opening with the BCS Chamber of Commerce on June 9, marking the official launch of the new College Station gym.

Owner Chris Martinez welcomed guests and thanked community members, chamber ambassadors and the College Station Fire Department for their support.

What they offer

• 24/7 access for members

• Personal training services

• Family membership plans

• New equipment

Before you go: Feral Fitness has been open since early March and is located next to TJ Maxx.

• Now open

• 1140 Harvey Road, College Station

Texas must protect residential consumers from paying for the infrastructure needed to power new data centers, Gov. Greg Abbott said in a June 10 order aimed at balancing the rapid growth of data centers with the needs of residents and communities.

The big picture: The governor directed state regulators to ensure data center companies do not pass infrastructure costs on to ratepayers, urging lawmakers to tighten regulations on data centers’ water use and repeal certain tax exemptions that benefit the industry.

Abbott’s order comes as Texas grapples with how to manage the data center boom amid climbing electric demand and looming water shortages. It is the first time the Republican governor has publicly called to restrict data center growth.

The context: As communities across Texas consider new data center projects, reporting shows that some residents are pushing back, raising concerns about the large facilities’ water usage, potential strain on the electric grid and impacts on local neighborhoods.

What they're saying: In response, state agencies called protecting consumers from rising electric costs "our top priority."

Need to catch up on news from the past week in the Bryan-College Station area? Check out these five stories.

1. Brazos County volunteer fire departments secure funding from Texas A&M Forest Service grants

2. Bryan City Council approves use of AI to monitor timed parking downtown

3. Brazos County approves $2.4M property purchase amid transparency, cost concerns

4. Bryan City Council approves $65M for capital improvements for FY 2026-27

5. Brazos County takes another step toward opening first medical examiner’s office