The Bastrop Main Street Program received a 2026 Accredited Main Street America designation in recognition of the city's work to strengthen the program and its historic preservation efforts.

What they're saying: “Making accreditation this year is such a big deal because it shows that the city is prioritizing how much of an asset our Historic Downtown is,” said Michaela Joyce, Discover Bastrop director. “We’ve got so much growth going on around us, and preserving downtown is what keeps us unique.”

The details: Bastrop had maintained accredited status since 2007 before Main Street America restructured its accreditation process in 2024, adding stricter baseline requirements and tougher evaluations across six performance categories.

City officials said those efforts demonstrated Bastrop’s commitment to preserving its historic downtown and ultimately helped the city regain accreditation this year.

Bastrop ISD officials, staff and community members gathered May 28 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the district’s new police and operations facility in Bastrop.

The big picture: The $17.5 million facility, located in the 1100 block of Lovers Lane, is designed to serve as a centralized hub for district police and operations services.

District officials previously said the 55,000-square-foot building would support administrative and operational functions for the Bastrop ISD Police Department while also housing maintenance, custodial, groundskeeping, warehouse and print shop operations.

The details: Construction on the project was funded through the district’s $321.5 million bond package approved by voters in 2023.

The bond included approximately $17.73 million for police and safety enhancements, such as security camera installations across district campuses.

The Texas Science & Natural History Museum recently opened its latest paleontology exhibit to the public on Jan. 28. Museum attendees can now immerse themselves in how creatures lived by playing a video game, checking out interactive panels and learning where the featured Texas fossils were found across the state.

Dig deeper: Various interactive elements have been introduced to the Epic Encounters space, including the featured creatures touchscreen panels, which give attendees the opportunity to dig deeper into the lives of eight of the animals in the exhibit’s collection.

In addition to the panels, the museum has introduced a choose-your-own-adventure game where individuals can choose to play as one of the five creature options in two environments and see how they would do living out a day in that creature’s life.

• 2400 Trinity St., Austin

Austin officially surpassed 1 million residents for the first time in its history last year, making it the 12th-largest U.S. city.

The overview: The city's estimated 2025 population was 1,002,632 people, based on new census data. The addition of more than 4,000 residents from 2024 moved Austin past the 1 million mark.

Austin's expansion came during what the U.S. Census Bureau called a "widespread national slowdown" in population growth, and reported drop-offs in annual growth among large cities. Despite declining international migration, demographer Lila Valencia said Austin, Travis County and the wider metro area continue to maintain "steady growth" thanks to in-state and domestic migration.

Zooming out: While Austin remains one of the largest cities nationwide, it's still ranked fifth in Texas and isn't growing as rapidly as some smaller cities in the state.