After their brother Nathan struggled with substance use for over 20 years, Rebecca Hermes and her sister founded Roots Renewal Ranch in Argyle in 2021 to help families with similar challenges. Hermes said Nathan had been to many different kinds of treatment centers and had a conversation with his family shortly before he passed away about what worked and what didn’t work.

“That conversation is the backbone to what Roots [Renewal Ranch] is,” Hermes said. “We just wanted to be able to help families so that they didn’t have to experience what we experienced.”

The details: Located at 831 Indian Trail, Argyle, Roots Renewal Ranch is a residential treatment center for girls ages 13 to 17 who are experiencing mental health challenges, including substance use, anxiety, depression and self harm. 

Roots Renewal Ranch utilizes a mixture of cognitive behavioral therapy, music therapy, art therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, somatic psychotherapy, and animal therapy.

Live event production company Alford Media opened at a new Flower Mound location on Dec. 1, marketing manager Brant Grzeskowiak said. The business was previously located on Freeport Parkway in Coppell.

The new space includes a 65,000-square-foot warehouse for storing event equipment like lights, LED panels and microphones, as well as roughly 14,000-square-feet of office space, Grzeskowiak said.

The company specializes in live corporate event production, including video, audio, lighting and project management, the company website states. Grzeskowiak said the company can also broadcast and stream the events.

• Opened on Dec. 1
• 1401 Lakeside Parkway, Flower Mound

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport to celebrate the first flight from the southeast Missouri town to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

Contour Airlines started flights to and from DFW Airport, out of Terminal D, on Dec. 1. The airline connects DFW to several smaller regional airports through the Essential Air Service program, according to a news release.

Zooming in: Frontier Airlines launched two international flights in December from DFW Airport.

Weekly flights to La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, Guatemala, started Dec. 20.

Two-times-a-week service from DFW Airport to El Salvador International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador, took off Dec. 21, according to previous reporting. 

A closer look: The Transportation Security Administration announced Dec. 1 that all passengers who do not present an acceptable form of ID and still want to fly will have the option to pay a $45 fee to use TSA ConfirmID.

This November, Texas voters approved 17 constitutional amendments, also known as state propositions. Here’s what’s next for some of those propositions and what they mean for Texans.

The overview: Texas voters authorized the state to spend $1 billion annually on water supply funding, totaling $20 billion over a two-decade period, through Proposition 4. Funding will flow into the Texas Water Fund, a state account created in 2023 to help finance water projects.

However, state law requires that the money does not begin moving into the water fund until September 2027, and it will not be available for grants until 2029. Until then, state agencies, water utilities and local organizations will need to plan for funding, adjust rules and processes to align with recent state laws and update Texas’ water and flood plans, according to the Texas Water Foundation.

More details: Texas homeowners were set to see expanded property tax breaks on their 2025 tax bills under Propositions 11 and 13. Four other property tax exemptions approved by voters will take effect Jan. 1.