A Crunch Fitness location is coming soon to the intersection of Hero Way and US 183 in Leander. Chief Brand Officer Brooke Chavez said the company anticipates opening the gym in the fall.

Zooming in: The 45,000-square-foot gym is being built from the ground up for a cost of $11 million, Chavez said. The Leander location will be the 12th in the greater Austin area. Chavez described the location as having "premium amenities" and "all the bells and whistles."

"We're all about having fun with fitness," Chavez said. "When you go to Crunch Fitness, it's a vibe. We have great music playing [and] high energy. It's not just a lot of really big, muscly people. It's just people who are part of the community that want to have more energy, get more strength [and] flexibility, [and] just get on their wellness journey."

The city of Leander is gearing up to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with 21st-century tech.

The Leander City Council approved a contract June 4 of $69,000 with Sky Elements LLC for a drone show, part of the city’s expanded plans for its annual Liberty Fest event held July 3.

The setup: The drone show is expected to include 300 synchronized drones and last approximately 10-12 minutes. Residents can expect imagery “celebrating American heritage and community spirit,” according to city documents.

While the drone show will begin at 9 p.m., the city also plans to host a 15-minute firework show shortly after at 9:45 p.m, according to city documents.

Related highlights: A week ahead of Liberty Fest, Leander will also host a “Nation Celebration” event June 27 at Lakewood Park. The event, which will run from 5-11 p.m., will feature live music, a pet parade, a free 5K glow run, food trucks and a showing of the 1996 film "Independence Day."

Check out some of the most-read stories from the Austin area June 1-4. 

1. The Peach Cobbler Factory now open in Round Rock

2. Liberty Hill annexes property on Hwy. 29 to become commercial development

3. Mountain Mike's opens first Williamson County location

4. Georgetown officials remove local alcohol permit fee

5. Austin raises senior, disabled homeowner property tax exemption by $12K

6. Bastrop's Texas Roadhouse sets late July opening

Texans are on track to use more electricity this summer than ever before, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced during a board meeting this week.

The details: ERCOT, which operates the power grid for the majority of Texas, is forecasting high temperatures and moderate rainfall this summer. Coupled with the proliferation of data centers and other large projects, demand on the grid could surpass 92 gigawatts, officials estimated June 2.

This would break ERCOT’s current demand record of 85.5 gigawatts, which was set during an August 2023 heat wave.

What it means: However, ERCOT officials said a grid emergency or blackout is unlikely this summer. State officials have said this is due to:

• The addition of nearly 11 gigawatts of power capacity to the grid in the last few months
• A state law authorizing ERCOT to require large facilities to reduce their energy use in tight times