ATX-SBK: Impact 9/16/2025

With the upcoming election only a few months away, it’s time to register to vote.

Voter registration begins Sept. 16.

What you need to know
According to the Hays County website, the requirements to vote in the county are that one must be:

• A U.S. citizen
• A resident of Hays County
• 18 years old, but one can register at 17 years and 10 months
• Not a convicted felon. The exception is if a person’s sentence is completed, including any probation or parole.
• Not determined by a final judgment of a court to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.

Velma & Ruby’s Sweet and Sassy Ice Cream is bringing made-from-scratch ice cream, cake, pies and cookies to San Marcos.

What they offer: The menu features unique ice cream sundae flavors, including cupcake, banana split, brownie and gummy worm.

The details: Owner Sarah Reed said the shop is named after both of her grandmothers and uses family recipes that have been passed down.

“Ice cream has been my dream and a passion since I was 13 years old,” Reed said, adding that at her business, “everyone is welcome.”
 

• San Marcos Premium Outlets, 3939 S. I-35 frontage road, San Marcos

Education in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, may become more accessible for Texas public school students this school year.

What happened: Officials from national education nonprofit Learning Undefeated and the Texas Education Agency celebrated the opening of eight new mobile STEM labs at a Sept. 10 ribbon-cutting ceremony in Austin. The TEA-funded labs are expected to visit 270 school districts across the state in the 2025-26 school year.

Notable quote: “In an ever-changing world, access to STEM education remains critical to help prepare our students for career pathways and lifelong success,” said Alejando Delgado, TEA deputy commissioner of operations.

The overview: Learning Undefeated built eight new mobile STEM labs after receiving a $3.5 million grant from the TEA, according to Learning Defeated information. The organization opened its first mobile STEM lab in Texas in 2020.

The nine regionally-based labs will now visit elementary and middle school campuses across the state’s 20 educational service center regions. Kindergarten through eighth grade students may participate in a variety of STEM activities to learn engineering design.

The University of Texas Press will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a day-long literary event at the Austin Public Library's central campus Sept. 21.

The details: Attendees can listen to conversations with several acclaimed authors about their books published through UT Press, including Sarah Bird, Michael Hurd, Leonard Moore, Lisa Keefauver, Toni Tipton-Martin and Steve Harrigan. The free event will run 10 a.m.-7:45 p.m., beginning with opening remarks from Mayor Kirk Watson, who will declare Sept. 21 as "University of Texas Press Day."

The backstory: UT Press has become the largest publisher in Texas, releasing more than 4,000 books since its inception in 1950 and producing 15 scholarly journals annually, according to UT Press information.

The organization works in both scholarly and trade publishing, producing works across disciplines, including archaeology, anthropology, art, architecture, food, film, music, and history. UT Press is committed to documenting Texas culture and producing works studying the state's landscapes, cities, art, politics, icons and heroes.