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Daily Ledger
Daily digest straight from the source
Thursday, September 24, 2026
The lead · Sep 24
Texas Tech's certified enrollment reaches 46,296, a fifth straight record year
Texas Tech University's official fall enrollment is 46,296 students as of the 20th class day, Monday, September 21, the university reported Wednesday, September 23. That is 3,841 more students than a year ago and a fifth consecutive year of growth. The freshman class set a record at 9,532 first-time-in-college students, up 39.88% since 2024.
Undergraduate enrollment has grown by 4,916 students, or 15%, since 2024, and graduate enrollment by 411, or 5%. Tech had announced more than 45,000 students on the first day of classes. The university is Lubbock's largest employer and the main driver of the local rental market, so each year's count moves housing, traffic and hiring across the city.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
More Local
Schovanec touts research growth and a $24 million Mesonet expansion in his State of the University address
Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec delivered his State of the University address Wednesday afternoon, September 23, at Maedgen Auditorium. He said enrollment has grown 13% in two years and that the university drew nearly 73,000 applications last fall, more than twice as many as a decade ago.
He pointed to $24 million in state funding to expand the West Texas Mesonet weather network, construction of the Design Village and a new Davis College of Agriculture building, research on the New World screwworm and on severe-weather warning systems, and the Reese National Security Complex. Texas Tech athletics won six Big 12 championships over the past year.
Sources KCBD
Two weather alerts are in effect as morning storms move through the South Plains
Scattered showers and thunderstorms pushed through the Lubbock region Thursday morning as a storm system forecasters expect to persist through Friday. Two weather alerts are currently in effect for the South Plains and Caprock.
The primary hazards are locally heavy rainfall, quarter-sized hail, and strong wind gusts, with localized flooding possible in areas with poor drainage. Highs through the weekend will remain in the upper 70s to mid-80s on the Caprock before warming.
Sources KCBD
Amarillo has spent more than $1.2 million on separation costs for two city managers in three years
Amarillo's council accepted City Manager Grayson Path's resignation Tuesday, September 22, and Place Four Councilmember Les Simpson used his no vote to put a number on it: $891,731 for Jared Miller, fired without cause in 2023, and $342,265 for Path. Mayor Cole Stanley said it “was not a termination.”
Path's package covers 12 months' salary of $294,000, about $29,000 in accrued leave and up to a year of health insurance worth about $14,500. Deputy City Manager Andrew Freeman is acting manager for up to 60 days while the city hires an outside interim. Michael Ford of Panhandle Taxpayers for Transparency threatened an open-meetings suit.
Sources Amarillo Tribune
Duffy Law Firm, PCCouncil members and the petition organizer describe how the data-center resolution was written
Save Lubbock organizer Stephen Sanders said Wednesday, September 23, that the resolution the City Council passed the day before was drafted line by line in Mayor Mark McBrayer's office at Citizens Tower, with Councilwoman Christy Martinez-Garcia, Councilman Gordon Harris and the city attorney at the table.
Sanders said he is confident the Planning and Zoning Commission and the council will set real guardrails, and that data centers will have to “jump through some hoops” to build here. Councilman Tim Green, who voted against the resolution, disputed a central claim in the debate, saying not all data centers use large amounts of water. Councilman Tim Collins said his objection was timing, not substance.
Sources KCBD
Texas DPS identifies the driver killed in a three-vehicle crash south of Friona
Timothy James Holst, 59, of Rowley, Iowa, died of his injuries in a crash at Highway 214 and Highway 86 south of Friona in Parmer County, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Wednesday, September 23.
Troopers said a 2015 Ford Expedition failed to yield the right of way and struck a 2019 Mack truck, which crossed into the northbound lane and hit Holst's 2020 Freightliner; the Mack's trailer detached and landed on top of the Freightliner. The driver of the Expedition was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, and the driver of the Mack truck had minor injuries.
Sources KCBD
Anette Carlisle resigns from the Amarillo College Board of Regents after 11 years
Anette Carlisle handed in her resignation letter at the Amarillo College Board of Regents meeting Tuesday evening, September 22, saying she wanted more time with her family. She was elected in May 2015 and had served 19 years on the Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees before that.
The board gave her the Community College Association of Texas Trustees' 2026 Outstanding Leadership Award; Amarillo College President Jamelle Conner said CCATT's directors credited her with bringing Panhandle realities into state education debates. The board then declared a vacancy. Applications are due in person to executive assistant Ally Greenwood by 5 p.m. October 23, with a recommendation to the board November 17.
Sources Amarillo Tribune
Three new endowments at South Plains College fund automotive, nursing and basketball students
The South Plains College Foundation announced Wednesday, September 23, that three donations have created new endowed scholarships. Nicole Campbell established a memorial fund for her late husband, SPC alumnus Tell Campbell, for students in automotive or diesel service technology, with preference to Region 17 high school graduates.
Board of Regents Chairman Mike Box gave $25,000 for the Earl Quitman and Mary Helen Box Scholarship, honoring his parents, for licensed vocational nursing students. Randy S. Wilson, a 1980 associate of science graduate and the college's 2025 Pacesetter honoree, gave $10,000 for Texan and Lady Texan basketball players carrying a 2.75 grade point average or better.
Sources KCBD
Lubbock Municipal Court's October case-resolution campaign runs Oct. 1-16 - no appointment needed
The Lubbock Municipal Court is offering an October Case Resolution Campaign from October 1 through October 16, giving residents a chance to resolve unpaid Class C misdemeanor citations and warrants — including traffic tickets — without risk of arrest for voluntarily appearing.
The court will be open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1214 14th Street. Walk-ins are welcome. Residents who cannot pay in full may ask a judge about payment plans, community service, or jail-time credit. Spanish-speaking interpreters will be available. Call (806) 775-2473.
Sources City of Lubbock
David Jordan Homes takes grand champion as the Chamber announces Hub City BBQ winners
Sixty cook teams competed in five categories at the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce's Hub City BBQ on Wednesday afternoon, September 23, and the chamber announced winners that evening. David Jordan Homes #2 was named grand champion and South Plains Electric Cooperative #2 reserve grand champion.
Category winners were Houston Tents and Events in chilton, SRH Landscapes in pork ribs, KerTec #1 in brisket, Firetrol Protection Systems #2 in dessert, and West Texas Land Guys #4 in cook's choice. The chamber had said more than 80 teams signed up for the cookoff, one of its largest events of the year.
Sources KCBD
Advanced GraphixDavis College students spend their Ag Week service day across Lubbock
Students from Texas Tech's Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources volunteered across Lubbock on Wednesday, September 23, as part of Ag Week, working at the food bank, the Lubbock Arboretum, neighborhood centers, Lubbock Impact and the Museum of Texas Tech.
Crews cleaned and prepared ground for future crops at the Heart of Lubbock Community Garden and cleared the arroyo at the museum. Associate Dean Erica Irlbeck said the day was meant to “give back to the community while we're here.” The week builds to Saturday's Ag Day game against Sam Houston, where fans are asked to wear white as a nod to cotton.
Sources KCBD
The Red Cross asks South Plains and Panhandle families to build emergency plans now
Deshun Avery, executive director of the Panhandle Plains Red Cross chapter, said Wednesday, September 23, that families should write and practice an emergency plan before a storm rather than during one. Avery said children who have not practiced sometimes hide in a closet during an emergency.
He asked households to pick two meeting places, carry emergency contact cards, keep a three-day go bag where everyone can find it, hold two weeks of supplies at home and a month of medication where possible, and check kits every six months. September is National Preparedness Month, and the region spent this week under a flood threat.
Sources KCBD
Ali Siddiq brings his Custom Fit Tour to the Buddy Holly Hall on Friday
Comedian Ali Siddiq performs at the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences at 7 p.m. Friday, September 25, with doors at 6 p.m., on his Custom Fit Tour. Tickets are at buddyhollyhall.org.
Siddiq, whom Vulture called stand-up comedy's most prolific storyteller, built his audience on independently produced specials and has won Webby Awards and an NAACP Image Award. He spoke with KCBD ahead of the date on Wednesday, September 23.
Sources KCBD
Coronado opens district play tonight against Abilene Wylie in the Thursday Night Throwdown
Coronado High School (1-3) hosts Abilene Wylie (2-2) Thursday night at PlainsCapital Park in the Raiders' district play opener. Kickoff is 7 p.m., airing on KMYL 14.1/22.2 and simulcast on KJ-CD 32.1.
Coronado enters the district opener coming off a 21-10 week-two win over a crosstown rival. Despite the 1-3 start, the Raiders' head coach said the team is "still flying high and headed in the right direction." Abilene Wylie enters at 2-2.
Sources KCBD
Lubbock Feeds the Nations needs 800 volunteers to pack meals for children worldwide
Lubbock Feeds the Nations is seeking at least 800 volunteers this fall to hand-pack meals of rice, vegetables, vitamins, and minerals for food-insecure children worldwide. Multiple two-hour volunteer time slots are available.
To sign up, contact Joshua at (806) 789-3257. For financial donations, reach Samuel at (432) 955-4958. The effort is coordinated through the Volunteer Center of Lubbock and ships packaged food internationally.
Sources KCBD
Texas Tech's Sheridan Wilson is a semifinalist for college football's top scholar-athlete award
Texas Tech's Sheridan Wilson is one of a record 206 semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, college football's premier scholar-athlete award, the National Football Foundation announced Wednesday, September 23. Candidates need a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2, senior standing or a completed degree, first-team or significant playing time, and a record of leadership and citizenship.
The previous semifinalist record was 204, set in 2024. Finalists are named October 21 and each receives an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship; the winner takes $25,000 and is announced December 8 at the foundation's awards dinner in Las Vegas. No. 11 Texas Tech plays Sam Houston on Saturday.
Mullin Hoard & Brown, LLPState
Texas Capital moves two funds to the Texas Stock Exchange, its first primary listings
Texas Capital transferred its Texas Equity Index ETF and Texas Oil Index ETF from Nasdaq to the Texas Stock Exchange on September 16, giving the Dallas-based exchange its first primary listings since it opened in July, The Texan reported Wednesday, September 23.
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Rob Holmes said the company now ends up with “a net cash position from the exchange” rather than only paying fees, and predicted others would follow. Dillard's, USA Compression Partners and Energy Transfer LP have said they will move listings in October. The exchange has raised more than $275 million, with BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab among its investors.
Sources The Texan
A Senate committee takes up how Texas trains workers for artificial intelligence
The Texas Senate Economic Development Committee, chaired by Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, heard testimony Tuesday, September 22, on preparing the state's workforce for artificial intelligence. Texas Workforce Commission Commissioner Joe Esparza said Texas added 159,000 jobs over the past year and ranks second nationally for AI job postings.
Esparza put the figure at about 116,000 openings seeking specialized AI skills, with 20% growth expected within two years. Miha Vindis, who directs the Texas Certified Public Manager Program, warned that “cognitive offloading can become cognitive surrender.” Renzo Soto of Texas 2036 urged better data sharing between education and workforce agencies so the state can track where graduates end up working.
Sources The Texan
A Texas House committee takes up annexing three New Mexico counties on September 30
The House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight is noticed to meet Wednesday, September 30, on an interim charge directing it to study the constitutional, statutory, fiscal and economic implications of adding one or more contiguous New Mexico counties to Texas. The counties under discussion are Lea, Roosevelt and Eddy, and the idea traces to a failed New Mexico constitutional amendment earlier this year that would have let border counties secede.
The charge is one Speaker Dustin Burrows of Lubbock issued in March among his priorities for the 2027 session, and Lubbock's Rep. Carl Tepper sits on the committee. The same hearing carries two other charges: nongovernmental organizations' involvement in local prosecution, and third-party consultant spending by local governments.
The U.S. Supreme Court declines to keep a surrogate-born baby in Texas
Justice Elena Kagan denied an emergency application Tuesday evening, September 22, without explanation, clearing the way for a California judgment that gave parental rights to intended parents Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar.
The surrogate had carried a baby diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, came to Texas for treatment after the intended parents sought an abortion, and went to court to stop the child being taken to California. The Supreme Court of Texas ruled against her on September 17, and the emergency appeal to Washington had been filed September 9. Her representative said she takes comfort that the parents committed to lifesaving care.
Sources The Texan
Rival caucuses form over Islam in Texas as lawmakers look toward the 2027 session
State Rep. Brent Money, R-Greenville, who founded the Sharia Free Texas Caucus in March and had roughly 50 members by late June, said Texas is “rooted in unyielding Christian values” and wants law enforcement tools to address practices he ties to sharia law, The Texan reported Wednesday, September 23.
State Rep. Salman Bhojani, D-Euless, one of two Muslim House members, said he was appalled and has started a House Religious Freedom Caucus with 26 Democrats; State Rep. Suleman Lalani, D-Sugar Land, formed an Interfaith Legislators Caucus. Gov. Greg Abbott has said Texas would ban sharia law. The 90th Legislature convenes January 12, 2027.
Sources The Texan
The University of Austin plans a tuition-free law school for fall 2028
The University of Austin said Wednesday, September 23, that it will open a tuition-free law school in fall 2028 in partnership with the Federalist Society, funded by an $11 million commitment from donors Gail Jaquish and Steve Kenninger.
General Counsel Adam Biggs, who is leading the effort, said the school will have no tenure, will let practicing lawyers teach core courses, and will build artificial intelligence into the curriculum for research and drafting. Rather than seek American Bar Association approval, the school will pursue accreditation from the Supreme Court of Texas, and Biggs is assembling a working group to map that route for other states.
Sources The Texan
D. Williams & Co., Inc.A federal grand jury indicts a man over the August shooting of a Dallas-area school police officer
A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Texas indicted a man on September 16 on a charge of possessing a firearm while unlawfully in the United States, in connection with the August 6 shooting of a school district police officer near the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway in the Dallas area, the Justice Department said Wednesday, September 23.
Prosecutors said the officer was assisting the man when a struggle began, the man took the officer's gun and fired once, striking the officer's right femoral artery. The officer regained the weapon, was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital. The charge carries up to 15 years.
Sources Fox News
U.S. & World
A federal judge orders the White House to restore press access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order early Thursday, September 24, requiring the administration to reinstate White House credentials and access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico for 14 days, finding the outlets likely to succeed on their constitutional claims.
The three were barred last week after President Donald Trump said they should not be able to report “FICTION and LIES,” and their credentials were deactivated or confiscated. Justice Department lawyers argued that White House access is a privilege rather than a right. Fox News Media, ABC News, CBS News and NBC News had suspended pooled coverage of the president over the ban.
Sources Fox News · The Hill · EverythingLubbock
Xi Jinping's state visit opens with a planeside welcome and a trade truce extended to January 10
President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the foot of his plane at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, September 23, an unusual honor, with a 100-foot red carpet, a 21-person honor guard and a flyover by two B-1 bombers.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two countries extended their trade truce to January 10, holding tariffs down and barring new restrictions, which he said gives the leaders more time ahead of upcoming international summits. Thursday brings a White House arrival ceremony, a troop review and a black-tie dinner with technology executives; Friday a private tea and a National Archives tour.
Sources Axios · PBS NewsHour
Zelenskyy takes Ukraine's case to the U.N. as Trump says a deal will get done
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, September 23, a day after meeting President Donald Trump in New York, and went in planning to put concrete security and de-escalation proposals to the assembly.
Ukraine is asking for more air defenses, help protecting its energy infrastructure and protection for food exports. Trump said the United States is working closely with both sides and “we will get that one done,” and wrote that the war must end as roughly 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, are killed each month. Winter is raising the risk to Ukraine's power grid.
Sources Fox News
Trump's Board of Peace puts a $2.45 billion price on the first six months of Gaza reconstruction
The Board of Peace released a 66-project reconstruction blueprint at its meeting Wednesday, September 23, calling for $2.45 billion over six months for infrastructure, security, shelter and rubble clearance, against $35.2 billion in estimated damage and $71.4 billion for a full decade of recovery.
About $1 billion goes to infrastructure, $885 million to security projects, $400 million to temporary shelters and $275 million to clearing rubble and unexploded ordnance. Senior adviser Jared Kushner, envoy Steve Witkoff, High Representative Nickolay Mladenov and Palestinian technocratic government head Ali Shaath took part. Mladenov said progress depends largely on Hamas disarming, while pressing Israel to scale back operations.
Sources Axios · PBS NewsHour
A PBS News, NPR and Marist poll gives Democrats a 12-point lead on the generic ballot
Fifty-three percent of registered voters said they would back Democratic congressional candidates against 41% for Republicans in a PBS News, NPR and Marist poll released Wednesday, September 23, with independents favoring Democrats by 25 points.
President Donald Trump's job approval stood at 39% approve to 59% disapprove, and 53% said they strongly disapprove, the highest Marist has recorded across both of his terms. Forty-five percent said their congressional vote is meant to oppose the president and 24% to support him. Marist Institute director Lee Miringoff said Democrats are “sitting in a very good place.” The survey reached 1,280 registered voters September 14 and 15.
Sources Marist Poll · PBS NewsHour
Action PrintingFewer voters plan to use the mail, and confidence in the Postal Service has dropped 13 points
Twenty-four percent of registered voters plan to cast a mail ballot this cycle, down from 31% in 2024, and half plan to vote in person on Election Day, according to the PBS News, NPR and Marist poll released Wednesday, September 23.
Confidence that the Postal Service will deliver election mail on time fell 13 points from 2024, to 58%, with about 40% in both parties expressing little or no confidence. Seventy-five percent said they trust state or local government to run fair and accurate elections, including 86% of Democrats and 66% of Republicans. Forty-one percent believe mail-ballot fraud is widespread.
Sources Marist Poll · PBS NewsHour
