The Ledger is Lubbock Lights’ daily digest of the news that matters to Lubbock and the South Plains — our reporting first, then short summaries of stories reported by other newsrooms, each linked to its source. How we build it →
Daily Ledger
Daily digest straight from the source
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Today’s lead
Trump's Oct. 27 Lubbock stop with Ken Paxton is set for 2:30 p.m., ahead of a 6 p.m. event in Waco
President Donald Trump plans an Oct. 27 campaign stop in Lubbock with Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton before heading to Waco the same day, Lubbock Lights reported Monday, Oct. 19, citing FOX 4 in Dallas-Fort Worth and RNC officials. FOX 4 reported a 2:30 p.m. event in Lubbock and a 6 p.m. event in Waco, with Paxton expected at both.
The Lubbock venue had not been announced as of Monday evening. Paxton, the Texas attorney general, faces Democratic state Rep. James Talarico for the Senate seat now held by John Cornyn. Early voting in the Nov. 3 election runs through Friday, Oct. 30, and the Lubbock Lights Elections 2026 guide shows each Lubbock County voter's ballot.
Sources Lubbock Lights
More Local
Lubbock-Cooper ISD voters will decide Nov. 3 on Prop A, a three-cent property tax rate increase
Voters in Lubbock-Cooper ISD will decide on the Nov. 3 ballot whether to raise the district's property tax rate by three cents, to just under $1.20 per $100 of valuation, KCBD reported Monday, Oct. 19. The district says the increase would add about $65 a year to the bill on an average Lubbock-Cooper home.
It would raise nearly $4 million a year for teacher pay and basic school operations. The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce and its community partners held a news conference Monday morning endorsing the measure, known as Prop A. A district parent told KCBD that strong public schools build the region's next workforce. Early voting runs through Oct. 30.
Sources KCBD
Lubbock County's new elections administrator, Troy Havard, says the county runs 12-hour early voting days and urges voters to bring a printed ballot
Lubbock County's new elections administrator, Troy Havard, who came from Tarrant County, said Monday, Oct. 19, as early voting opened, that the county is ready for the midterms. He told EverythingLubbock the law requires nine hours of early voting a day in the first week, and Lubbock County offers 12.
Havard told KCBD the first morning and the final days of early voting are historically busiest, while mid-morning and mid-afternoon are usually quieter. Voters need a valid ID such as a driver's license, state ID or passport, and a registration problem can be sorted out with a provisional ballot. Phones can't be used at the polls, so he advised bringing a printed, marked sample ballot.
Sources EverythingLubbock · KCBD
The Buffalo Springs Lake general manager fired in July is running for the board that removed him
Greg Thornton, removed in July as general manager of Buffalo Springs Lake, is running for an at-large seat on the lake's governing board, KCBD reported Monday, Oct. 19. The at-large race on the Nov. 3 ballot is decided by voters across Lubbock County.
The board fired Thornton for what it called misconduct in using his position to obtain district permits for his private construction business without paying permit fees, debarred his company, GT Construction, and asked Buffalo Springs police and the district attorney to investigate. Thornton blamed an administrative error and said board members are the ones abusing their positions. Incumbent Casey Klingensmith, who works in Lubbock real estate, is also on the ballot.
Sources KCBD
Duffy Law Firm, PCDPS and UMC-EMS urged Lubbock families to learn fentanyl's dangers during Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month
The Texas Department of Public Safety and UMC-EMS urged Lubbock residents to take precautions against fentanyl, EverythingLubbock reported Monday, Oct. 19, during October's Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month. DPS Sgt. Adrian Briseno said the drug is 100 times stronger than morphine and that three or four grains of it can kill.
UMC-EMS gets about 30 overdose-related calls a month, though not all involve fentanyl, said Tyler Morris, training chief at UMC-EMS Station 1. Most patients are 20 to 40 years old. Signs of an overdose include blue skin, lips or fingernails and shallow or stopped breathing, and the agencies advised parents to watch children closely at parks, playgrounds and on sidewalks.
Sources EverythingLubbock
Lubbock Fire Rescue warns of carbon monoxide as heaters come on, after a local family was hospitalized from running a generator indoors
Lubbock Fire Rescue is urging residents to guard against carbon monoxide poisoning as they turn on heaters this fall, after a local family was recently taken to a hospital with symptoms from running a gas-powered generator inside their home, Derek Delgado of Lubbock Fire Rescue told EverythingLubbock on Monday, Oct. 19.
Delgado said improperly connected heating systems, cars left running in attached garages and gas appliances can all produce the colorless, odorless gas. Fire officials recommend carbon monoxide detectors in homes with gas appliances or attached garages, testing them monthly and replacing batteries twice a year. Anyone who suspects exposure should leave immediately and call 911.
Sources EverythingLubbock
A Lubbock Bandidos chapter president was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for meth trafficking
Steven Glenn Ryals, 72, of Lubbock, president of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club's Notorious chapter, was sentenced Friday, Oct. 16, to 135 months in federal prison, EverythingLubbock reported Monday. He had been charged by federal complaint in March with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, Lubbock authorities began investigating Ryals in early 2025. Agents searching the chapter's clubhouse on Feb. 27 found about 3.2 pounds of suspected methamphetamine in a locked filing-cabinet drawer beside a cabinet holding his club paraphernalia, along with plastic baggies, digital scales and a hidden compartment inside a bookshelf.
Sources EverythingLubbock
Survivors of former Amarillo teacher and coach Patrick Farmer, now serving 40 years, told why they came forward decades later
The Amarillo Tribune on Monday, Oct. 19, published the accounts of women who say former Amarillo teacher, coach and Sunday school teacher Patrick Farmer sexually abused them as girls between 1992 and 2004, and why they came forward decades later. Farmer was sentenced in a Randall County case in September to 40 years in prison and has appealed.
In 2006 he received deferred adjudication after pleading guilty to four counts of indecency with a child, and served no prison time. New police reports beginning in 2023, gathered by Amarillo police Sgt. Gordon Eatley, led to new indictments. Farmer still faces two more indecency counts in Potter County, and the Tribune said there may be other victims.
Sources Amarillo Tribune
Hobbs police released body camera video of the response to the Sept. 25 shooting of a teacher outside Highland Middle School
Hobbs police released body camera video showing officers' response to the Sept. 25 shooting of teacher Kelly Matthews outside Highland Middle School, KCBD reported Monday, Oct. 19. A 13-year-old student faces charges including aggravated assault and tampering with evidence.
The footage shows Officer Mann jumping a fence to help school nurse Sylvia Pena, who was treating Matthews. Matthews told officers the shooter wore glasses and a mask, and officers used a broadcast description to find the boy in a nearby alley, where he apologized and asked whether the teacher was dead. Matthews was taken to Covenant Health Hospital in Hobbs and later to Lubbock.
Sources KCBD
A man shot by a Hobbs police officer during a struggle early Thursday has died, New Mexico State Police said
New Mexico State Police said Monday, Oct. 19, that a 40-year-old man died after a Hobbs police officer shot him during a struggle at about 1 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, EverythingLubbock reported. The officer tried to stop the man, who was riding a bicycle; he fled on the bike and then on foot into an alley.
Police said he did not comply with orders to stop, and the officer fired during the struggle. He died at a hospital, and a firearm was recovered at the scene. State police said he had three active warrants, including one for aggravated assault on a peace officer. The officer was not identified, and findings will go to the district attorney.
Sources EverythingLubbock
Advanced GraphixA Muleshoe man, 71, was sentenced in Clovis to six years for criminal sexual contact with a child
Michael Bara, 71, of Muleshoe was sentenced Oct. 13 in Clovis, N.M., to six years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections after his conviction for criminal sexual contact of a child under 13, EverythingLubbock reported Monday, Oct. 19. He must serve 85% of the term and will be on parole for five years to life after release.
The same day, Bara pleaded guilty in a separate case from a 2020 incident to second-degree criminal sexual penetration and third-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor, drawing an eight-year sentence that will run concurrently. He must also register as a sex offender.
Sources EverythingLubbock
No. 8 Texas Tech, 6-0, plays at Cincinnati at 11 a.m. Saturday on FS1
Texas Tech, ranked No. 8 by the AP and No. 5 in the coaches' poll after Saturday's 53-25 homecoming win over Arizona State, turned its attention Monday, Oct. 19, to Saturday's game at Cincinnati. Kickoff at Nippert Stadium is 11 a.m. Central on FS1, according to Texas Tech Athletics.
The Red Raiders are 6-0 and 3-0 in the Big 12; the Bearcats are 4-2 and have lost two straight, 34-7 at Arizona and 45-42 at West Virginia. Coach Joey McGuire told KCBD he wants his players focused only on football, saying the team is still nowhere close to what it can be.
Sources Texas Tech Athletics · KCBD
Texas Tech's men's basketball team opens the season ranked No. 19 in the AP preseason poll
Texas Tech's men's basketball team will start the season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25, released Monday, Oct. 19, EverythingLubbock reported. It is the second straight year the Red Raiders begin in the poll; they started last season at No. 10, stayed ranked all year and finished No. 21.
Tech faces three preseason top-10 teams in four games: No. 10 Houston twice, No. 2 Duke at Madison Square Garden and No. 3 Illinois at United Supermarkets Arena. Coach Grant McCasland's teams have made three straight NCAA Tournaments. The season opens Monday, Nov. 2, at 6 p.m. against Jackson State.
Sources EverythingLubbock
Texas Tech's Southwest Collection keeps the Southwest Conference's records, which the league nearly destroyed in 1996
Texas Tech's Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library preserves the archive of the Southwest Conference, the league Tech joined in 1956 and played in until it dissolved in 1996, KCBD reported Monday, Oct. 19. Archivist Robert Weaver said the conference had planned to destroy its records when it ended.
The archive holds programs, press books, hand-kept score sheets and foam statues inspired by Lubbock cartoonist Dirk West, covering Rice, Texas, TCU, Baylor and the other members. Weaver said the score sheets show football shifting from the run toward the pass over the decades. Tech won 11 conference championships in various sports, and the collection is free and open to the public on campus.
Sources KCBD
Lubbock ISD's AgriSTEM complex is in its fourth year of agriculture classes for FFA students
Lubbock ISD's AgriSTEM building near Fourth Street and Quaker Avenue is holding its fourth year of classes, KCBD reported Monday, Oct. 19. After their freshman year, students can take advanced courses there in four pathways: wildlife management, plant science, animal science and food science.
Coordinator Coby Johnson said classes range from hunter and boater safety to floral design, equine and veterinary science and meat science, and that the program has produced national FFA champions, with several students now ranked in the national top ten. Students told KCBD the courses earn state certifications and build connections with game wardens and Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Sources KCBD
The Science Spectrum and Texas A&M Forest Service will give away 200 seedling trees Saturday for Texas Arbor Day
The Texas A&M Forest Service and the Science Spectrum will celebrate Texas Arbor Day with a free giveaway of 200 seedling trees on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the museum lobby, EverythingLubbock reported Monday, Oct. 19.
Visitors can also have their picture taken with Smokey Bear from 11:30 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 2:30 p.m. The giveaway itself is free, while standard museum and OMNI theater rates apply for the rest of the Science Spectrum.
Sources EverythingLubbock
Mullin Hoard & Brown, LLPState
Speaker Dustin Burrows launched his statewide Strike Force campaign tour in Lubbock as Democrat Malik Williams challenges him in House District 83
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, kicked off his re-election campaign tour Monday, Oct. 19, with a rally at the American Windmill Museum, KCBD reported. The One Party, One Mission Strike Force tour will take Burrows and House members nearly 2,000 miles to more than two dozen communities through Oct. 30 to rally Republican volunteers.
Burrows told supporters his three sons are his motivation and that this election will determine the Texas they inherit. Democrat Malik Williams, who is challenging Burrows in House District 83, told KCBD affordability is the top issue and proposed legalizing and taxing THC to fund teacher raises, plus expanding Affordable Care Act coverage. Early voting runs through Oct. 30.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Gov. Greg Abbott has raised about $9 million from data-center-related donors while moving to rein in the industry, a Tribune analysis found
Gov. Greg Abbott has raised about $9 million from donors tied to the data center industry since July 2025, about 13% of his donations in that time, according to a Texas Tribune analysis published Monday, Oct. 19. The money kept coming as Abbott moved to regulate the industry.
In June, when he called for ending a major data center tax break, industry-tied donors gave his campaign $1.5 million. After he paused approvals for data centers seeking to connect to the state grid pending an audit, he received another $2.8 million, his biggest monthly haul from the industry this cycle. The Tribune vetted every donor who gave at least $25,000 to Abbott or Democratic opponent Gina Hinojosa.
Sources The Texas Tribune
Speaker Burrows says a House committee will keep investigating whether a Travis County DA's office witness misled lawmakers
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, told The Texan in an interview published Monday, Oct. 19, that a House interim committee will keep investigating testimony from Stephanie Gharakhanian of Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza's office about prosecutors' ties to the progressive Wren Collective.
Burrows said that if lawmakers were intentionally misled to hide the group's influence on district attorneys, the House will find out, expose it and deal with it. He cited evidence that the Wren Collective communicated with Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzalez's office about bail, sentencing and plea policies, and said transparency is the first step.
Sources The Texan
Gov. Abbott says a reported sale of Boca Chica State Park land to SpaceX won't come up for a vote anytime soon
Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday, Oct. 19, that a reported sale of Boca Chica State Park land to Elon Musk's SpaceX is not coming up for a vote anytime soon, the Texas Tribune reported. Texas Monthly had reported that the Parks and Wildlife commission planned to discuss selling 1,300 acres of public land in Cameron County in a closed session at its Nov. 5 meeting.
Abbott, who appoints the commissioners, said he knew little about the potential sale and wants to preserve state parkland, noting Texas has been adding parks. Neither SpaceX nor the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department immediately commented.
Sources The Texas Tribune
Outgoing Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller urged voters against Republican nominee Nate Sheets but stopped short of endorsing Democrat Clayton Tucker
Outgoing Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller posted an essay on the first day of early voting, Monday, Oct. 19, discouraging Texans from voting for Republican Nate Sheets to succeed him, the Texas Tribune reported. Miller repeated his claim that Sheets is not qualified and faulted him for not taking a tougher stand against data centers.
Miller elevated the positions and campaign of Sheets' Democratic opponent, Clayton Tucker, but told the Tribune by text that he has not endorsed in the race and was just laying out the facts. He urged voters to examine the candidates, question their qualifications and follow their money.
Sources The Texas Tribune
Gov. Abbott touted endorsements from 12 Democratic sheriffs in border counties as early voting began
Gov. Greg Abbott announced endorsements from 12 Democratic sheriffs on Monday, Oct. 19, the first day of early voting, the Texas Tribune reported. The sheriffs serve counties in the South and West Texas border regions.
The Tribune called the cross-party pitch notable for a governor who has broadly embraced his party's right flank, as he enters what public polling shows is his most competitive re-election race, against Democrat Gina Hinojosa. Abbott said sheriffs commit to protecting every Texan regardless of party when they take their oath, and he has cast Hinojosa as soft on crime.
Sources The Texas Tribune
D. Williams & Co., Inc.ICE says the man who died Saturday in its Laredo detention center was a lawful permanent resident who had lived for decades in Dallas
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Monday, Oct. 19, that Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias, 56, who died Saturday at its Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo, was a lawful permanent resident, the Texas Tribune reported. He had lived for decades in Dallas, where he raised three U.S.-born children. His cause of death awaits an autopsy.
ICE said officers detained him June 26 at a Laredo port of entry, believing he obtained legal status fraudulently by not disclosing a 2004 theft arrest, and that he was in removal proceedings with a Nov. 2 hearing. The agency said he received proper medical care. He is the seventh person to die in ICE custody in Texas this year.
Sources The Texas Tribune
An Air Force instructor died after falling during a rappelling demonstration before the UTSA-Navy game at the Alamodome
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ian Patterson, a Tactical Air Control Party instructor at Joint Base San Antonio, died over the weekend after falling during a fast-rope demonstration before the UTSA-Navy football game at the Alamodome, The Texan reported Monday, Oct. 19. He fell during a planned descent of about 170 feet.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, posted that he was praying for the airman, his family and the fans who saw the fall. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro urged the Air Force to be fully transparent in its investigation. Patterson, a 15-year veteran, was named the Air Force Special Warfare Enlisted Instructor of the Year four years ago.
Sources The Texan
U.S. & World
DHS let more than 100,000 Ukrainians and Sudanese keep deportation protection past Monday's expiration, for now
More than 100,000 Ukrainians and Sudanese in the United States can stay without immediate risk of deportation after their Temporary Protected Status had been set to expire Monday, Oct. 19, the Department of Homeland Security said, the Associated Press reported. The status covers about 101,000 Ukrainians and 1,800 Sudanese.
DHS said they retain protection until an announcement is made at the appropriate time, but did not say how long that would be or whether work permits remain valid. It is another case of the administration, which has sought to end such protections, letting holders stay without saying for how long.
Sources PBS NewsHour (AP)
Macron blamed fuel costs from the U.S.-Iran war in part for France's riots, as protests spread across Europe
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised speech Sunday, Oct. 18, that protesters' worries about the cost of living and fuel are driven by the conflict in the Persian Gulf, a war France has not joined, Fox News reported. He announced a three-nation trip to the Gulf on energy and said those trying to bring down the republic will be held accountable.
President Trump said Monday that France had ruined itself by not closing its borders. The Associated Press reported that weeks of protests over fuel costs, schools, public services and housing have brought arrests, looting and violence in France, Italy and Albania, and tent-camp housing protests in Spain and Portugal.
Sources Fox News · PBS NewsHour (AP)
Trump and Vance will unveil a $25 million program paying tipsters up to $30,000 for leads on fraud against taxpayers
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance plan to unveil a $25 million Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 20, in the Oval Office, a White House official told Fox News Digital. Eligible tipsters could get up to $30,000 if their information leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action.
The Justice Department will run the program, and tips will be taken through fraud.gov. Trump also plans to give independent journalist Nick Shirley a $10,000 check for his videos questioning Minnesota day care centers. White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the administration has zero tolerance for people who steal from Americans.
Sources Fox News
Vance declined to endorse Netanyahu a day after Trump backed the Israeli leader's reelection
Vice President JD Vance said Monday, Oct. 19, that he will stay out of Israel's upcoming election and will not endorse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a day after President Trump gave Netanyahu his complete and total endorsement, Fox News reported. Vance spoke in an interview with Mark Halperin.
Vance said he endorses American candidates and is focused on the U.S. midterms, adding that he is neither for nor against Netanyahu. Trump's post praised Netanyahu as a great partner against Iran and said he would never let Israeli voters down.
Sources Fox News
Action PrintingUNC-Chapel Hill settled 18 federal investigations into alleged antisemitism and race discrimination without paying money
The Trump administration reached a settlement with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that closes 18 active federal investigations and a Justice Department compliance review into alleged antisemitism and race-based admissions, Fox News reported Monday night, Oct. 19. UNC pays nothing, admits no wrongdoing and keeps its eligibility for federal funding.
The deal runs through 2028. UNC will name a Merit and Civil Rights Administrator and a Title VI coordinator, both roles going to compliance official Elizabeth Hall, and require antisemitism training for students, faculty and staff. Chancellor Lee H. Roberts said it reaffirms the university's commitment to fair and equal treatment.
Sources Fox News
Mississippi's attorney general found a Senatobia officer justified in the shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley
Mississippi's attorney general concluded that a Senatobia police officer was justified in using force when he fired at a moving car that investigators said was driving toward police in June, killing 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, the Associated Press reported Monday, Oct. 19. Officers had responded to a shoplifting call at a Walmart.
Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, has denied that she or her friend stole anything, and neither has been charged. The friend was also struck by the gunfire. The case drew months of mourning and calls for justice nationally and in the small town about 40 miles south of Memphis.
Sources PBS NewsHour (AP)
A Kansas man was charged with threatening to shoot Trump before the president's Monday visit to Wichita
A 24-year-old Clearwater, Kan., man was charged Saturday, Oct. 17, with threatening the president and arrested the same day, two days before President Trump's Monday visit to Wichita, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Kansas said, Fox News reported. The investigation began Oct. 15 with a Crime Stoppers tip about comments under a local TV station's Facebook post.
Prosecutors say he wrote that he had ammunition and wanted to kill the president, and claimed he had already mapped rooftops around the speech site. Investigators found more alleged threats beneath a second station's Facebook post about the visit.
Sources Fox News
Japan launched a five-year mission to land on Mars' moon Phobos and bring soil samples back to Earth
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched a spacecraft toward Mars before dawn Tuesday, Japan time, on Monday, Oct. 19, in the U.S., on a five-year mission to land a robotic probe and a rover on Phobos, the larger of Mars' two moons, the Associated Press reported. Five space agencies are partners.
No spacecraft has ever landed on Phobos or Deimos, and no one has returned samples from Mars or its moons. If the mission succeeds, dust, soil and rocks from Phobos will reach Earth in 2031. Japan has already brought back samples from two asteroids.
Sources PBS NewsHour (AP)
Christiane Amanpour will leave CNN after 43 years as the network comes under new owner Skydance
Longtime CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour said Monday, Oct. 19, that she will leave the network after 43 years, the Associated Press reported. She will cut her CNN International show to once a week early in 2027, end it in May and leave the following month; her PBS show, Amanpour & Co., ends at the end of this year.
Amanpour, 68, gave no reason. Her exit comes as CNN enters a new era under Skydance, whose Paramount closed its $81 billion buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery on Oct. 6. She rose from an entry-level assistant to one of television's most visible war correspondents.
Sources PBS NewsHour (AP)
The Tampa Bay Rays will meet the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series after beating Cleveland in Game 6
The Tampa Bay Rays won the American League pennant Monday night, Oct. 19, beating the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the ALCS at Tropicana Field, OutKick reported. They will face the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, in the World Series.
Richie Palacios hit a two-out double in the second inning to put the Rays up 2-0, and Junior Caminero's home run off the foul pole in the seventh made it 5-1 before a sold-out crowd at the Trop.
Sources Fox News
Duffy Law Firm, PC