Monday, October 5, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1946, the Dallas Health Museum opened its first exhibit at the State Fair of Texas. Over the next 16 days, 40,000 people walked through the first museum in the Southwest devoted entirely to health.

Today's edition spotlights a brand-new state park coming to Henderson County in The Roundup, as well as the expansion of Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area near Rocksprings, mentioned in Et Cetera. We're curious: Do you have a favorite state park, natural area, or historical site? Hit reply to share your recommendations.

Remember the traditions you used to keep and somehow just stopped? Maybe not since you were a kid. A lot of the ones we grew up with are quietly slipping away, and the numbers on how far each has fallen are steeper than you'd expect. Which Sunday tradition did families once build the whole week around? And why are so few grooms asking their bride's father for permission anymore? In the latest episode of Flyover Focus, we count down 10 American traditions that are fading, ending with the one you could still bring back before the month is out. Tune in here!

Today's sponsor, Oricle Hearing Aids, is helping readers hear more clearly without sky-high prices, offering a tiny, easy-to-use hearing aid with clear sound and all-day power for under $100.

Lake Palestine Ranch Becomes State Park

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation closed on 650 acres along Lake Palestine in Henderson County on Oct. 1, paying more than $10 million for a ranch that will become a new state park.

The tract sits about 100 miles southeast of Dallas, roughly halfway between Chandler and Moore Station, in native pine forest and pasture. Plans call for hiking and biking trails, campsites, boating, and lakefront access.

The foundation will invest more money in the property before handing it over to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in late 2027.

The Pollard family has owned the land since 1940, running the Texas Pecan Nursery on part of it, while most of it has remained untouched. "I think they're really happy that it's going to be preserved forever," listing broker Josh Smith said.

Waxahachie Mother Charged in Sons' Deaths

Deputies who walked into a Waxahachie home before dawn Thursday, Oct. 1, found two brothers shot in the head in separate bedrooms, and their 42-year-old mother now faces two counts of capital murder.

An arrest affidavit says deputies found Colleen Nichole Lemmon covered in blood, a handgun beside her, and what appeared to be self-inflicted cuts on her wrists. Asked where the blood came from, she told them, "I shot both my kids."

Christopher Scott Pitre, 21, was pronounced dead at the home on Big Sky Drive, and his 15-year-old brother died later at a hospital. Lemmon was treated, then booked into the Wayne McCollum Detention Center on $2.5 million bond.

Longhorn Who Outdueled Staubach Dies

Duke Carlisle, the quarterback who led Texas to its first national championship and took MVP honors in the 1964 Cotton Bowl, died Friday in Lockhart at 84 after a battle with lung cancer.

Carlisle was born in Kaufman, grew up in Athens, and worked as an investment banker in New York before landing in the oil business in Mississippi.

In the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1964, Carlisle threw for a then-record 234 yards, and two long touchdowns to Phil Harris as Texas beat Roger Staubach's No. 2 Navy 28-6.

Carlisle played safety, too, and his end-zone interception against Baylor, the only defensive series he played all season, preserved a 7-0 win and kept Texas unbeaten. He entered the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1979.

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➤ Statewide: Counties cleared a backlog of more than 500,000 voter registration records that sat for months after a Department of Public Safety software update failed to forward them. (More)

➤ Fort Worth: Storm damage left parts of Meacham Middle School unsafe to occupy, and repairs will take weeks. Students will move into the empty Briscoe Elementary building on Tuesday. (More)

➤ Dallas: A DNA hit on blood found inside the home led to a capital murder charge in the 1993 killing of 55-year-old Tommie Davis. Gary Len Ross, 56, was arrested Friday, 32 years after the case went cold. (More)

➤ San Antonio: Two off-duty Bexar County sheriff's deputies, ages 19 and 25, resigned rather than be fired after police arrested them Sunday for reckless driving and drunken driving. Both lost their state peace officer licenses. (More)

➤ Canyon Lake: The Hill Country reservoir barely budged during last week's storms, sitting 97.6% full Friday. Forecasters had warned of isolated rain totals up to 6 inches. A year ago, the lake was 66.3% full. (More)

➤ Gulf Coast: Forecasters are watching the Bay of Campeche for a tropical low that could form this week, putting the odds at 30% over seven days. (More)

➤ Statewide: State Sen. Angela Paxton, who filed for divorce from Attorney General Ken Paxton last year, made an ad urging Texans to back the full Republican ticket on Nov. 3 without naming Paxton by name. (More)

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➤The Dallas Cowboys improved to 2-2 with a 34-30 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday in a matchup between the state’s two NFL teams. CeeDee Lamb caught a career-high 17 passes for 189 yards, including the game-winning 12-yard touchdown with 40 seconds left. (More)

➤Texas football remained No. 1 in the latest AP Top 25, while Texas Tech moved up one spot to No. 11. Houston slipped two spots to No. 22, and SMU fell three spots to No. 24. (See Rankings)

➤ Plano voters will decide in November whether to approve five new taxes that could help finance a proposed $1 billion Dallas Stars arena. The city plans to contribute $700 million toward the project. (More)

➤ Texas Tech fans may have gotten an early look at Colorado's game plan after a copy of Deion Sanders' game script turned up at a bar in the Buffaloes' hotel. Video of the pages surfaced online after Saturday's game. (More)

➤ Red River Rivalry tickets have fallen nearly $200 in a month ahead of the Oct. 10 game at the Cotton Bowl. No. 1 Texas is 4-0, while Oklahoma fell out of the coaches' poll after losses to Michigan and Georgia. (More)

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➤ Ten American traditions are quietly disappearing, and you've probably let a few of them go without ever noticing. (Tune in here)

In the latest episode of Flyover Focus, we run through 10 American traditions on their way out and just how far gone they are. From the midnight movie premieres people used to line up for to the paper that showed up on your porch every morning. And you can still bring back the one in our No. 1 spot.

In case you missed it, last week on Flyover Focus, we broke down the 10 things to buy before you retire, so tune in here.

➤ A second H-E-B is rising on a long-vacant former landfill off I-35 in Buda, a $61.2 million store just south of Austin. Layne's Chicken Fingers is also moving in nearby, a $400,000 build in a former Zaxby's. (More)

➤ Waco's Hotel 1928 earned its first Michelin Key, the hotel world's version of a Michelin star. Joanna Gaines, who owns the property with husband Chip, called it one of the couple's biggest "fixer upper" projects. (More)

➤ A protein bowl built for customers on weight-loss drugs drew 15 orders in its first five hours on the menu at Los Barrios in San Antonio. Chipotle and Olive Garden have added similar high-protein and smaller-portion options. (More)

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➤ Devil's Sinkhole, the 140-foot cavern near Rocksprings that shelters one of Texas' largest Mexican free-tailed bat colonies, just gained 1,200 acres. About 10 miles of trails are planned within the next few years. (More)

➤ The Great Lawn at Zilker Park turned to sludge after a half-inch of rain, pushing ACL Festival's Saturday opening back two hours. Council member Ryan Alter called the damage "unacceptable." Organizer C3 Presents says it restores the lawn every year. (See Photos)

➤ A 321-acre ranch on the Guadalupe River will become Kendall County's first "Blue Trail," a public float route for tubers and kayakers. The county says that stretch may not open until summer 2027 while it pursues a grant. (More)

➤ Corpus Christi firefighters are rallying behind the 6-year-old son of one of their captains, diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma. A $12-a-plate barbecue fundraiser is set for Nov. 7. (More)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes.

➤ Canada's prime minister admitted his government has war-gamed an American invasion, and the military's own model says how long the country would last. (Hear Plan)

➤ Some college freshmen are packing up and heading home just weeks into their first semester, and they say they still want the degree. (Hear Why)

➤ An Iowa substitute teacher offered her students extra credit for donating to her personal GoFundMe. (Listen Now)