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Monday, March 17, 2025

Happy St. Patrick's Day! On this day in 1855, the first law school in Texas was established at Austin College in Huntsville. The liberal arts college was incorporated in 1849 and moved to Sherman in 1876.

Today marks The Flyover's second anniversary! We sent our very first national issue on March 17, 2023, and never turned off the afterburners. Over 2 million Americans take off with us every morning, including those in Texas, and we're honored to have you aboard.

Later today, you'll receive a special note from our founder. In the meantime, please enjoy today's top story about our journey from an idea to one of America's largest and fastest-growing news organizations—thanks to you! Check it out below.

We're sponsored today by Audien Atom Hearing Aids, offering affordable hearing aids with crystal clear sound.

The Flyover Celebrates 2nd Anniversary

Two years ago today, the first national edition of The Flyover was delivered to 47 people.

Our writing, editing, and proofreading staff consisted of just one person, Cole. Today, ten editions of The Flyover reach more than 2.1 million readers daily, and we have a full team of writers, editors, and proofreaders across the country—along with sales, technology, and customer support staff.

We've learned a lot in two years, but as you can see in our first edition—the goal has always been to cover the day’s news in a direct and unbiased way.

In 2024, we added our Rotator section along with our special coverage section (Olympics, Election, Holiday, etc). We also listened closely to your feedback, and we worked hard to improve our news coverage.

Growth brought new opportunities. Here in Texas, we got the first Flyover state edition in January 2024, and The Texas Flyover has now grown to over 300,000 readers. Since then, we've added eight more state editions.

The Flyover's success is due to you, our readers, and we can't thank you enough for sticking with us.

We've got big plans for year three—including new state editions and a big new project that you'll hear more about soon. (Hint: it's a podcast. )

If you like The Flyover and find value and appreciate our work—we would love for you to support us financially if you can. We know everyone isn't able, but your financial support means a lot to us. You can do that by clicking here. It's a huge help!

Wildfires Threaten Panhandle, Hill Country

Dry and windy conditions are fueling nearly a dozen active wildfires that have consumed more than 40,000 acres across the state, including 23,000 acres in Roberts County, northeast of Amarillo, and 9,500 acres in Gillespie County, west of Fredericksburg.

As of Sunday morning, the Windmill Fire in Roberts County was 65% contained. The nearby Rest Area Fire in Gray County, which has burned nearly 8,000 acres and is 65% contained, prompted a mandatory evacuation order for the community of Alanreed and a disaster declaration by Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley.

As of yesterday morning, the Crabapple Fire in Gillespie County was 40% contained. County Judge Daniel Jones issued a disaster declaration, and on Sunday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that FEMA agreed to reimburse 75% of the costs associated with containing the Crabapple and Rest Area fires.

Although Sunday provided a reprieve from strong winds, windy weather is expected to return for much of Texas over the next few days, complicating efforts to bring active fires under control. For the latest updates on wildfires, see this website provided by the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Two Texas Universities Investigated

The U.S. Department of Education has launched investigations into the University of North Texas (UNT) and Rice University for allegedly “engaging in race-exclusionary practices” in their graduate programs. The two schools are among 50 the department indicated are under investigation.

Specifically, the probe will examine the institutions’ partnership with the PhD Project, which was founded “with the goal of diversifying corporate America by diversifying the role models in the front of classrooms.”

In January, Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to fire Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III over the school’s planned participation in a conference sponsored by the organization, citing the state’s ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion programming at public universities. Welsh announced staff would not be attending the conference, and several other universities, including UNT, followed suit.

A representative for UNT said the school “discontinued its affiliation with PhD Project in early 2024.” Rice University has not yet commented on the investigation.

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➤ Canyon: At least three people died in crashes caused by Friday’s severe dust storm. On I-27, multiple people were injured in a 38-vehicle pileup. (See Video)

➤ Austin: Meanwhile, Solomun Weldekeal Araya, 37, has been charged with intoxication manslaughter in connection to a 17-vehicle pileup on I-35 Thursday night that killed five people. (More)

➤ Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee filed to run for the congressional seat of the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner hours after attending the former Houston mayor’s funeral. Gov. Abbott has not yet announced an election date to fill Turner’s seat. (More)

➤ Attorney General Ken Paxton said Friday that state district courts do not have the authority to direct state agencies to change a transgender-identifying person’s listed sex on a driver’s license or birth certificate. (See Details)

➤ McKinney: A K-9 dog named Azi was killed during a shootout with a suspect who had barricaded himself in a hotel room after shooting a woman. The suspect died from his wounds, and the woman is in stable condition. (More)

➤ Crockett: A 34-year-old man was arrested after posing as a federal agent requesting to inspect records at the Houston County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday. When he was turned away, the suspect brandished an AR-15 and started firing rounds into the air outside the office. (More)

➤ Keller ISD: The board of trustees has abandoned plans to split the district, saying it would require incurring additional debt. The Texas Education Agency recently revealed it was reviewing complaints that district leaders have not been transparent regarding such plans. (See Details)

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➤ Five Texas schools qualified for the NCAA men's basketball tournament: Houston, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Baylor, and Texas. Texas plays the Xavier Musketeers on Wednesday for a shot at the Midwest Region's No. 11 seed. (More)

➤ Four Texas schools made the cut for the NCAA women's basketball tournament: Texas, TCU, Baylor, and Stephen F. Austin. With the exception of Stephen F. Austin, each team will play their first game in their home arena. (More)

➤ The Dallas Mavericks could be forced to forfeit games if they are unable to field a team of eight players due to injuries. The NBA requires teams to roster at least eight active players to compete. (More)

➤ The Dallas Stars looked rusty in their first game in four days on Friday, falling 4-1 to the Winnipeg Jets. The loss means the Stars will likely play the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. (More)

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➤ Crown Castle, a Houston-based telecommunications company, has agreed to sell its fiber business to a Swedish private equity fund and Colorado's Zayo Group Holdings for a combined value of $8.5 billion. (More)

➤ Entrepreneur Jacob Robinson secured a $200,000 investment from Robert Herjavec of ABC's Shark Tank in exchange for 10% equity in Dig World, a construction-themed amusement park Robinson established in Katy in 2017. (See Details)

➤ The Dallas Morning News sold its Plano printing facility to golf cart manufacturer Denago EV for $43.5 million. The sale will help the newspaper fund its pension obligations and result in the elimination of 85 jobs. (More)

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➤ The U.S. Border Patrol’s horse patrol detachment in Sierra Blanca announced the agency’s first-ever baby horse birth, a blue-eyed foal named Dolly. (See Photos)

➤ Unexplained graffiti drawings of juice boxes, accompanied by messages like “Be kind” and “Love yourself,” have popped up all over Houston. (See Photos)

➤ San Antonio’s Final Four Fest has released its lineup of music acts featuring artists like Chris Stapleton, Pitbull, and Jelly Roll. The free three-day event is part of the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament weekend, which is being held in San Antonio from April 5-7. (More)

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