The New World Screwworm has made it into Texas. Lab testing confirmed the first case in Zapata County last week. West Texas ranchers are taking note…but not panicking.Jodey Arrington is making his way toward retirement…the ballot is settled for November…and the soon-to-be former Congressman says he already feels lighter.At a time when more Texans are relying on food assistance…the Food Bank of West Central Texas is expanding its service to the Big Country…The organization’s big drive through project is now open for business…we’ll tell you about it.This week on West Texas Roots we have the origin story of the CALF festival.Classic literature offers rich, familiar stories…but sometimes the language gets in the way for new readers. A-C-U’s Shakespeare Festival kicks off this week…with an updated approach.

Ben Bailey and Tammy Fogle are here today. We’ll ask them how they’re going to get voters excited about showing up at the polls for this runoff — after a very low turnout for the May election.Prices are up for everything. The thing that’s fueling this hit to pocketbooks is the prices of oil. We’ll take a look at how high gas prices are hitting west Texas.Extreme weather and ‘dust events’ are leading to a spike in Valley Fever in West Texas. We’ll hear about the results of research into the sharp increase in the illness.Little kids like to be helpful. But sometimes their best intentions do more harm than good… On West Texas Roots, we’ll hear from a local who recalls learning a pretty big lesson when he tried to help his granddad, who was complaining about the high cost of gas.And when’s the last time you saw cowboys shooting it out in the middle of town? Each weekend locals put on the costumes of the old west to reenact one of the most famous moments of Abilene’s history. We’ll tell you about the annual return of the Pine Street Shootout – at Frontier Texas.

Texas’s Primary Elections are finally over-after yesterday’s runoff decided the contests that didn’t produce an outright winner in March. Those candidates are now shifting the focus of their campaigns to defeating their opponents on the other side of the aisle.We’ll have the final installment of our month-long series Minds on Trial – wrapping up by looking at how society views and approaches mental health.Some West Texans are fighting the federal government’s expansion of border barriers. Officials and landowners have collaborated on a letter expressing their opposition.We’ll also bring you the view from local educators who serve students with special needs–they share how the families they serve fared in the first round of school-choice-funding.AND spring brings lots of shoppers to the area’s farmers markets–we visited Abilene’s Saturday morning market to check in on how the crops and other goods are looking this season.

Early voting is underway in the runoffs for candidates trying to secure their spot on November’s ballot. We’ll check in on the race for the Republican nomination for Texas’s 19th Congressional District.We’ll also hear about the runoff in the U-S Senate race–and for the G-O-P contest for Railroad Commissioner.Today we’ve got our next installment of Minds on Trial. Today-we hear from an individual–and his loved ones–about what a difference Assisted Outpatient Treatment makes.We’ll tell you about the impact of gas prices on rural West Texas.It’s been more than a decade in the making. The doors are now open for Abilene’s new main branch library–and science center at Heritage Square. We’ll tell you all about the grand opening.And on West Texas Roots our story-teller recalls simpler times– spending childhood days in nature without digital distractions.AND another 40th birthday flashback…

We continue to dig into the way Texas has worked to improve the way the criminal justice system deals with individuals experiencing a mental health crisis..today we go all the way back to the model that the Texas system followed.After years of planning, fundraising and building–Heritage Square will open its doors this week. We’ll hear from some of the key architects of this incredible project.The rising price of oil has given rise to theft in West Texas…and it’s a much more sophisticated crime than it once was.We’ll tell you about how Texas Tech students are protesting what they say is the death of academic freedom.And we’ll hear about the unique features -including a Pecan Farm- of a world-class recording studio near El Paso.

Today we bring you the second installment of our series “Minds on Trial” with a look at how Texas has worked to solve the problem of not having enough resources for people experiencing mental health crises—and keeping those crisis from escalating into a dangerous situation.A four-way race is a hard one to win out right. We’ll wrap up the joint city and school general elections for you–and look ahead…to the runoffs.This week's West Texas Roots tells us how an airman and his wife fell in love with Abilene after being stationed at Dyess Air Force Base…and how names for certain farming equipment can cause confusion..And about a dozen West Texas high schools –including a few from the Big Country– will take their theater shows are competing for the U-I-L title in One Act Play…The lights come up on the Austin stage next week!

Today on the show we kick off a series looking at how Texas is trying to change the way people in crisis interact with the justice system. We start by looking at the problem that the state has been trying to solve…and is leading the way on for other states.Housing remains a hot topic in the Abilene area–even for the universities! Only some of their students live on campus–and some students without that housing may not be sticking around.Abilene was on the front end of the big A-I Data Center surge–but communities across West Texas are considering whether or not to develop these projects…we’ll hear how it’s looking in Lubbock.Paul Fabrizio–regular commentator for this show–and local news for decades–is retiring from McMurry. We’ll ask him how politics and teaching about it has changed over his tenure.This week’s West Texas roots takes us back to when the Abilene Zoo was at Rose Park and why you shouldn’t keep giving polar bears salt blocks.And we’ve got another 40th Birthday flashback cued up.

He’s the mayor of Abilene. He wants to be mayor again, in this time of great change for the City. We sit down with Mayor Weldon Hurt, unopposed candidate for reelection.Inspectors recorded dozens of safety violations at a West Texas ICE detention facility. We’ll hear more about the report.Almost a third of Texas women aren’t up to date on their mammograms. A local partnership aims to provide this important screening for women in the Big Country.The work is done, and today the ribbons will be cut at two recreation centers in Abilene…we’ll hear about the facilities–and the what’s news.West Texas Roots brings us the story of a close encounter with a rattlesnake…and we hear from a KACU alumnus pursuing a graduate journalism degree…in today’s installment of KACU’s 40th Birthday Flashback.

We have a special show in store today.Early voting in Texas’s Joint City and School Elections starts Monday. Today we’ll hear from the candidates for Place Four. There are four of them.Navy veteran Benjamin Baylie is a small business owner who advocates for streamlining the processes around local development as an approach to addressing Abilene’s Housing Crisis.Rich Lyles touts his experience navigating federal funding and infrastructure as a key part of his qualifications for seeking a seat on the City Council.Allison Carroll is a small business owner who has served on a variety of boards and committees, and says her experiences and community service inform her approach to serving.Tammy Fogle has run for office multiple times—and is a regular participant during the public comment portion of Abilene’s school board and city council meetings.

Millions nationwide turned up at protests over the weekend. Abilene’s gathering was just a few hundred, but was bigger than the previous demonstrations.El Paso, Texas, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar is trying to sound the alarm about a large immigration detention center in her district. 9-1-1 calls from the tent camp are common, and there have been outbreaks of tuberculosis and measles.Locals in one Big Country community have been crowd sourcing pantry staples through a family-run market to help their hungry neighbors. We’ll bring you that story.AND if, like Texas History, you might be interested in an event coming up at the Merkel Area Historical Museum…we’ll preview their upcoming talk on cattle drives.