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MAP: More than 2,400 acres have burned in Central Texas wildfires this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:21 GMT

Editor's Note: The above video shows how you can help prevent wildfires.AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than 2,400 acres have burned in wildfires across Central Texas so far this year, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.A total of 26 fires have burned 2,435 acres in the 15-county KXAN viewing area, as of Aug. 7. How far behind normal are rainfall totals this year? KXAN is keeping track of wildfires this year. Follow along with the map and database below. We'll keep them updated as new information becomes available. Fires that are still uncontained are red on the map.The table below ranks all the fires in our area this year from largest to smallest. Click on one of the column headers to change how the fires are ranked.We're also keeping track of which counties have burn bans in effect. Click here to see the latest update.

Oak Grove wildfire estimated at 400 acres, 75% contained; Kyle mayor said 1 home destroyed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:21 GMT

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — At least one home and numerous outbuildings were destroyed along with multiple homes evacuated after a wildfire in Hays County started Saturday. Officials said no more evacuations were in place Sunday. Officials started responding to the fire, named the Oak Grove Fire, shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday, according to the Hays County Office of Emergency Services website. PHOTOS: Oak Grove Fire burns in Hays County The fire was first reported to be near Oak Grove Road near San Marcos. It is estimated at 400 acres and 75% contained according to a social media post at 12:55 p.m. Monday from the Texas A&M Forest Service. Photos show aftermath of Oak Grove Fire in Hays County, Aug. 7, 2023. (KXAN Photo/Jala Washington)Photos show aftermath of Oak Grove Fire in Hays County, Aug. 7, 2023. (KXAN Photo/Jala Washington)Photos show aftermath of Oak Grove Fire in Hays County, Aug. 7, 2023. (KXAN Photo/Jala Washington)Photos show aftermath of Oak Grove Fire in Hays Co...

Zilker Park Vision Plan 'shelved,' Austin Mayor Kirk Watson says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:21 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN Live's top headlines for Aug. 7, 2023AUSTIN (KXAN) --- The Zilker Park Vision Plan is not moving forward, according to Mayor Kirk Watson's email newsletter The Watson Wire. The post said the plan will not be on city council's Aug. 31 agenda and that there is, "no plan to bring it before the Austin Mayor and Council in the future." PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘I have some serious problems with that plan’: Mayor Watson talks future of Zilker Park The plan included three new parking garages, a land bridge over Barton Springs Road, a “welcome plaza” and new hike and bike trails.Previously, Watson spoke with KXAN about his concerns with the plan. "A lot of people and groups worked hard to do something big and positive for our community. And our city staffers have put a lot into this process, as well. I truly appreciate and respect their efforts," the post read. Moving forwardWatson wrote that his recommendation is to table the discussion for now. "We co...

What Steve Sarkisian said about freshman receivers, DeSoto HS's coaching staff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:21 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The football coaches at DeSoto High School need to keep doing what they are doing, as far as Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is concerned.In Monday's press conference, Sarkisian talked at length about how freshman receiver Johntay Cook II has performed well in training camp. One of the main points Sarkisian mentioned was that DeSoto's coaching staff is "really good."MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters"He's been coached in a way that he believes in," Sarkisian said. "What I love about Johntay is how coachable he is. I think he's really trying to do whatever we're asking him to do. When he doesn't do it the right way, he acknowledges it and tries to do it right the next time."The DeSoto Eagles, from the south side of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, are perennial powers in Texas high school football and pump out blue-chip recruits regularly, so it...

Former Great Fans shop on Snelling Ave. could become Little Africa Plaza — a pan-African grocery, museum, office and retail center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:21 GMT

Standing in front of the long-vacant Great Fans and Blinds shop on Snelling Avenue, Gene Gelgelu talks up his $4.5 million dream of converting the two-story building into “Little Africa Plaza,” the bustling commercial center of a community on the move.Measuring nearly 15,000 square feet, the boarded-up building is little more than 12 months away, in his eyes, from reopening as an African foods grocer adjoining two smaller retail stores at ground level, as well as a pan-African museum of continental art and culture.Upstairs on the second floor, Gelgelu, himself an Ethiopian immigrant, plans to locate the new headquarters of African Economic Development Solutions, the nonprofit he launched on University Avenue in 2008.‘Little Africa’Could Little Africa Plaza become the commercial heartbeat of St. Paul’s official “Little Africa” commercial district?Given the growing numbers of African immigrants in the area — this weekend marked the ninth...

Man sentenced to probation for raping homeless woman at downtown St. Paul parking ramp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:21 GMT

A Brooklyn Park man was sentenced to seven years of probation Monday for beating and raping a homeless woman at a downtown St. Paul parking ramp in 2017.Liban Mohammed Dahir, 30, was arrested and charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct in November 2019 after his DNA in a burglary case in Massachusetts linked him to the April 6, 2017, assault.Liban Mohammed Dahir (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)Since the charge, court proceedings were delayed because of the pandemic, Dahir failing to appear at three hearings and his subsequent civil commitments for being mentally ill and chemically dependent. In February, after further treatment at the Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center, Dahir was found to be mentally competent to stand trial in the case, court records show.The downward departure from state sentencing guidelines handed down by Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro was “per agreement of parties,” court records say.In May, Dahir pleaded guilty ...

Lake Elmo officials move into new $12.7 million city center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:21 GMT

The new Lake Elmo City Center is open to the public, and officials are planning an October gathering to celebrate its completion.The new $12.7 million project, completed last month, includes council chambers, offices for city staff and Washington County Sheriff’s deputies and a fire station.“We’ve been working out of a construction trailer for 16 months, so we’re very happy to be in the new space,” said City Administrator Kristina Handt. “This new building will allow the city to more efficiently work  together to serve our residents and businesses.”The city council voted in 2018  to issue bonds to buy the two-story Brookfield Building, 3880 Laverne Ave., just across the parking lot from the old Lake Elmo City Hall. Construction crews gutted the building “down to studs and rebuilt everything and added on the fire-apparatus bay and the council chambers and community room,” Handt said.Staff had outgrown the former 1980s-era city hall on Laverne. From 2014 to 2018, the city spent $33,00...

Hearing delayed in child sex crime case due to language barrier

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:21 GMT

ST. LOUIS – An Afghan man accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy last month appeared in St. Louis Circuit Court on Monday for a bond hearing.An attorney for Osmani Haji Gul wants his client released on bond. However, the judge delayed the hearing two weeks due to a language barrier. Gul speaks Pashto, and the judge said cited difficulty finding a certified translator.The court has vendors who provide certified interpreters as quickly as possible, but it can take longer with less common languages, such as Pashto. Translation certification is conducted through a program via the Office of State Courts Administrator.This was not Gul’s first court appearance. A hearing was also postponed from last week for the same reason. Almanacs predict cold, wet winter — but can you trust them? Gul, 34, was charged with first-degree sodomy, sexual misconduct, attempted statutory sodomy, and four-degree assault in connection with two alleged incidents.Police claim the most recent incident o...

Northeast Missouri community comes together to help rural town devastated by tornado

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:21 GMT

BARING, Mo. – It was another wild weekend of severe weather across the bi-state, with a few tornado touchdowns doing significant damage to rural communities. One community hit hard was Baring, Missouri, in Knox County.“They had propane tanks spewing; people are yelling; people are trapped; the power’s out,” said Echo Menges, a reporter with the Edina Sentinel.Menges sets the scene following the EF-2 tornado that tore through the small town of Baring Friday night shortly after 11 p.m., damaging 62 buildings, with 32 homes beyond repair.Victim Terry Fast described his experience.“I woke up and the ceiling started coming down, and I didn’t hear no sound or nothing, so I didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “I just tried to do the best I could. Everything was raining on me; I had to get my umbrella out.” Almanacs predict cold, wet winter — but can you trust them? Fast only suffered minor injuries. Remarkably, no one was killed or seriously injured in the storm, which produced wind...

DPS puts McAuliffe International School’s interim principal on leave amid “seclusion room” investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:21 GMT

Denver Public Schools put the interim principal of McAuliffe International School on paid leave Monday, days after the district announced its investigation into the use of a locked “seclusion room” at the middle school as a form of discipline for students. Micah Klaver had succeeded Kurt Dennis, who previously led the school and was fired last month, as interim principal. But at a news conference Monday, school board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson alleged Klaver also was potentially involved in putting students in the room.DPS spokesman Bill Good confirmed Klaver was placed on administrative leave, but did not offer a reason. The district’s Northeast Denver Innovation Zone board, which helps oversee the school, sent a letter to parents announcing DPS’s decision, saying Klaver was put on “paid, non-punitive” leave and that the decision “does not suggest that Mr. Klaver has acted in any inappropriate manner.”McAuliffe’s new...