Karen Kidd News


Still plenty of time to kick up your heels at livestock show and rodeo

The SandHills Junior Livestock Show and Rodeo continues through Saturday, with a lot of excitement already generated in its first days.


It's no trick: Odessa Animal Shelter hosts 'BOO-tacular Adoption Event' alongside Midland Sheriff's Drive-In Movie Bash

Odessa police and fire rescue's "Trunk or Treat" at Odessa City Hall last weekend is followed by a "BOO-tacular Adoption Event" at Odessa Animal Shelter in the lead up to Halloween.


'Generous by nature': Chuck Norris, Midland's Diamondback Energy, others receive first lady's 2021 volunteer awards

A Texas energy company of famed Hollywood actor Chuck Norris and his wife were among First Lady Cecilia Abbott's 2021 Governor’s Volunteer Awards recipients announced earlier this week


Tracy Byrd to headline Saturday's Big Brothers Big Sisters' annual 'Wildcatters' fundraiser

Country music legend Tracy Byrd is scheduled to perform during this year's annual Wildcatters event, a Big Brothers Big Sisters of The Permian Basin fundraising event this coming weekend at the Rolling 7s Ranch Event Center.


Midland Legacy High School senior 'still in shock' following $6K grant toward amputation recovery

Joshua Ramirez, a senior at Legacy High School in Midland who lost one of his legs in a 2019 auto accident, recently got quite a shock in the form of a $6,000 grant to assist with his recovery.


After more than a year, Midland Independent School District still 'grappling' with heavy substitute teacher shortage

The substitute teacher shortage that has plagued school districts nationwide for weeks is still an issue in Midland Independent School District that won't go away soon, according to an ISD official.


'I know what I need to do': St. Andrew's junior quarterback E.J. Lopez anticipates football career while maintaining high GPA

Modest is something that E.J. Lopez, the junior quarterback from St. Andrews Episcopal High School in Austin, isn't: not about football or his grades


Abbott: Sweeping election reform law 'makes it easier to vote and harder to cheat'

Gov. Greg Abbott says the far-reaching election reform law he signed earlier this week is about "trust and confidence" in the state's elections system, not about preventing people from voting.


Familiar, 'critical' agenda items on deck for Texas legislature's third special session

The Texas State Legislature's upcoming third special session, expected to begin Sept. 20, is shaping up to be a partial re-do of the previous two.


'We will always remember,' Seliger says on 2nd anniversary of Midland-Odessa shooting spree

The shooting spree in Midland and Odessa that killed eight and wounded 25 others, now more than two years ago, will always be remembered, State Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) said in a recent social media post.


Ban on mask mandates 'doesn't prohibit using masks,' Gov. Abbott says shortly after Supreme Court win

The Texas Supreme Court's decision to place a temporary stay on local mask mandates is widely seen as a win for Gov. Greg Abbott's push for individual responsibility and decision-making amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.


'Way to go on a job well done': Midland Mayor, ISD, express pride in two Midland High alumni who competed at Tokyo Olympics

Midland's mayor and school district have publicly expressed the pride felt by many Midland residents in two Midland High School graduates who competed in the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.


Governor's letter to the PUC and lack of energy reforms on special legislative agenda part of packed, grid-related news week

Another week passed with much discussion on how to make Texas' power grid more reliable, including a letter from the governor to the state's utility commission, but the situation appears no better with the bulk of summer still to come.


Midland mayor encourages participation in 7th Annual Wellness Tour

Midland Mayor Patrick Payton wants everyone to get out and about for this year's annual wellness tour.



World awaits results of Biden/Putin talk over 'wrongfully imprisoned' Americans, including former Fort Hood Marine

It remains to be seen what - if anything - will come of President Biden's conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin about two detained Americans, both former Marines and one of whom served at Fort Hood near Killeen.


Five Midland Independent School District students make TMEA 'All-State' this year

Five Midland Independent School District students qualified this year as Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) "All-State," though they won't get to go this year because of the pandemic, according to separate announcements.


Promotion prompts longtime oil industry professional to seek engineering degree at Midland College

A promotion is what prompted a 33-year-old longtime oil industry professional at a Houston-based energy company to seek an engineering degree at Midland College, the college said in a feature recently posted to its website.


Educate Midland offers tips to identify children who are visual, auditory, kinesthetic learners

Children are visual, auditory or kinesthetic learners and there are ways to figure out which child falls into which learning category, a Midland-based education advocacy group said in a blog post last month.


The Field's Edge details impacts of 2020

Last year was tough for "Kim," one of four people helped by a Midland-based homeless and housing advocacy organization, a blog posted by the organization said.