HUNTSVILLE — Handmade goods, live music and an outdoor shopping setting will come together Saturday, October 10, when Kim’s Home and Garden Center hosts the Fall Artist Festival. Scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2715 Lake Road, the festival will feature more than 50 curated artisan booths, according to an event listing published by Hello Huntsville. Vendors will gather on the shaded west lawn of the historic Top O the Hill property. The advertised selection includes wood an

Texas is at the center of the national debate over access to books in public schools, following a new report identifying it as the state with the most school book bans during the 2025–26 academic year. PEN America, a free-expression organization that opposes book censorship, reported 11,982 instances of school book bans nationwide. Texas accounted for more than 8,100, according to reporting by the Houston Chronicle. The findings were released during Banned Books Week and refl

HUNTSVILLE — A stolen generator threatened Rodeo Mexican Bar & Grill’s plans for Fair on the Square, but offers of help from the community gave the restaurant a way forward before the October 3 event. Owner Delfina Perez told Chron that residents offered assistance, including Mayor Russell Humphrey, who offered to lend a generator powerful enough for the food truck. By October 2, Perez said the business still planned to participate. She had filed a police report; the equipmen

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A fire swept through part of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum grounds early September 23, destroying two workshops and badly damaging a third. The historic cabins nearby were spared, and museum officials say operations will continue while investigators determine what caused the blaze. Huntsville firefighters were called around midnight to the museum property near 19th Street and Sam Houston Avenue. Flames had reached multiple buildings by the time crews arr

Huntsville, Texas, has long depended on two institutions: Sam Houston State University and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Both continue to shape local employment and spending. But the city’s economic outlook increasingly depends on what happens around them—new homes, retail activity, transportation improvements and the ability to attract businesses that offer a wider range of jobs. The city’s population was estimated at 49,088 in July 2025, according to the U.S. Ce

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Huntsville has long been a city defined by its history. Sam Houston lived here. The Texas prison system established deep roots here. Sam Houston State University grew into one of the region's most important institutions. But the Huntsville of 2035 may be defined less by its past than by what is being built today. Across the city, signs of change are becoming increasingly difficult to miss. New homes are being constructed, restaurants are announcing locatio

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — For generations, Huntsville has been known primarily for three things: Sam Houston, the Texas prison system and Sam Houston State University. But in 2026, the Walker County seat is increasingly becoming something else—a growing regional city attempting to manage the opportunities and pressures that accompany expansion. Perhaps the clearest indication of that change is occurring at Sam Houston State University. SHSU reported an unofficial record enrollment

Huntsville has traditionally been defined by three things: Sam Houston State University, the Texas prison system and its identity as a relatively small East Texas community. Growth could eventually complicate that description. Huntsville's adopted comprehensive plan recorded a population of 45,941 in 2020 and projected approximately 59,431 residents by 2035 and 64,496 by 2040. The plan even noted that some participants believed the city could grow faster than those projection

Texas has spent decades attracting factories, energy companies and technology businesses with abundant land, relatively low costs and a business-friendly reputation. Now another enormous industry is searching for places to build: artificial intelligence. The physical infrastructure required to power AI is creating one of the largest construction booms in the technology industry's history. Massive data centers filled with computer servers are being proposed across Texas as com

For nearly a decade, Houston's bayous have produced a grim and steady stream of bodies. More than 200 people have been pulled from the city's waterways since 2017, with most deaths ultimately attributed to accidents, overdoses, suicides or drownings. Houston officials have consistently rejected any suggestion that a serial killer is behind the pattern. Still, one name has surfaced repeatedly in reporting on the long-running investigation: Carl Clint Ashworth, a former long-ha

Sam Houston’s return to Bowers Stadium brings college football—and the crowds and commerce that come with it—back home. HUNTSVILLE, Texas — For the first time in more than a year, a Saturday night in Huntsville will once again sound like college football. The parking lots will fill. Tailgates will open. Students will stream across campus. Restaurants and bars will prepare for crowds wearing orange. And inside a renovated Bowers Stadium, the Sam Houston Bearkats will finally h

Population growth, Interstate 45, Sam Houston State University and a wave of new development are changing the investment equation in Huntsville. HUNTSVILLE, Texas — For decades, Huntsville’s economy has been defined largely by two institutions: Sam Houston State University and the Texas prison system. But increasingly, developers and investors are looking at the city for another reason — growth. New housing, commercial construction, hotels, restaurants and retail projects are

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Huntsville's commercial landscape is continuing to expand in 2026, with several new restaurants, entertainment concepts and specialty businesses either preparing to open or moving through the development process. From drive-thru coffee and specialty cakes to indoor golf and a major new restaurant project, the latest additions reflect a city attracting businesses interested in serving both Huntsville's permanent population and the thousands of students asso

How Sam Houston State is reshaping the economy, housing market and future of a Texas city HUNTSVILLE, Texas — For nearly a century and a half, Sam Houston State University has been part of Huntsville's identity. But increasingly, the university isn't simply located in Huntsville—it is helping determine what Huntsville becomes. With more than 21,000 students and thousands of employees, SHSU now represents an economic and demographic force unusually large for a community Huntsv

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — In early 2025, four current or former members of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office died by suicide within just six weeks. The extraordinary concentration of deaths stunned one of the nation's largest sheriff's departments and quickly generated an uncomfortable question online: Could four deaths involving people connected to the same agency really be unrelated? Authorities say they were. The sequence began on Feb. 6, 2025, when retired Deputy Long Nguye

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Huntsville’s commercial landscape continues to change as new restaurants, retailers and development projects move forward, offering another sign that the Walker County seat is attracting increased private investment. Among the most visible additions is a new Popeyes planned for 2032 11th Street. State construction records describe the project as a new 2,540-square-foot restaurant with an estimated construction cost of $1.3 million. The filing lists complet

Texas's hemp industry is fighting back in federal court after the state effectively criminalized most of the THC products it has sold legally for the past five years. The ban traces back to a Texas Supreme Court decision in May, which allowed the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to reclassify nearly all hemp-derived THC as a Schedule I drug — ending a 2021 injunction that had, for five years, allowed retailers to stock a wide range of hemp-derived products wit

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — who has spent the past two years branding the state as the "epicenter" of AI development — reversed course this week, ordering a moratorium on new data center approvals until state regulators can audit the projects seeking to join Texas's power grid. In a Monday letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which oversees roughly 90% of the state's grid, Abbott directed both agencies to conduct

After spending an entire football season away from campus, the Sam Houston Bearkats are finally coming home. This fall, Sam Houston State University will welcome fans back to Elliott T. Bowers Stadium following a major renovation that represents one of the largest investments in athletic facilities in school history. The project is part of an approximately $90 million capital improvement initiative designed to strengthen the university's athletic programs as it continues esta

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Huntsville has experienced steady growth in recent years, with new housing developments, expanding retail options, and proposals for major entertainment attractions. As the city continues to evolve, some residents are beginning to ask another question: Is it time for Huntsville to invest in a dedicated community performing arts theater? Orion Amphitheater & Apollo Park in Huntsville, Texas. By Brent Cassity Reporting from Huntsville, Texas, USA July 20, 20