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Ingram, Hunt lead the way in Kerr County statewide academic scores
Ingram and Hunt ISDs earned some of the strongest numbers in the county, Kerrville ISD showed signs of a rebound alongside a few slipping campuses, and Center Point ISD saw declines at two of its three campuses.
The Lead’s stories
The top 25 moments from Lead Live’s Fifth Annual Nonprofit Week — so far
Sixty-eight segments. 121 guests. Six broadcast days, totaling more than 30 hours. What follows are the 25 moments from The Lead Live’s Fifth Annual Nonprofit Week that we can’t stop thinking about — the revelations, the stories, and the lines that captured something true about Kerr County in the summer of 2026.
Kerr County weather: First 100-degree stretch of the year arrives this weekend
Saturday is mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 101 and a heat index as high as 104. Light and variable wind will become south-southeast at 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Skies turn partly cloudy Saturday night, with a low around 74 and south wind 5 to 10 mph.
Kerr Together has been coordinating flood recovery for a year — and couldn’t legally accept a donation the whole time
Temporary housing remains a significant unsolved problem. Local Airbnb credits are exhausted. The rental market — high prices, low inventory — has pushed some displaced residents to look as far as Fredericksburg and Bandera.
Hill Country Charity Ball raised a record $222,000 last year — and is now watching the flood drain everyone else’s donations
Last year’s ball — held at Sendera Springs with 280 people squeezed into a venue whose normal wedding capacity is 50, dancing moved outside to make it work — raised a record $222,000.
Guadalupe River Center offers to take over park development so city can redirect $2.2 million to flood repairs
The facility itself is designed as Kerrville’s “community living room” — a public hub for recreation, water access, education, and social gathering.
Veterans Assistance Dogs of Texas: Cole weighs 120 pounds and has already saved Will Scott’s life
VADogs — which carries no affiliation with the federal Veterans Administration and receives no government funding — has placed 83 specially trained service dogs with disabled Texas veterans since its founding, entirely through private donations.
Chamber Foundation raised $2.3 million after 2025 flood. After 2026, it has $35,000.
“I challenge you to go into a business you’ve never been to and buy something,” she said. “Those simple things will help our retailers not only survive, but thrive. They are the backbone of our economy.”
Kerrville police investigate overnight shooting on West Schreiner Street
The woman was flown by air ambulance to a San Antonio hospital, where she is listed in stable condition.
Texas ranks 36th nationally in state livability study, trails on health and education despite high quality-of-life score
Idaho topped the overall list, followed by New Jersey, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Texas finished with a total score of 48.35, sandwiched between Maryland (35th) and Hawaii (37th).
Explainer: What kind of license plate cameras are actually watching Kerrville
The city says it doesn’t use Flock. That’s true — but it’s not the whole picture.
More than 70 nonprofits, seven days: Lead Live’s Nonprofit Week opens Friday with its biggest lineup ever
All segments air live on The Kerr County Lead’s Facebook and YouTube pages and are archived at kerrcountylead.com/forging-connections-nonprofit-week-on-the-lead-live/. The complete schedule is available at that link.
Democratic Senate candidate Talarico brings campaign swing to deep-red Kerrville
The stop puts Talarico, a Texas state representative from Round Rock, in a county with a strong recent history of backing Republicans by wide margins. Trump carried Kerr County with 76.7% of the vote in the 2024 general election, while Ted Cruz won 74.1% in the Senate race and Chip Roy took 76.9% in the 21st Congressional District.
Kerrville police issue 98 citations, make five arrests in Operation Slowdown
Officers stopped 208 vehicles during the roughly two-week initiative, which was funded by the Texas Department of Transportation and targeted speeding and unsafe driving, the department said.
Aquatic life showing signs of resilience after second major flood, state biologists say
Recovery efforts already underway as TPWD expands assessments across multiple watersheds
The Lead’s Special Report
The monster in the canyon: What the storm actually was — and what was never asked
Nine months after the flood, federal meteorologists tell the full story. In 15 hours of legislative testimony this week, none of it came up.
At 12:56 a.m. on July 4, 2025, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Austin sent a message through its professional communications platform: “Some cell mergers about to take place in central Kerr County. This will be an area to watch for potential flash flooding.”
Eighteen minutes later, a flash flood warning went out to cell phones across the Hunt area — the ninth such warning issued for the Guadalupe River corridor since 2020. The previous eight had all expired without a mass casualty event.
By 4:03 a.m., NWS had upgraded that warning to a Flash Flood Emergency — the most urgent alert the agency can issue. Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas was home sick that night. Whether anyone else in Kerr County’s emergency structure was actively monitoring professional NWS channels during those critical hours remains unknown. Read more: https://kerrcountylead.com/the-monster-in-the-canyon-what-the-storm-actually-was-and-what-was-never-asked/
The Lead’s Special Sections
Day 4 video
Nonprofit Week 2026
All Hands and Hearts: ‘Flash flooding typically doesn’t go for 20 miles’
The organization is working in close collaboration with Texas State University and San Antonio regional VOAD — Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters — networks to develop and share mitigation education more broadly.
Light on the Hill: 469 households reached, 200 more this week, and a food pantry Monday morning
Palmer appeared as the opening guest of Nonprofit Week’s final day to describe an organization that has been in continuous disaster response mode since July 4, 2025 — and is, by her own honest assessment, running a marathon with no finish line in sight.
Reach Global: ‘People over projects’ — and a daughter born in a baptistry at the peak of the flood
Reach Global Crisis Response was founded by Mark Lewis during Hurricane Katrina after he observed something most disaster relief organizations miss: survivors often experience their deepest emotional trauma not during the disaster but after — when the crews leave, the house goes quiet, and the weight of what happened finally lands. The organization’s entire model is built to address that gap.
Water Street Festival returns Oct. 24 — and a three-year-old’s dance at Francisco’s is why
Sigerman, a Kerrville City Councilmember, appeared to promote the second annual Water Street Festival — Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — and to make the case that community events are not optional extras in a flood recovery economy. They are economic survival.
Schreiner Songkeepers: a world-class violist, a strong opinion about AI, and a man who used it to leave a final album for his family
The program works with students of any level. Caldwell described a collaboration with Mac Damon of Stone Creek Sound in which a student who simply wants to write a song about their dog can emerge with a professionally recorded track.
Hill Country Ministries: 192 countries, 10 million emails, Stage 3 cancer, and ‘use it for my glory’
“God impressed on me: use it for my glory,” she said Monday on The Lead Live’s Nonprofit Week — the final guest of the final day of The Lead Live’s Fifth Annual Nonprofit Week.
Kerr Kids: a military helicopter flew over, and a mother decided her children needed somewhere to play
The operating model is deliberate and worth understanding: Kerr Kids is a stay-and-play facility. Parents do not drop children off and leave. They stay and play alongside their kids. Chavez described watching something she did not expect.
Texas Hill Country Trail Alliance: $113,800 raised, 100 acres of undeveloped park, and a rule about carpet
The alliance’s primary project is Singing Wind Park — 100 acres of city-owned land on the outskirts of Kerrville that has long been underutilized.
Kerr Arts and Cultural Center: Navigating building capacity and there’s a vault sale in the basement
“There’s been so much exhaustion when it comes to the impact of the floods and giving,” she said Monday on The Lead Live’s Nonprofit Week. “All we’re all hungry right now. People just aren’t giving to the arts right now.”
The top 25 moments from Lead Live’s Fifth Annual Nonprofit Week — so far
Sixty-eight segments. 121 guests. Six broadcast days, totaling more than 30 hours. What follows are the 25 moments from The Lead Live’s Fifth Annual Nonprofit Week that we can’t stop thinking about — the revelations, the stories, and the lines that captured something true about Kerr County in the summer of 2026.
Arts and Culture
Water Street Festival returns Oct. 24 — and a three-year-old’s dance at Francisco’s is why
Sigerman, a Kerrville City Councilmember, appeared to promote the second annual Water Street Festival — Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — and to make the case that community events are not optional extras in a flood recovery economy. They are economic survival.
New book on July 4 flood premieres Sept. 9 at Schreiner, with a chapter dedicated to the late Jane Ragsdale
Tom Fox, who also established the Texas Podcast Network and serves on the board of the Museum of Western Art, wrote “Deluge Before Dawn: Heartbreak, Survival, and Resilience After the Guadalupe River Raged.” Fox said the project began as a way to process his own experience of the disaster.
‘Rocky Horror’ shadowcast returns to Arcadia Live for Halloween
The group will hold auditions Saturday, Sept. 19, followed by rehearsals starting Sept. 24. The live performance is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Arcadia Live, 717 Water St.
Photo galleries
Photo gallery: July 18, 2026 flood recovery
Across Kerr County on July 18, the community came together to help feed residents who were displaced by the July 16, 2026 flood.
Photo gallery: July 17, 2026 flood recovery
The day after the July 16, 2026 flood, Kerrville and Kerr County tried to pick up the pieces following a devastating event that damaged hundreds of homes and businesses.
Photo gallery: July 16, 2026 flood in Kerr County
In the early morning hours of July 16, 2026, another devastating flood tore through Kerr County, leaving one man dead in Kerrville.
Photo gallery: The 2026 Down Home Parade in Center Point
The Center Point community gathered in force on Saturday for the annual Down Home Parade
Photo gallery: The Lead’s Fourth on the River photos since 2022
Since 2022, The Kerr County Lead has covered Fourth on the River from the crowd at Louise Hays Park — the bands, the fireworks, the kids splashing in the Guadalupe, the whole town turning out for the Hill Country’s biggest Independence Day party.
Photo gallery: The 2026 Bluebell Bike Parade
Riders of all ages decorated their bikes before setting off on the charming neighborhood parade route, adding a lighthearted, family-friendly moment to the holiday.
Photo gallery: Symphony of the Hills’ “Stars, Stripes and Spirit” concert
Conductor Dr. Eugene Dowdy said the free concert was meant to honor both the tragedy and the community’s resilience, and before the performance, the public viewed nine original paintings from artist Robert R. “Bobby” Cahill’s “Freedom” series, tracing the history of the American flag since 1776.
Photo gallery: The 2026 Fourth on the River
The free, all-ages celebration featured a full day of live music — including Los Juanos, Jamie Lin Wilson, Junior Brown and William Beckmann, several of whom were booked for last year’s canceled show.
Photo gallery: Faith and Fellowship at Louise Hays Park
The free event offered space for community healing ahead of the flood anniversary, with live music from Southern Oaks Church, Briscoe and Caleb & Kelsey, plus access to trained mental health professionals for those still processing last year’s tragedy.
Photo gallery: Kerrville Pets Alive remembrance
Kerrville Pets Alive hosted a remembrance ceremony to honor pets lost in the July 4, 2025 flood in Kerr County.
Sports
Texas Hill Country Trail Alliance: $113,800 raised, 100 acres of undeveloped park, and a rule about carpet
The alliance’s primary project is Singing Wind Park — 100 acres of city-owned land on the outskirts of Kerrville that has long been underutilized.
Schreiner women’s soccer picked last in ASC debut, but three Mountaineers make watch list
The Mountaineers were picked sixth of six teams in the 2026 ASC preseason poll, released following a vote by conference head coaches and sports information directors.
Schreiner men’s soccer lands mid-pack in first ASC preseason poll
The Mountaineers were picked fourth of six teams in the 2026 American Southwest Conference preseason poll, released following a vote by league head coaches and sports information directors.
Schreiner University Sports Pages
Obituaries
Holly Ann (Swank) Cummings: Dec. 20, 1973-Aug. 3, 2026
Holly was a teacher, a writer, a poet, and a lifelong encourager. She found joy in helping others, sharing her creativity, and celebrating the people she loved.
Richard Bloom Sr.: Dec. 5, 1936-Aug. 19, 2026
He started a lifelong career as a rancher and was a member of the Brangus Breeders Association, a career that took him from Oklahoma to Texas. In Center Point, he was president of the school board, where he helped lead the efforts to get the new high school built in 1979.
Patricia Ann Martinez: April 4, 1969-Aug. 21, 2026
Throughout her battle with cancer, Patricia demonstrated incredible strength and courage. Her faith remained a guiding light, carrying her through the difficult days and reminding everyone around her of the strength within her.
Suzanne Faught: May 15, 1939-Aug. 23, 2026
She had a charitable and giving spirit and generously helped her friends, family, church, and other organizations whenever she saw a need.
Yvonne Suarez: Jan. 2, 1935-Aug. 9, 2026
Yvonne kept her beautiful smile and her warm, loving personality. She spent time reading her daily Word, cross-stitching, challenging anyone to a game of dominoes and reading the Brunstetter series.
Community voices
Wayne Uecker: So, God made a small-town Texas business owner
In this Paul Harvey-inspired piece, Kerrville resident Wayne Uecker praises the small business owners of Kerr County.
Editorial: A year later, the hardest comment to hear
So when “nobody told us” gets said out loud, a year on, it lands as a heavy sigh for everyone who has spent that year telling. The nonprofits that stood up relief funds within the week. The case managers. The volunteers.
Commentary: How a trip to Ingram helped bond, unite the San Antonio Spurs to greatness
That trip was initiated by Spurs ownership and management, but it was executed by head coach Mitch Johnson, who made trips to Kerr County in the days immediately after the flood. Johnson saw the devastation firsthand through his volunteer efforts; he connected with the community, especially Ingram Tom Moore football coach and athletic director Tate DeMasco.
They came for Brenda Hughes. Here’s what they used — and what the truth is.
This has been an extraordinary campaign. Not because of anything Hughes has done, but because of what has been done to her.
The Mission of The Kerr County Lead
Covering community news in the heart of the Hill Country.
Founded in 2021, The Kerr County Lead aims to provide high-quality journalism for Kerrville, Texas and the surrounding communities of the splendid Texas Hill Country. In the coming years, Texas faces exponential growth and the challenges of managing land, resources and water. At the same time, the Hill Country offers a robust quality of life and culture. With this mission, The Lead focuses its work on the stories that matter most to the readers in Kerr County.
