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Louis Amestoy

Growing up in Southern California, Louis Amestoy remained connected to Texas as the birthplace of his father and grandfather. Texas was always a presence in the family’s life. Amestoy’s great-grandparents settled in San Antonio, Texas, drawn by the city’s connections to Mexico and the region’s German communities. In 2019, Louis Amestoy saw an opportunity to make a home in Texas. After 30 years of working for corporate media chains, Louis Amestoy saw a chance to establish an independent voice in the Texas Hill Country. He launched The Lead to be that vehicle. With investment from Meta, Amestoy began independently publishing on Aug. 9, 2021. The Amestoys have called Kerrville home since 2019.

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Louis's Latest Articles

Photo gallery: Hill Country Arts Foundation’s Hot Shakespeare at Arcadia Live

A night of painful delight at Arcadia Live.

Two more Kerr County offices set to reopen at courthouse next week

The Kerr County Clerk's Office and the Tax Assessor-Collector's Office will both return to the Kerr County Courthouse next week, marking the latest offices to reopen at 700 Main Street since flood damage forced them out.

Wayne Cahela: Jan. 6, 1965-Aug. 19, 2026

Beyond his professional success, Wayne’s greatest achievement and deepest pride was being a father to his son, Tyler, and his daughter, Reagan.

Flood debris trucks roll Wednesday: Kerr County launches 3-week C&D pickup in unincorporated areas

Household garbage will not be collected, and Sheriff Larry Leitha has warned that his office will take a zero-tolerance approach to anyone illegally dumping garbage into flood debris piles.

Butt-Holdsworth turns 59 Wednesday — and wants your memories for its 60th

But this year's party comes with an assignment: the library is collecting community memories ahead of its 60th anniversary in 2027.

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.