In Parmer County: $40 per year
Out of Parmer County: $50 per year
eStar (emailed): $30 per year
Call 806-250-5200 for more information
Reception Reminder — Friona Interbank is celebrating the 50th anniversary and retirement of Elaine Cain on Friday, July 31, 2026. The anniversary/retirement celebration is a come & go reception from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The employees of Friona Interbank would like to invite you to stop by and congratulate Elaine on her retirement after 50 years of employment. Happy Trails, Elaine
* * *
Important Tag Deadline — Parmer County Extension Office Manager Deena Lucero reminds you that tags for Fall goats and lambs are due no later than August 20th. Please let your Ag Teacher know or your local 4-H agent, Janelle Duffey. The cost this year is $27.00 per tag. Thanks!
* * *
Save the Date — The next Friona Community Blood Drive is scheduled for Wednesday, August 12th from Noon until 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Citizen’s Building located at 1400 N. Washington Avenue.
* * *
Mandatory Heat Rules Start August 1st — Every Texas high school must follow mandatory heat-safety rules for outdoor sports and marching band beginning August 1st, under a formal University Interscholastic League (UIL) rule change. Schools will use wet-bulb globe temperature readings—which factor in humidity, wind, and sunlight—to set work-to-rest ratios, add hydration breaks, require athletes to shed pads and gear, or cancel practice outright when regional thresholds are crossed. Rapid-cooling equipment, such as cold-water immersion tubs, must be on site. The mandate follows the August 2025 death of Preston Malone III, a 15-year-old Lancaster junior varsity football player who apparently collapsed from exertional heatstroke during an indoor practice. The UIL adopted the monitoring as a recommendation in 2023. Its Medical Advisory Committee urged making it mandatory, and the Legislative Council approved. The Texas Flyover
* * *
On The Rise — The Spikes Under the Lights mini volleyball tournament has set its August 27th matchups: Nebraska-Florida at 7 p.m. and Penn State-SMU at 8 p.m., with the winners meeting at 9 p.m. for the championship. The tournament will mark the first women’s collegiate sporting event ever held at AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. In addition to showcasing four of the nation’s premier volleyball programs, the event will feature a $1 million prize purse, which organizers say is the largest ever awarded in women’s college sports. The tournament comes as women’s volleyball continues to see record growth in attendance, television viewership and national exposure, with major events drawing increasingly large crowds across the country. The Texas Flyover
* * *
Sailor Survives a Month Adrift in Pacific — A California sailor stranded in the Pacific for over a month was rescued by a passing container ship after drifting hundreds of miles off course toward Hawaii. Kai Sato, 39, left Catalina Island on June 7, attempting his first solo Pacific crossing. Two weeks in, his mast snapped, his fuel ran out, and his phone, his only way to call for help, died. Sato lived on oatmeal, plus fish and squid that landed on deck, and licked condensation off plastic bags stretched over buckets of seawater. A makeshift rig he built from PVC pipes and kayak paddles took nearly a month to carry him back to the shipping lane, where a cargo crew pulled him aboard. Next up, he says: the Philippines. The Flyover
* * *
Texas Tea — Venezuelan crude oil imports to the Gulf Coast jumped from roughly 110,000 barrels per day in January to 575,000 in June, the most since 2018, as the Iran war chokes off Middle Eastern supply. Texas refineries have taken 43% of the flow, the largest share. The Texas Flyover
* * *
