March 2, 1940 ~ September 24, 2022 MJ “Butch” Shoemaker, age 82, passed, unexpectedly, Saturday, September 24, 2022 at M.A. Assisted Living, in Natalia. Butch was born March 2, 1940, in Washington, DC, the son of Milton John aka Milton Fremont Shoemaker and Frances Housel Shoemaker. Butch, as known by his many friends, graduated from Edison High School in 1958. After graduating from high school, Butch’s mother told him to either get a job or join the military, so at age 18, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served 4 years as an Electrician’s Mate aboard the Aircraft carrier, USS Coral Sea. In May 1964, after his military service was completed, he went to work for Union Pacific Railroad, which later became Missouri Pacific or MOPAC. Butch started as a Trainman and worked his way up to Conductor status when he retired, after 41 years, in January 2005. He loved working for the Railroad, was dedicated to his job, and formed many Railroad friendships during this time, with lunches and get-togethers continuing after his retirement. In his mid-30’s, Butch married Juanita Hill and they were married for 32 years until her death in 2009. In 2010, Butch was fortunate to find, at age 70, the perfect partner with whom to spend the rest of his life, Linda Darlene (Rutherford) Glover. They were married for 12 years. It was during this time that Butch was baptized at Southwest Church of Christ, by Bro. Bob Stokes, the minister who married them. Bro. Bob and Butch became good friends and Butch became a faithful servant to his Lord and Master. Even though he had only been a Christian a short time and was still learning, Butch would participate in helping serve at the Communion table and whatever else he felt comfortable doing. A few years ago, Butch & Linda started worshipping at the Natalia Church of Christ closer to home in Lytle and developed a deep fondness for this loving and caring “church family”. Butch loved his church family, his immediate family, especially all the children with whom he bonded very quickly. He loved driving his 1919 Model-T Depot Hack, which he inherited from Juanita’s father. He got a big thrill out of driving it in parades, going on Model-T tours along with Linda and Butter, his yellow lab. She rode in the front seat next to Butch until Linda came along, and then she had to “take a back seat” but was ok with that just as long as she got to ride. He also loved his animals, watching the weather and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Butch always had a firm handshake and a bear hug for anyone he met…it was really hard for him during Covid to refrain from hugging anyone. He was a gentle man who exhibited concern and empathy for others. Butch supported the Veterans of Foreign Wars and when available would buy a poppy or two from them. He always made it a point that we vote in important elections. Surviving, in addition to his wife, Linda, are his step-children, Christine M. Glover of Lytle; Justin W. Glover and wife, Sharon, of Natalia; three step-grandchildren, Coleton Martin, Darren Glover and Katelyn Glover; one step-great-granddaughter, Kendall Martin; one sister, Georgiana “Pinky” Shoemaker Starzel and husband, Dave Madison of Denver; two brothers, Lawson Housel “Happy” Shoemaker and his wife, Pat; Joel David Shoemaker; & numerous nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 11:00 am at Primrose Funeral Services, 14822 Main Street, Lytle, Texas 78052 with Preacher Jim Word officiating. A private burial will follow at Jourdanton City Cemetery in Jourdanton, Texas. Memorials can be sent to M.A. Assisted Living, 185 CR 679, Natalia, TX. 78059, under MJ “Butch” Shoemaker or Natalia Church of Christ, P.O. Box 209, Natalia, Texas 78059 Anyone wishing to leave condolences, share memories, or sign the guest book may do so at www.primrosefuneralservices.com Arrangements by Primrose Funeral Services, 14822 Main St., Lytle, Tx. 78052, (830) 709-0698.
Students of the month Noah Davila and Bailey Oropeza with Lewis Stroud and DHS Principal Juan Gonzalez.
Meet Bailey Oropeza This past September, Oropeza was accepted into Texas A&M University in College Station. She will major in Kinesiology, minor in Psychology. “This will set me on track to receive my Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree,” Oropeza said. “I have been a member of Arabian Volleyball and Track teams for 4 years. I also served as the secretary of Student Council for 3 years. As a freshman, I was elected President of my class and for the last 3 years, I have remained an active member and secretary for our class. I have also been a member of FCCLA for all four years of high school. Last year I was inducted into the National Honor Society and have been an active member ever since. Outside of school, I have been a member of Hosanna Baptist Church in Poteet for my 18 years of my life.”
Meet Noah Davila Davila will attend Texas Tech, The College of Media and Communication in Lubbock. “It is one of the best in the state and will provide me opportunities to experiment with all kinds of broadcasting and find internships at associated stations or even studying in D.C. and covering senate meetings,” Davila said. “I’m the Editor –in-Chief of the school website, The Warhorse. I also work part time at The Devine News. Sometimes I’m the observed instead of the observer. I played base drums for the past four years in the Marching Band.”
So close! The Lytle Lady Pirates clenched the Bi-District, Area, Regional Quarterfinal, and Regional Semifinal Championships this year before falling to Columbus by only 3 points. Above, Coach Lori Wilson and her team celebrate the Regional Semifinal Championship last weekend. Poster page and story inside. This awesome shot showing all the excitement of the night was captured by Samantha Martinez.
The Lytle Lady Pirates…Pictured in Front row L-R are: Athletic Director and Head Basketball Coach Lori Wilson, Amelia Martinez, Cameron “Fizz” Hutton, Calyssa Sevier, Cadee Martinez, Mackenzie Sessom. Back row L-R: Ariana Garcia, Jessica Mata, Valentina Ayala, Lunna Reyes, Katara Whitfield, Assistant Basketball Coach Tammie Tilley, Assistant Basketball Coach Kaitlyn Kyle, Team Manager Lola Patino, Olivia Vielma. Not pictured: Rose Scotello. Photos by Lorraine Migura.
Lytle HS filmmakers at the award show. Front Row L-R: Citlali Ferreira, Sarah Ytuarte, Alexandra Cabrera, Back Row L-R: Clarissa Hernandez, Marissa Hernandez, Elias Moore, Jose Gomez; Not Pictured: Kaden Moore, Chessa Hartley-Mapes, and Naveah Mercer.
By Kayleen Holder Editor It’s easy to see why Lytle students were able to capture the UIL State Championship and the prestigious Nobelity Social Impact Award this past week. The short 7 -minute video titled “Housing for the Un housed” gives viewers a glimpse into an awesome project underway in San Antonio in which a community of 208 housing units are being built for the homeless. The 208 units in Towne Twin will consist of tiny homes, RVs and apartments, and there will also be professional support services on site to help individuals as they start a new life. As one volunteer stated, this project is about showing that “people cherish one another”. Lytle students did an excellent job of presenting an important story in a clear and concise way with short interviews from the volunteers who are making it happen.
Elias Moore focuses on his subject as the lead videographer on the documentary film production.
The following is a press release submitted by Lytle ISD: On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at the University of Texas’ Lyndon B. Johnson Auditorium seven of our top Digital Design / Skull Studios students had the thrill of watching one of our UIL Documentary Film Projects premiere on a theater screen to hundreds of their peers from across the state of Texas. We could hear the audience’s sighs of heartfelt appreciation for our documentary, Housing the Unhoused – affirmation that hard work had produced something lasting, beautiful and important. Thrill number two was even better.
The Nobelity Project founders, Christy and Turk Pipkin entered the stage to announce the winners of the Nobelity Social Impact Award. Out of 125 nominated entries, Lytle’s documentary has been awarded 1st place and the program receives a $1,000 gift certificate to purchase more equipment. After photos on the stage and back to our seats, thrill number three came quickly, they said. The UIL Director Paula Rodriguez announces the Conference 1-3A UIL Young Filmmakers Documentary winners. “The excitement built as they named third place, then second place, and in that final moment, we all hear them say, “and the State Champion Documentary winner is…Housing the Unhoused by Lytle High School!” What a moment of joy and excitement.
Citlali Ferreira and Sarah Ytuarte get the microphone ready for their interview with a Twin Towne Villages staff member.
“After a long drive home from Austin, our awesome Mayor of Lytle, Mr. Ruben Gonzalez still had one more thrill planned for our students. As we arrived back home, all were surprised by a siren-and-lights police escort through town all the way to the High School parking lot where Mayor Gonzalez could be seen in the dark waving a huge black Lytle Pirate Flag. Pirate Pride! He put the icing on the cake for our big day.”
Lytle students would love for you to watch Housing the Unhoused. Let us know what you think: http://bit.ly/LytleHSHousingChamp Please watch through the credits to see ALL our students who worked so hard on this documentary. A special thanks to the following four who went above and beyond. They showed up before school, after school, during lunch, and even on school holidays to complete this video project. They showed true dedication and earned this history-making win. Citlali Ferreira – photographer, video editor and naturally gifted interviewer Sarah Ytuarte – videographer, audio engineer and video editor Elias – videographer and editor Jose Gomez – videographer, music producer and audio editor A special thank you to Skull Studios sponsor, Mr. Andrew Oser who coached this production team well and made all the arrangements for transportation, food and logistics to help our students be successful.
Finally, thank you to Lytle Superintendent Michelle Smith who has always been Skull Studio’s biggest fan. Her support has paved the way for this program’s success. With hundreds of films to compete against each year, we now have 7 film projects make it to the TOP SIX in the state since the UIL competition’s inception in 2014. Our lucky number 7 is our first CHAMPION!” This 2-minute video in the following link is the closest we can get to sharing the thrill of our experience winning the UIL Young Filmmakers Documentary 1-3A State Champion title. https://youtu.be/nGe9q8cGQ3w Lytle ISD extends Thank yous to Libby Stewart and all our Lytle leaders, faculty and support staff whose support made this thrilling trip possible. Special thanks to our Mayor Gonzalez and our Lytle Police Department who made our return home a victory parade.
Not every day is easy for Alessa Nino, 8, who is facing kidney disease at such a young age, but she was definitely all smiles as she picked up her new Barbie Dreamhouse and accessories donated by community members. “It’s good to see her smiling,” said one generous donor. Alessa’s family is so grateful for these gifts and still praying a living kidney donor will come forward soon. A match has not been found yet. See page 5 for more info
Can you help?
Alessa Nino, 8 years old LYTLE,TX
If you have two healthy kidneys, you may be able to donate one to Alessa. Find out how you can become a living donor by checking out UTCLivingDonor.com or calling 210-567-5777.
By Anton Riecher and Kathleen Calame As of the Februrary 21st Devine Council meeting, there had still been no word from the Texas Water Development Board on payments. Raul Garcia, Jr. of Garcia and Wright Consulting Engineers updated the council on the status of negotiations with the TWD Board with regard to a $9.9 million loan to the city to replace aging asbestos-laden cement water lines, the lines that provide drinking water to the entire city. Although some work is still continuing on the lines, the contractor will be asking for more payments soon. The TWDB is refusing to fund the portion of the project that involves actual removal of the cement lines being replaced.However, not a penny has been spent on removal of the asbestos lines to date, Garcia said. “We’ve made that very clear to the TWDB on multiple occasions,” he said. The council had submitted a change order to the project that involves leaving the cement pipe in the ground, he said. However, no further developments have been forthcoming from the TWDB, Garcia said. “Crickets is all we hear” said Garcia referring to the lack of communication from the Texas Water Development Board. “We have given them everything they have asked for.” A 13 page breakdown of all the emails sent to the water board over the last 4-5 years since the start of the 2018 project was handed to the council during this discussion from Interim City Administrator Dora Rodriguez, noting she has given them everything asked for multiple times. Councilman Josh Ritchey had asked where the city was on the funds, and how much was left out of the $1million emergency loan (borrowed last month, onJanuary 20, to pay the contractor 4 months of back pay). The question was never answered, only discussion about emails and no further communication. AIRPORT HANGARS In resolution of a long standing airport issue the council approved an $885,000 settlement agreement to acquire more than 21,800 square feet of hangar space. Three hangers (17,090 sq feet, 2,482 sq feet and one 2,284 sq feet) all currently owned by David Ehlinger, President of Aviation Fuels, Inc. Cate told the council that based on advice from an outside firm hired by the city “this is the best course of action.” “We were told by (Texas Department of Transportation) Aviation that we need to get control of the airport, we need to stop allowing people to have non-aviation activities there,” Cate said. “This is part of it.” Devine sent Aviation Fuels an offer to purchase the hangers for $845,000 on November 2, 2022. Aviation Fuels agreed to Devine’s offer on November 4. Aviation Fuels shall vacate the hangars and relocate to another location by February 28, 2023, the relocation deadline. Devine had signed a lease with Aviation Fuels on January 1, 2010 regarding the hangars. The final settlement also includes nearly $40,000 in relocation funds for Aviation Fuels, Inc. Money to fund the purchase is from certificates of obligation issued in September 2021. The council approved the agreement on a motion by Randall, seconded by Espinosa. Cate also reported that two other hangars at the airport are up for sale. SHAVER STREET PAVING PROJECT Later, during consideration of awarding bids for the 2022 Shaver Project including street, water and sewer improvements Pichardo thanked Garcia. “Thank you for your work,” Pichardo said. “We truly appreciate it. I did speak with you after the last meeting. Thank you so much. Again, we want what is in the best interest of the citizens so I appreciate the great work that you’ve done.” On a motion by Randall, the council approved the $99,771 bid submitted by Aetos Construction, LLC from San Antonio for the Shaver project. The motion was seconded by Espinosa. The Aetos bid was the lowest of three submitted, ONO Contracting, Inc bid $108,001 and American Underground, LLC bid $162,064. The project includes street excavation, compacted base, asphalt paving, 8-inch PVC sanitary sewer lines, manholes, 6-inch PVC water lines and six gate valves. The Shaver Street Improvements are from Davis Street to Kempf Street using 100% local funds. It was noted that the new city water lines have not been installed in the area of the Shaver Project yet. City Administrator HW Tension again surfaced between Devine City Council members on efforts to recruit applications for a permanent city administrator. After bringing down the gavel to end a clash over dropping previous experience requirements from city administrator applicants Mayor Cory Thompson made his position clear. “This is a great example of why they don’t want to come here,” Thompson said. “I’ve brought this up before. Anytime you put out negative we’re going to have trouble attracting people.” The council voted in November to advertise in professional publications for a new city administrator. After less than four months in office, previous city administrator John Vidaurri resigned in October 2021, leaving city secretary Dora Rodriguez to once again serve on an interim basis as she had following the termination of Joe Ramos in June 2016 who had been there for six months. Specifically, the city is asking for candidates with three to five years of experience as a city administrator or manager who also holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration, management or business. District 4 Council Member Josh Ritchey made a motion Feb. 21 suggesting to drop the experience requirement. Interim City Admin Dora Rodriguez asked, “Who is going to train them?” To which Ritchey replied, “The person doing the job right now”. The motion, seconded by District 2 Council Member Angela Pichardo, failed in a 2-2 tie vote broken by Thompson in the absence of District 1 Council Member Rufino Vega. To date, the city has received less than a dozen applicants for the position whereas previously the opening drew as many as 20 to 30 at one time. “All of the other cities advertising at the same time have already found one, “ said Council Member Debbie Randall. Rodriguez specifically faulted the Internet live streaming of council meetings as discouraging interest in the job. Applicants who do their homework review these recordings before declaring their interest, she said. Pending further applications, action on the search for a candidate was postponed for a future council session. District 3 Council Member David Espinosa added that in future “we need to conduct ourselves more professionally at the table.” District 2 Council Member Angela Pichardo said she was in agreement with Espinosa’s statement. “Thank you, sir,” she said. A letter, read by the Mayor, submitted by Raul Garcia, Jr. of Garcia and Wright Consulting Engineers referred to remarks during the council’s Feb. 13 regular meeting on issues related to a $15 million bond election to fund a new massive drainage project that had just been brought to council that day and put to a vote. “I got the impression that some council members were doubting my engineering abilities and those of my late father who was very passionate about his work with the City of Devine for much of the last 30 years,” Garcia wrote. Garcia’s letter listed his qualifications from being a 1986 Texas A&M University graduate with bachelor’s degree in civil engineering to becoming a registered professional engineer in 1992, working for clients such as the City of San Antonio and San Antonio Water System. “I do ask that if you, council, have any questions or concerns regarding the engineering design of any of the project I am working on for the City of Devine please let me know privately rather than in a council meeting setting,” Garcia said. TEC Also related to public works, Rodriguez reported that city workers lost nearly half a day dealing with a complaint filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality charging that city water had been contaminated during repairs to ground storage. However, the only repair work being done was at another site – the Bain well that draws from the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer. Regardless, the TCEQ ordered samples for testing drawn from all elevated tanks. Those samples tested as clean, Rodriguez said. Wastewater service rejected Council members voted to reject a request by Southwest Engineers, Inc., a civil engineering firm, to provide wastewater service to the proposed Agape Oaks residential development, located at the former site of the old Morales Feed Lot on I35 in Medina County. Thompson noted that the entire development was miles beyond the city limits and well outside the established service area for city sewer. City Attorney Thomas Cate told the council that the request was a necessary step before the developer could pursue other funding. Artist to paint Mural on CC Wall On a motion by Ritchey seconded by Pichardo, the council voted to provide $1,500 for a mural on the rear of the city hall building. The council had approved the project at an earlier date but did not allocate funds for the work. “I think this would be a long-term investment in promoting Devine,” Pichardo said. Mayor Thompson said it had to be completed by April 1 so it would be available for the Art Walk. Cindy Morales explained she had done as asked and found local artists interested but felt it was the city obligation to pay not the chamber since it was their wall. She agreed to contact the professional artist, Kirsten Schneider, and see if she could get the sketches of the mural to the council for approval, plus asked if Kirsten could meet the deadline set by the mayor. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Devine Chamber of Commerce President Cindy Morales was on hand also to present the results of another project to promote the city. The Chamber’s “Think Devine” logo has been expanded to read “Think, Shop, Dine Devine: Support the businesses that support your community.” “We really wanted that in there because we have a really giving, wonderful community that gives and gives and gives to all our school districts and to our local organizations such as the non-profits,” Morales said. Morales also presented new chamber vice president Liza Hill and secretary Brittany Sullivan-Ott to the council. Bain Well property bid rejected Fred and Regina Morales submitted a bid for $10,000 to buy the old Bain well property that the city wants to sell. Since the city had set the rules of the bid to a minimum of $24,000 the appraised value of the land at the recommendation of Councilman Randall, Attorney Cate confirmed they could not legally accept the bid. Complete video coverage of the meeting is available on the Devine News YouTube channel at youtube/ridaiEj03VM. Most council meetings are also on cityofdevine.org on the live council meeting tab at the top of their website.
Candidates who have signed up as of the deadline on Friday, Feb. 17 are: District 1 – Miguel Aguirre, District 2 – Richard Hughes, and District 3 – David Emery. Sam Cortez and Joseph Morrow did not sign up for re-election. Serving currently are: Ruben Gonzalez as Mayor, Joseph Morrow as Alderman of District 1, Sam Cortez- Alderman of District 2, David Emery as Alderman of District 3, Michael Rodriguez as Alderman of District 4, and Charles Cate as Alderman of District 5. The election is scheduled for May 6, 2023 unless it is cancelled due to no contested races.
The City of Devine will have two contested races on the May 6 election for Mayor and District 2 seats. Businessmen Butch Cook filed for the Mayor position on Monday, February 13 and then on the last day to file incumbent Mayor Cory Thompson decided to add his name to the ballot after all. District 2 Incumbent Angela Pichardo re-filed for office on Monday, February 13 and then on the deadline on Friday Michael Hernandez filed and is challenging her for that position. District 5 Incumbent Debbie Randall is seeking re-election also, filing on the February 17 deadline. $15.02 Million Bond Election Registered voters who reside in the City of Devine will have several issues on the May 6, 2023 ballot. Besides the council races there is a Bond Election, giving the voters a chance “to vote” where they wanted to spend money and raise taxes to address a few of the 100 year flood drainage issues on one side of town. -Yes or no to $15.02 Million Dollar Bond: Raise taxes to max out the tax rate for 20 years to address some of the flood water drainage issues starting in District 4 and ending in District 2. Important to note: If passed it would also limit the ability for the City of Devine to ask for any future bonds for next 20 years for anything needed tying the hands of the city financially to seek help by way of a bond. Early Voting April 24- May 2 The election is Saturday, May 6 at City Hall, 303 S. Teel, Devine. Early voting will be there also. Early voting will start April 24, 2023 and ending on May 2, 2023 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Additional early morning and late voting hours will be held on May 1 and May 2 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Weekend early voting day on one Saturday from the hours of 9:00 am to 2:00 p.m. on April 29. Who can vote? All registered voters in the City of Devine can vote in the bond election and in the Mayor election. District 2 voters also get to vote in the District 2 alderman election as well as the Bond and Mayoral elections. District 5 voters also get to vote in the District 5 alderman election as well as the Bond and Mayoral elections.
By Kayleen Holder Editor Local Medina County leaders are being very careful what they say about the newest “server farm” moving in between Natalia and Lytle, which is still under a Non Disclosure Agreement. However, this massive datacenter will not be the first for Medina County. Three facilities in this booming industry will be in our backyards soon. According to Synergy Research, which tracks the data center market, 2022 was a record-breaking year. As announced in an article last week, a company whose name has not been disclosed, is investing an estimated $500 million for the massive “hyper scale datacenter” which will reportedly be located on County Road 6712. “This is actually the 3rd large development of this type happening in Medina County,” said Medina County Judge Keith Lutz in an interview this week. Talks about the first data center has been in the works for at least six years, and they are just starting to get construction underway. It is located near the intersection of Potranco and FM 471. The second will be located the Castroville area. And of course the third one, will be located between Natalia and Devine. The first two are owned by Microsoft, while the third is still not disclosed. “They are similar size investments,” Lutz said, dollar-wise. He said the size of data centers can be anywhere from 200-500 acres, which is likely why these companies are seeking land in rural areas like ours, Lutz said.. Developers did receive a 381 tax abatement incentive (on county property taxes only) on the first project. Chapter 381 of the Local Government Code allows counties to provide incentives encouraging developers to build in their jurisdictions.
“It’s a partial abatement for a short period of time like 5 years, and after that, the county will be getting 100%…..As far as revenue, one of these data centers is equal to the amount of revenue you might get from 1,000 new homes,” Lutz estimated. And since they aren’t homes, he explained, local entities aren’t on the hook for providing costly basic services such as police, fire, EMS, schools, etc for thousands of new residents like they are when a large subdivision comes in. To date there are just over a couple thousand data centers in the United States with a good number of them located in Texas. As of 2022, there were 2,071 data centers in the United States, according to Statistica.com, with 117 in Texas according to datacenter.com. The Texas datacenters “include 103 colocation facilities, 90 cloud nodes, 31 Internet exchanges (IX), and 47 disaster recovery and business continuity,” according to a report on datacenters.com. A Global Newswire press release states that the hyperscale data center market is projected to Generate $585.0 billion by 2030, according to Allied Market Research. “Increase in demand for data centers to improve productivity and customer experiences drive the growth of the global hyperscale data center market. North America contributed to the highest share in 2020. During the pandemic, the entertainment and media industry assisted the hyperscale data center market growth. The industry witnessed rise in viewing of online and digital content as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, which was facilitated by the widespread usage of the internet and consumer electronic devices (Globe Newswire).” Last March, another large Texas data center, projected at $800 million dollars, announced plans to come into Temple, TX. That new facility, owned by Meta (formerly known as Facebook) was projected to total approximately 900,000 square feet when completed, and would be located on 393 acres, according to an article by PR Newswire in March 2022. At that time, Governor Abbott told PR Newswire reporters, “Meta’s continued expansion in Texas is a testament to the exceptional business climate and skilled, diverse workforce we have here in the Lone Star State,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott. “It is because of hardworking Texans and our commitment to helping businesses grow that companies continue to move and expand all across Texas. We are excited to welcome Meta to Temple and look forward to the new job opportunities they will bring to the local community, as well as the advancements in technology we will see in the future.” A media release by Synergy Research on January 30, 2023 stated: “New data from Synergy Research Group shows that 187 data center-oriented M&A deals closed in 2022 with an aggregate value of $48 billion, just shy of the record-setting $49 billion in deals that closed in 2021.” “In the last seven years the total value of M&A deals has now passed the $200 billion mark, with almost half of that coming in the last two years. Since 2018 the average deal size has almost tripled, growing from $80 million to $235 million. Apart from the rapid rise in overall data center M&A activity, the most notable feature has been the extent to which private equity has flooded into the market. In 2020 private equity accounted for 55% of the value of closed deals, rising to 66% in 2021 and 91% in 2022. Since 2018 private equity funding has risen by an average 50% per year and in 2022 reached $44 billion. “The highlights for 2022 were the $15 billion acquisition of CyrusOne by investment firms KKR and Global Investment Partners, and the acquisition of Switch by DigitalBridge for $11 billion. The 2021 highlights were the acquisitions of CoreSite and QTS, each for around $10 billion. These deals represent the four highest value acquisitions the industry has ever seen. All four acquired companies feature in the worldwide top 16 ranking of colocation operators, while they are ranked three through six in the US market, behind only Equinix and Digital Realty. “Prior to these four record-setting transactions, the biggest data center M&A deals were Digital Realty’s $8.4 billion acquisition of Interxion, Digital Realty’s $7.6 billion acquisition of DuPont Fabros, the Equinix acquisition of Telecity for $3.8 billion, the Equinix acquisition of Verizon’s data centers for $3.6 billion and the acquisition of Global Switch by the Jiangsu Shagang Group of China, which was eventually valued at over $8 billion in transactions that were spread over three years. Apart from these mega deals, some of the most notable serial acquirers have been Equinix, Digital Realty, EQT, DigitalBridge/Vantage, Stonepeak, CyrusOne, GDS, GI Partners, Keppel, Macquarie, Mapletree and NTT.” “Data centers are being viewed as long-term safe havens for investments, even during turbulent times, causing a huge influx in private equity. Ten of the twelve largest deals in the last twelve months have involved private buyers, with the only exceptions being the Equinix acquisition of Entel’s data centers and Digital Realty’s acquisition of a majority stake in Teraco. In the US, only six of the twenty largest colocation players are now publicly traded companies.” So what is a hyperscale data center? According to Statistica, “A data center is a network of computing and storage resources that enable the delivery of shared software applications and data. These centers can house large volumes of critical data and therefore are vital to the daily functions of companies and consumers alike, with the security and reliability of data centers as key factors. As such, IT spending on data center systems worldwide is expected to reach 222 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.” [Statistica.com.]
In a recent Tale I talked about taking my Grandkids and Daughter out to see a new batch of heifers on our Home Place. That story caused me to think back a VERY LONG time ago to my first recollections of cattle ownership. My Mom, Verna Dell Walker Rosenauer, contracted Polio as did many others in south Texas in 1952, when I had just turned one year old. Through that terrible experience, she ended up paralyzed from the neck down and spent some time in rehabilitation. I stayed much of the next two years out on the Home Place, and it has always been a very special part of what makes me who I am. As a kid whenever the opportunity allowed, I would try to stay out there. And to this day it is still a place of contentment and peace for me on most of the days I spend at that place. Of course, “helping” my Grannie and Grand Dad probably had a different look to them than it did to me. I took a real liking to feeding the cattle and not so much to the garden tending that was a seasonal part of daily chores. I remember Charlie Rosenauer telling me something on the order of “you best learn to do something else in life, cause you ain’t cut out to be a Farmer”! Of course, he was right, but I did like messing with the cattle and later with horses. At some point in time, probably about age 4 or 5, I asked Grand Dad if I could have a cow. We discussed the different ones in the herd, and I selected a Black Baldy and named her Apache. Objectively there was nothing much special about that middle age cross bred grade bovine, but she sure was special to me. That year she brought a still born calf and I think me and Apache suffered about the same feelings of loss. But, like most bad periods in Life, we both kinda/sorta got over it. She had several more babies over the next few years and there was always some extra time spent pondering on what to name them. Honestly, I cannot recall if Apache died on the place or Grand Dad sold her off. But I tell you something about that time in my life. It started a trend where the naming of colts and calves have become a BIG Deal for at least the 2 generations after me. Our Daughter especially liked to spend time as a youngster making lists with me discussing and documenting name possibility based on gender and color. Now we spend time on what to call the “Hiffers” on our place with the Grand Kids. A couple of years ago, the names were all about the movie Frozen. I am sure glad that song “Let It Go” has moved on from their focus. Last year the names centered on ice cream colors. Stawberry, Vanilla, Fudge, and Chocolate and other names I cannot recall are likely first time Mommas this Spring. Who can tell what names will be given this time around. But one thing for sure, it will be fun listening to the bargaining and discussion among the kids. And to think, that practice started a real long time ago on the same red sandy loam property. I sure do hope it can continue for a few more generations.
