Category: Top News Stories

Keep up with what’s going on in Devine, Natalia, Lytle, Bigfoot and Moore areas in Medina, Frio, and Atascosa Counties.

1st Place Overall Winner of parade floats – Devine Intermediate Ballet Folklorico

Taking 1st place overall was the Devine Intermediate Folklorico Club. It’s the second year for the club which was started by teacher Elisia Mitchell and assistant Amy Bailey. 35 kids have enrolled and are enjoying learning and performing. The 65th annual Devine Cactus Festival was a huge success with 150+ floats/vehicles this year and thankfully the rain held off just long enough! See more results on page 2 and tons of photos inside on pages 9,16, and 17 by KK Calame, Kayleen Holder and Mable Byrd. Over 2 inches of rain fell the next day.

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Data center sewer agreement approved by Lytle council

Debra Roach, a Medina County resident, spoke about a letter she sent to officials outlining specific questions about Project Cinco.

By Anton Riecher
A sanitary sewer service agreement between the city of Lytle and Project Cinco, a $900 million hyperscale data center campus under development near the Coal Mine neighborhood, was approved by a unanimous vote of the Lytle City Council Monday evening.
Mayor Ruben Gonzalez said the agreement is a subset of a much larger development agreement between the city and Rowan Cinco LLC in place prior to the project groundbreaking in September 2025. He also noted that many of the concerns cited during the meeting by local residents are addressed in the revision.


“It is important that we take these into consideration as part of the agreement,” Gonzalez said.
Since the project is located outside Lytle’s city limits, the city is being asked to provide sewer service and eventually take responsibility for infrastructure serving the private development. The development agreement has been under revision since an Oct. 26 meeting by city staff, city attorneys and the Rowan team.
Numerous familiar faces from an Oct. 19 public hearing regarding a pending decision by the city on annexation and zoning for the 284-acre campus were…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

State Champs!

The Varsity Lytle Pirates won their third straight state championship! The Pirates took Round Rock by storm on Nov. 7 scoring 60 points to secure their fourth state title in the last five years. Pirate runner results: 3rd Jacob Cantu 15:48.6, 6th Adrian Reyna 16:03.6, 26th Nathan Garza 16:47.0, 35th Shawn Robinette 17:02.3, 37th Frank Cantu 17:06.6, 51st Sebastian Garcia 17:21.4, 52nd 17:21.6, and Jaden Castro. Congratulations to Lytle on another successful season!

You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this! Click the link to sign up today! www.devinenewsmembers.com

Lytle hears update on proposal for seawater from Island desalination project

Interim Nueces River Authority executive director John Chisolm addresses the Lytle City Council about the proposed Harbor Island desalination plant. (Photo by Anton Riecher)

By Anton Riecher
During its Monday meeting, the Lytle City Council tabled the matter after receiving an update from a representative of the Nueces River Authority on it proposed seawater desalination project.
Interim NRA executive director John Chisolm said the report was intended to address council’s outstanding questions before discussing whether the city would make its next reservation payment.


“It’s that time of year if you choose to stay in it,” he said. “If you chose not to reserve that water then we’ll just allocate it to someone else that wants it.”
The council voted to table the decision on the second payment, directing City Administrator Zachary Meadows to gather information for further discussion.
The Harbor Island Seawater Desalination Facility is a massive, multi-billion-dollar water infrastructure project planned for the Texas Gulf Coast near Port Aransas and Corpus Christi. Spearheaded by the NRA in partnership with global desalination leader IDE Technologies, it is designed to be the largest…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Big Upheaval in Natalia Election

Three long time serving incumbents on the City of Natalia Council were voted off during the November 3, 2026 city election.
Winning the bid for the three open seats are Tiffany Jade Barrientes, Gerry Rogers, and Marisa Saldana.
Outgoing incumbents are Sam Smith with 28 years of dedicated service, Mike Fernandez with

…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

After 79 years, Devine Garden Club votes to cease service of its Four Corners project

Maintaining four corners has been a labor of love for this group for nearly 8 decades. City of Devine crews will now maintain the area.

After 79 years of caring for the Devine Four Corners, the Devine Garden Club voted on October 22 to cease its responsibilities citing ongoing struggles with city officials.
“We are done,” said Miriam Garcia of Devine Garden Club. “After 79 years of caring for the Devine Four Corners, the Devine Garden Club voted to conclude its maintenance responsibilities following a year of discussions with the city.”
In her letter, Garcia stated that the vote was taken after “members discussed the challenges encountered over the past year with concerns about comments from city officials” regarding the projects at four corners.
One such issue arose during the butterfly installation, she said, when “questions arose about whether the work required permission as construction.”
The club had recently partnered with the city with a goal to…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

65th Devine Cactus Festival this weekend… Parade 10am

The carnival is selling wrist arm bands for a block of hours with 2 sessions on Saturday and one each on Thursday and Friday nights. Get the Presale discount by using QR Code on the ad on page 3.

The 2026 Devine Fall Cactus Festival committee is wrapping up sponsorships, parade entries and final details for the 65th annual event set for November 5-7.
The Carnival will be open three days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Friday Night Festivities will include vendors, food and drinks, DJ Reggie and new this year a photo booth, as well as the carnival.
Saturday Parade-The parade will start 10:00 a.m. at the middle school and travel to downtown, ending at the VFW. Lineup positions will be sent out this week. Over 61 entries have been received so far to include the Warhorse Marching Band. Grand Marshalls will be local Veterans, so far 14 have signed up.

Theme this year is Patriotic, Red-White-Blue in honor of America’s 250th.
Saturday Festival will kick off with entertainment followed by live music. Starts at Noon in the Momentum Bank Parking Lot. See schedule below. The FREE live music and dance will continue through to 12 Midnight along with the vendors and food and drink booths. No outside drinks or ice chests are allowed. Be sure to bring your lawn chairs. It will be a variety of live music all day to include …LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Assistant Secretary says new infrastructure initiatives are a ‘National Calling’

A sailor directs a Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk aboard the flight deck of the guided-missile destroyer USS Ross in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, Oct. 30, 2026. Credit: US Navy

By Douglas E. Jessmer, Pentagon News 
Source: US Department of War
Oct. 29, 2026 — The War Department embarked this year on new initiatives to strengthen the infrastructure of military installations and to build a new prototype American base, said Dale Marks, assistant secretary of war for energy, installations and environment, earlier this week at a convention in Tampa, Florida. 
“The visions for Fortress America and the Next Great American Base are not business-as-usual bureaucratic programs,” he said. “They are a national calling.” 
Getting where the department wants to go with its installation footprint will mean overcoming a variety of hurdles, the biggest of which are time and bureaucratic inertia, Marks told attendees of the Association of Defense Communities convention.  
“We must discard the comfortable complacency of a peacetime mindset and execute at a wartime tempo,” he said. 
Stressing the need for a rapid operations tempo, Marks said those industry partners who move the fastest and have the boldest vision will earn the right to build America’s premier military community. 


“Let us build installations worthy of the warriors who call them home,” he said. “Let us forge the partnerships required to secure our homeland. And let us ensure that whenever the call comes, the United States of America possesses the unshakeable power to prevail.” 
Three warning signs indicate the importance of succeeding with both Fortress America and the Next Great American Base, Marks said, “flashing red across every dashboard in our national security apparatus.” 
Those include: 
Hostile actors in the homeland. Marks said these actors…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!