Category: Top News Stories

By Anton Riecher
An agreement to join with a Denver-based real estate company in the development of a 340-acre site northeast of Lytle as the potential site for a future data center was unanimously approved by the city council Monday.
Plans call for Tract, a real estate development company specializing in finding locations for data centers, to apply for annexation of the site into the city’s extra-territorial jurisdiction within the next few weeks.
Mitch Nelson, director of entitlements for Tract, made a PowerPoint presentation to the council as the basis for the development agreement request.
“What we do is look at appropriate sites and go through an acquisition process that involves acquiring the (electrical) power, meaning we put down sufficient dollars to pay for the power,” he said.
That process also includes joining with nearby communities in early master planning – “seeing where we can fit in and then performing entitlements which is what we are doing here tonight,” Nelson said.
“Ultimately, if we close on the property, then we invest heavily in the community with water and sewer infrastructure to make sure that the site is prepared and appropriate for this type of use,” he said.
A motion 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 $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

By Kayleen Holder
Editor
Sgt. Hunt explained how he and friends in the community pulled off the big surprise. When Sgt. Hunt arrived in SA on October 28th, Mayor Ruben Gonzalez picked up Sgt. Hunt from the base and coordinated trips to each of the schools so the soldier could walk in and surprise his wife and both kids.
Mrs. Hunt is a school secretary in Lytle so he surprised her where she works, as well as his daughter Avery at the elementary and son Jaxon at the high school.
“She didn’t have a clue I would be home so soon,” Sgt. Hunt said. “ She was super surprised when I walked in and said her name. She jumped up really quick and into my arms after the shock.”
The Devine News would like to say thank you to Sgt. Hunt and his family, and all of the men and women serving our great country who have made so many great sacrifices to make the USA such a wonderful place to live.

The Keetch Byram drought index

AUSTIN — As the eighth largest economy in the world and home to Fortune 500 headquarters, Texas also has the largest financial services workforce in the United States, now surpassing New York, according to the Governor’s office.
Last month, Governor Greg Abbott today celebrated the announcement by Nasdaq, Inc. to launch their own Texas financial exchange, Nasdaq Texas. Nasdaq Texas will be a new dual listing venue aimed to expand services across the state and grow investment opportunities to U.S. investors.
“Texas is the financial services capital of America,” said Governor Abbott. “With another financial exchange coming to Texas, Nasdaq Texas cements our state as a global economic leader and will help further grow our leading financial industry. I thank Nasdaq for choosing Texas for their expansion and look forward to working together to keep Texas the financial hub of the nation.”
In March, Governor Abbott joined Nasdaq at a luncheon announcing their new regional headquarters in Dallas.
Nasdaq Texas is expected to become operational in 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller stated, “With the launch of Nasdaq Texas, we’re sending a loud and clear message to the world: the future of finance, innovation, and economic growth runs straight through the Lone Star State. Governor Abbott’s leadership continues to make Texas the undisputed national champion for job creation, business investment, and economic freedom.
Nasdaq chose Texas because we do things differently here. We don’t strangle opportunity with red tape and runaway taxes; we open the door and get to work. That’s why our economy ranks eighth in the world, and its growth continues to outpace the rest of the nation.
This new presence from Nasdaq will spur investment, attract talent, and broaden the Texas footprint in global markets, including the agriculture sector that feeds and fuels this country. When major financial institutions bet on Texas, it drives investment in our farmers, ranchers, small businesses, and rural communities.”

MORE ABOUT IT
The University of Texas at Arlington published the following Q&A’s “to explain what this means for businesses, investors and the Texas economy,” with insights shared by Sriram Villupuram, associate professor of finance, shares his insight.
What exactly is the Texas Stock Exchange, and how does it differ from the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq?
Villupuram: The Texas Stock Exchange is a national securities exchange like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq, and will compete with those exchanges. Both the NYSE and the Nasdaq have stringent listing requirements for prospective companies to list on their exchanges. In contrast, the Texas Stock Exchange is expected to facilitate the listing of relatively smaller companies.
Why is Texas launching its own exchange now?
Villupuram: Texas has always been viewed as business-friendly, and it is expected to experience strong economic growth over the next several years. The growth is expected to bring new businesses, potentially evolving to become publicly traded companies. Any new or existing business would need capital to grow. Having a stock exchange in Texas can serve as a powerful indicator of capital availability and of Texas’s aspiration to be a financial hub.
How will TXSE operate once it launches?
Villupuram: The Texas Stock Exchange is expected to operate as an electronic marketplace similar to Nasdaq, where a computer system matches bids from buyers and asking prices from sellers to facilitate transactions.
What will determine whether TXSE succeeds or fails?
Villupuram: A stock exchange is a marketplace that thrives on transaction volume. Having said that, the exchange will have to attract a sufficient number of companies to list and attract trading volume in their stocks. The minimum number of listed companies that make an exchange successful primarily depends on their capital structure.
How could TXSE affect Texas’ economy and job market?
Villupuram: New ideas tend to be incubated geographically closer to their sources of capital. The exchange could make Texas a hub for investor capital to incubate new ideas and further help maintain the strong economic growth we have witnessed over the years. With the expected growth, Texans would have access to more jobs and other economic opportunities.
Read more at uta.edu

Matthew “Moose” Lopez
A local resident of Colonial Oaks reported his package stolen from his doorstep on Nov. 28th between the times of 10:37 and 10:39. The local man showed the Devine News video footage of two teenage girls, stealing the package just minutes after it was left on his doorstep.
If you have experienced package theft and would like to make a formal report to the authorities, the police will need the following information:
Name of the product
Cost of the product
Invoice of the ordered package

By Anton Riecher
As of noon Monday the Medina County Commissioners Court imposed a countywide burn ban along with a prohibition on the sale or use of certain fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county.
County Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Chadwick urged the ban based on the county’s ranking on the Keetch-Bryam drought index that balances precipitation against soil moisture to calculate potential fire risk.
As of Monday, Medina County ranked 658 out of a potential 800 on the KBDI ranking.
“We were told we were entering into La Niña this year and that there was a potential…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 $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!