Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says rare earth minerals used in cellphones and other devices have been found in state lands in West Texas near the border.

The Mission city council unanimously voted to keep the salaries of the fire and police departments steady at a special meeting held September 15 to adopt a budget for the next fiscal year which begins October 1. The number of personnel in each department will also remain the same. The vote came after…

Harlingen City Hall announced that City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez is eliminating the deputy city manager post while reshuffling duties after a year of changes. Deputy City Manager Oscar Garcia has been moved back to assistant city manager for external affairs and will not be replaced, and the city is seeking a new downtown manager following Alexis Riojas’s resignation. Residents will note Garcia’s salary was cut by roughly $10,000.

Downtown Brownsville will host Space Fest 2026 from Thursday through Saturday, expanding the one‑day celebration into a three‑day program. Director Nathan Burkhart said the free event will feature a Maker Faire with live 3D‑printing demos, soldering and coding stations, a robotics competition, three DJs, a live band and an orchestra, plus space presentations. Residents can expect hands‑on activities for kids and adults.

In Cameron County’s 107th state District Court, Judge Arturo Nelson dismissed the third‑degree felony charge against former San Benito Drainage District board secretary Randall McMurray after he paid restitution. The case follows a Texas Rangers probe that also charged former board president Ronaldo Garcia and former general manager Sonia Lambert, who are slated for an Oct. 19 hearing. Residents will note the dismissal came on Aug. 17.

Mission’s city council voted unanimously on Tuesday to set the property‑tax rate for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year at $0.5653 per $100 valuation, a rise of $0.0073 that takes effect on October 1. The ordinance also preserves a $10,000 exemption for elderly and disabled owners, keeping their total ad‑valorem tax bill unchanged. The modest increase reflects valuation changes, not new revenue needs.

In this episode of Border Report Live, the leader of a religious-based nonprofit talks about assisting vulnerable migrants who are waiting for U.S. asylum in northern Mexico.

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A sex offender from Alaska was placed on probation Tuesday after he paid smugglers to bring a woman and her 14-year-old daughter across the Rio Grande. Douglas Price, 44, of Chugiak, Alaska, paid smugglers at least $5,000 to bring the woman and her daughter across the border in January. “I accept [...]

Tacos El Compadre, located at 1703 Southmost Road in Brownsville’s Southmost district, opened its doors on Friday afternoon to serve a sprawling menu that includes caldo de res, pozole, asado de puerco, quesabirria, barbacoa and other regional specialties. The restaurant’s casual setting, with stone tables and attentive staff, attracted locals who will note that it is operating on Friday afternoons, offering a range of familiar and novel Mexican dishes.

A jury was selected for the trial of Brownsville man Rogeilo Martinez, accused of killing San Benito Police Lt. Milton Resendez on Oct. 17 2023 after a chase that started on South Padre Island and ended near the Gateway International Bridge. The case will begin on Oct. 5 at 8:30 a.m.; Martinez has pleaded not guilty, while co‑defendant Rodrigo Axel Espinosa Valdez, who earlier pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, is expected to testify.

City commissioners of Starbase voted unanimously on Monday to annex about 7,133 acres and voluntarily annex 444 acres that Brownsville recently disannexed, and they approved annexing State Highway 4, the road linking the SpaceX launch site to Brownsville. More than half of the landowners in the 7,133‑acre area signed the ordinance, expanding the city’s boundaries and placing the highway under city jurisdiction.

Austin‑based Saronic Technologies, which announced the $3.2 billion Port Alpha shipyard in Brownsville, received a Navy contract on Sept. 17 to build Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels, marking the first ships to be produced at the new facility. Production is slated to begin in 2028 with initial deliveries in 2029, and the LCUs will provide 170‑ton payload capacity and a range of about 1,200 nautical miles for amphibious, resupply and disaster‑response missions.

Jose Jaime Baeza Jr., a 33‑year‑old Brownsville man, received a 15‑year federal sentence after CBP officers at the B&M International Bridge found over 2,500 child sexual abuse images on his phone when he attempted entry with a girl he said was his sister on Jan. 14 2024. A records check flagged him as a registered sex offender, prompting a secondary inspection where agents seized the material and confirmed he had exchanged it via Telegram.

The Deportation Data Project, using Freedom of Information Act requests, reported that more than 13,000 undocumented individuals were detained in Rio Grande Valley communities between 2022 and 2026, with 5,087 apprehensions in 2025 alone, averaging 413 detentions per month. The Caminos Institute’s inaugural report notes that 86.3 % of those cases resulted in deportation, equating to roughly one person being detained every two hours.

Belinda Perez, a 32‑year‑old woman from San Benito, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury and received a 15‑year prison sentence. The offense concerns the June 27, 2024 death of a 15‑month‑old identified as R.C., after Perez allegedly blocked the infant’s airway at a Harlingen daycare on Dixieland Road. She is being held at the Cameron County Carrizales‑Rucker Detention Center awaiting transfer.

Brownsville ultra‑runner Art Hurtado will attempt the 200‑mile Cowboy 200 ultra marathon across Nebraska from Norfolk to Valentine this Friday through Sunday. Known for previous 100‑mile races and a high‑altitude Colorado event, Hurtado also leads the Cameron County Beach Patrol on South Padre Island. The race follows a motor‑free limestone trail and crosses more than 200 bridges.

McAllen attorney Della Fay Perez was sentenced on Sept. 17 in a Dallas federal court to one month in prison and a year of supervised release for knowingly possessing information about bank fraud and failing to report it. She must surrender by 2 p.m. on Oct. 20, will pay a $100 special assessment, and will not be fined due to lack of assets.

Lucio Moya, a Roma, Texas resident who has spent nine years in the Louisiana oilfield, is a finalist in the 13th H‑E‑B Quest for Texas Best competition with three barbecue rubs—Orange Pepper Piñín, Bruto! and Beef Blend. The contest, running since 2014 and offering up to $100,000 in prizes, highlights small Texas businesses, and Moya’s seasonings are sold online and at stores in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas.

The mother of an Edinburg teenager who was arrested by ICE earlier this month while taking a friend to enlist in the Marines and posted about it, was arrested and deported on Monday outside her work.

Despite public opposition, a federal judge has refused to temporarily block a controversial land exchange that would transfer hundreds of acres of a South Texas wildlife refuge to SpaceX.