The city of Dripping Springs kicked off the 35th annual Dripping Springs Founder’s Day celebration with the Grande Parade down Mercer Street on Friday, April 26. The event continued through the weekend with a carnival, vendor booths, live music and a barbecue cook-off.

SAN MARCOS   — The Hays County Commissioners Court received a presentation from the Hays County Homeless Coalition at its April 23 meeting, with data from the organizarion 2024 Point in Time count. The Hays County Homeless Coalition is an “organization of organizations” that is attempting to make ho...

Fans cheer as wiener dogs, or dachshunds, race with speed across the field. Dogs who placed first and second moved on to other races to find out who was the fastest. The final winner of the day was the 2023 reigning champion, Lorelei. Second place went to Bean and third place went to Jimmy Dean.

JOHNSON CITY — Pedernales Electric Cooperative celebrated National Lineman Appreciation Day on April 18 while also honoring its crews and investing in their training, education and career growth throughout the entire month. As part of PEC’s commitment to provide safe and reliable power, for more tha...

Dripping Springs High School announced its Top 10 for the Class of 2024: Valedictorian William Johns, Salutatorian Jaiden Stankard, Milad Khezrefaridi, Brenna Putman, Lauren Kethley, Presley Cochran, Alyssa Stradling, Kira Granberry, Jasmine Zogaib and Keira Maghielse. The students will be recognize...

On Friday, April 19, the Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch staff received multiple awards in the South Texas Press Association annual contest for content published in 2023. The Hays Free Press awards are: First place News Photos, first place Editorial Writing, first place Feature Photos, first place...

HAYS COUNTY  —  As the spring blooms across the nation, so does a heightened sense of awareness regarding a prevalent, yet often overlooked issue: alcohol use disorder (AUD). April marks Alcohol Awareness Month, a time dedicated to shedding light on the challenges, complexities and solutions surroun...

HAYS COUNTY   — Commissioner Michelle Cohen has held the ambition of writing children’s books for as long as she can remember. In a few weeks, her dream will come true, with the release of “A Day in the Life of a Hays County Commissioner.” “When I became county commissioner, even before that, when I...

KYLE — After being shut down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kyle Area Youth Advisory Council (KAYAC) is back. What started years before the pandemic in 2013, KAYAC is a committee of students in grades 9-12 who all live in the Kyle city limits or attend a Hays CISD school. The committee is...

HAYS COUNTY — As the area has experienced significant population growth over the past decade, the Board of Commissioners of Hays County Emergency Services District No. 9 has called for a proposition to be placed on the ballot for the May 4 election. An Emergency Services District (ESD) is a local go...