Nearly 80,000 people made up the Hispanic population in Hays County in 2016, which constituted a 41 percent rise since the 2010 Census. That figure, part of newly released Census Bureau estimates, followed the trend of a rapidly growing Hispanic population in Texas and the United States. Pauline Ant...

ith the Fourth of July holiday upcoming, Hays County Fire Marshal Clint Browning is asking residents to not only adhere to laws governing fireworks, but to remember about safety. Many cities in Hays County have laws prohibiting the use of fireworks. Dripping Springs prohibits the use of fireworks in...

By Samantha Smith While Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session Tuesday, a handful of bills authored by Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) passed through the Texas Legislature prior to the end of the regular session late last month. One of the primary pieces of legislation that affects the entire re...

D espite the fact that one in five Americans will be impacted by mental illness in their lifetime, Hays County residents are underserved when it comes to mental health resources. According to the Seton Medical Center’s 2016 Hays Community Health Needs Assessment, Hays County only has 86 providers pe...

Ever since he cast his first ballot as an 18-year-old in 1968, San Marcos resident Sam Montoya has made it a habit to participate in the democratic process whenever it came up. But on Monday, Montoya was “shocked” to discover the ballot he cast in Nov. 8, 2016 general election was one of 1,800 votes...

The Texas Legislature this month approved the creation of two new courts for Hays County to deal with the backlog of cases experienced due to growth. However, the new district court and county court-at-law can’t be established until 2018, said Precinct 3 Commissioner Will Conley. Conley said county ...

With a slip of the tongue earlier this month, one Hays County leader could have inadvertently announced the name of a major employer that could fill a 35-acre area rezoned for hospital use in the Sunfield Municipal Utility District. The snafu took place when Mark Jones, Hays County Pct. 2 commission...

As more jobs arrive in the fastest growing area in the nation, training and retaining talent are the next greatest challenges Hays County could face in the near future. Helping business and municipal leaders shape talent for tomorrow was a central point in the Greater San Marcos Partnership’s (GSMP)...

Shock and awe were the first two reactions Buda resident Joshua Sosa had when he received his 2017 home appraisal notice in the mail this month. Sosa, who has been living in his home in the Huntington Estates subdivision since 2014, saw his appraisal rise by $26,000 from last year’s value. “How in t...

More than 2,000 new homes and 49 new commercial structures has led to the rise in preliminary market value of property in the county, according to a Hays County press release. The preliminary market value of the average household in Hays County rose by 10 percent from 2016 to 2017. Overall, the coun...