Latest / Austin Signal / Round Rock girls flag football team plays for state title

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Round Rock girls flag football team plays for state title · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  Plans to put a border wall in the
• 0:10
  Big Bend region have been taking
• 0:11
  shape, and a co-founder of the
• 0:13
  outdoor brand Yeti is connected with
• 0:15
  the ranch involved in those plans.
• 0:17
  We're going to tell you more, and
• 0:18
  some folks in Taylor are proposing
• 0:20
  an ordinance aimed at creating
• 0:21
  stricter regulations for data
• 0:23
  centers in the city, what they're
• 0:24
  asking for, and new routes
• 0:26
  and changes happening out at
• 0:28
  Austin's airport.
• 0:30
  Plenty of show coming up for you
• 0:31
  today.
• 0:32
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:34
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:36
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:37
  The first ever Girls' Flag
• 0:39
  Football State Championship is
• 0:41
  happening this weekend.
• 0:42
  We're gonna catch up with an Austin
• 0:43
  area high school team preparing to
• 0:45
  compete.
• 0:46
  Plus the best songs of 2026
• 0:49
  so far.
• 0:50
  We've got a lot for you.
• 0:52
  It's all coming up next.
• 0:53
  And it's right here on Austin
• 0:55
  Signal.
• 1:07
  Howdy out there.
• 1:08
  This is Austin Signal.
• 1:10
  Thank you for tuning in to community
• 1:12
  powered public radio KUT
• 1:14
  news. It is Friday.
• 1:15
  It's June 12th.
• 1:16
  I'm your host, Jerry Kekunel.
• 1:18
  Thank you for making us part of your
• 1:20
  day.
• 1:21
  A group of citizens in Taylor is
• 1:22
  proposing an ordinance aimed at
• 1:24
  creating stricter regulations for
• 1:26
  data centers in their city.
• 1:28
  As KUT's Kailey Hunt reports,
• 1:30
  they gathered last night to mark
• 1:32
  the occasion.
• 1:33
  Dozens of people gathered at
• 1:34
  Heritage Park in downtown Taylor
• 1:36
  Thursday evening.
• 1:37
  They were there to celebrate the
• 1:39
  submission of a proposed
• 1:40
  citizen-initiated ordinance that
• 1:42
  would stop any data center projects
• 1:44
  from moving forward until the city
• 1:46
  adopts special zoning requirements.
• 1:48
  Organizer Carrie Deanna says those
• 1:50
  requirements are needed to protect
• 1:51
  things like the city's water supply
• 1:53
  and power grid.
• 1:54
  Ultimately tonight is a celebration
• 1:56
  of the community coming together,
• 1:57
  but it's also the last chance for
• 1:59
  our council and our city staff to
• 2:01
  champion people instead of
• 2:03
  corporations.
• 2:04
  More than 1,400 people signed a
• 2:06
  petition to force a public vote on
• 2:07
  the proposed ordinance.
• 2:09
  A spokesperson for the city says it
• 2:11
  will need to validate those
• 2:12
  signatures and assess the language
• 2:13
  in the ordinance before moving
• 2:15
  forward with any response.
• 2:17
  I'm Kailey Hunt in Williamson
• 2:19
  County.
• 2:20
  And it's been a busy one for
• 2:21
  Williamson County reporter Kailey
• 2:23
  Hunt this week. We're going to hear
• 2:24
  from her again later in the show
• 2:26
  today about an Austin girls
• 2:27
  flag football team heading to the
• 2:29
  championship.
• 2:30
  So stay with us.
• 2:37
  Austin Bergstrom International
• 2:38
  Airport is going through some
• 2:39
  changes with new routes starting and
• 2:42
  old routes stopping, not to mention
• 2:43
  a new South Terminal in the works.
• 2:46
  Here to update us on what is going
• 2:47
  on we have Nathan Bernier, he is
• 2:49
  KUT's transportation reporter.
• 2:51
  Nathan, great to have you back.
• 2:52
  Thank you for having me, Jerry.
• 2:54
  So let's talk about Delta,
• 2:56
  this Saturday only service starting
• 2:57
  tomorrow. Can you tell us where's
• 2:59
  that route heading?
• 3:00
  Right, so there are, there's
• 3:02
  a few of them and they're mostly
• 3:03
  vacation destinations.
• 3:05
  They're gonna be going, Delta will
• 3:06
  start flying to on Saturday
• 3:08
  early service, as you mentioned,
• 3:09
  Cali Spell, Montana, which is
• 3:11
  less than an hour's drive from
• 3:13
  Glacier National Park,
• 3:14
  also to Bozeman, Montana which is
• 3:17
  not far from Yellowstone,
• 3:19
  both beautiful destinations,
• 3:21
  needless to say. And another one
• 3:22
  they're going to starting tomorrow,
• 3:24
  Saturdays only for, through the
• 3:25
  summer is Asheville, North Carolina,
• 3:27
  which... I have actually been to
• 3:29
  before, it's a gray town and
• 3:31
  that is near Great Smoky Mountains
• 3:32
  National Park, which I have not been
• 3:34
  to.
• 3:36
  But, you know, just summer
• 3:37
  destinations. There's also a number
• 3:39
  of flights through the summer to
• 3:40
  various sporting events and stuff
• 3:41
  like that. So yeah.
• 3:42
  What going on?
• 3:43
  Okay? There are more flights for
• 3:45
  some airlines. That's not
• 3:47
  necessarily true across the board is
• 3:48
  it?
• 3:49
  Yeah, that's correct.
• 3:50
  Big airlines are doing more
• 3:52
  expanding and the little ones less.
• 3:54
  Like, for example, starting this
• 3:55
  week, Southwest is flying to
• 3:57
  132
• 3:59
  destinations per day,
• 4:01
  like on the busiest days, and
• 4:03
  they've never flown to that many
• 4:04
  before from Austin.
• 4:06
  So that is huge because
• 4:07
  this is the biggest airline in the
• 4:09
  city. They have the biggest presence
• 4:10
  at ABIA by far.
• 4:13
  Like last week, Southwest added a
• 4:15
  new seasonal uh...
• 4:17
  Nonstop route to cincinnati And they
• 4:18
  brought back service to Seattle
• 4:20
  where they haven't flown nonstop
• 4:21
  from Austin to Seattle since 2018.
• 4:23
  So that's, that's a new thing.
• 4:24
  Um, but Allegiant, for example,
• 4:27
  they, they have a more limited
• 4:28
  schedule.
• 4:29
  Um, and, uh, they recently reduced
• 4:31
  service on routes like Cincinnati,
• 4:34
  Las Vegas.
• 4:35
  And Allegiant is planning to suspend
• 4:37
  Asheville service for part of
• 4:38
  September. So you can kind of see
• 4:39
  some of these bigger airlines coming
• 4:41
  in where the little ones are pulling
• 4:42
  back and then Air Canada, um,
• 4:44
  has this non-stop Austin
• 4:46
  to Montreal flight.
• 4:47
  They'd been expected to be, it had
• 4:49
  been expected it to be year round,
• 4:50
  but now they say, we're gonna
• 4:51
  suspend this September 5th
• 4:53
  and it's not gonna be back till the
• 4:55
  summer. However, having lived in
• 4:56
  Montreal for five years, I have to
• 4:57
  say, the winter is not
• 4:59
  the best time to visit anyway.
• 5:00
  So if you're gonna go, I would
• 5:02
  recommend those other months.
• 5:03
  Okay, okay.
• 5:04
  Well, one thing that we've been
• 5:05
  covering in the last few months here
• 5:07
  on KUT News is the fluctuation
• 5:08
  of gas prices here in Austin
• 5:10
  and across the country really.
• 5:12
  How is that affecting the airport
• 5:14
  here in
• 5:14
  Right. Well, those flights I
• 5:16
  mentioned, like Air Canada and
• 5:17
  Allegiant, they blamed energy prices
• 5:18
  for those decisions.
• 5:20
  And just like, you know, gas went up
• 5:22
  and it came down a little bit, jet
• 5:23
  fuel, it went really high
• 5:25
  in May, it hit the highest level
• 5:26
  since 2022, and
• 5:28
  then has come down a little bit
• 5:30
  in June. But overall, jet-fuel
• 5:32
  prices are up 70%
• 5:34
  from last June.
• 5:35
  So not quite double, but up by
• 5:37
  a lot.
• 5:38
  And airlines...
• 5:40
  They make route decisions based
• 5:42
  on that because they have to
• 5:43
  prioritize flights where the revenue
• 5:44
  can cover the operating costs.
• 5:47
  And fuel is just one of four
• 5:49
  major costs.
• 5:50
  There's employees, aircraft,
• 5:52
  and the fees that airports charge.
• 5:54
  And on that front, that's relevant
• 5:55
  too, because both Frontier and
• 5:57
  Allegiant are now being charged
• 5:58
  higher fees since they moved into
• 6:00
  the Barbara Jordan terminal in
• 6:02
  March. They were operating out of
• 6:03
  the old South terminal, but
• 6:05
  that's gonna be torn down
• 6:07
  to make space for new taxiways.
• 6:09
  Dead. A brand new concourse.
• 6:12
  So this all, there's so
• 6:14
  many moving parts here, but overall
• 6:16
  I'll say we, there are more
• 6:18
  flights in Austin than there were
• 6:20
  this time last year, but it's not at
• 6:22
  quite those crazy highs we saw
• 6:24
  2022, 2023.
• 6:25
  OK, we only have about 45 seconds
• 6:27
  left here.
• 6:28
  What is the latest on the airport
• 6:30
  expansion project?
• 6:31
  When when might we see work start on
• 6:32
  that?
• 6:33
  So you're already starting to see
• 6:34
  some stuff come online.
• 6:35
  There's a new checkpoint four that
• 6:36
  opened that has been under
• 6:38
  construction for a couple years.
• 6:42
  And the West Gate expansion is the
• 6:43
  other big one that opened,
• 6:45
  it partially opened. There is going
• 6:47
  to be the first ever children's
• 6:48
  playground opening a little later
• 6:49
  this year, but they have new gates
• 6:51
  there. The big pieces though,
• 6:53
  like that 26 gate concourse I
• 6:54
  mentioned, and a big expansion of
• 6:56
  the Barbara Jordan terminal, those
• 6:57
  are still not expected till the
• 6:58
  early 2030s.
• 6:59
  All right, that is Nathan Bernier.
• 7:01
  He is KUT's transportation reporter.
• 7:03
  Always a pleasure to chat with him.
• 7:04
  Thank you, Nathan. Thanks, Jerry.
• 7:19
  You probably recognize Yeti,
• 7:21
  the brand that makes metal-insulated
• 7:23
  tumblers and rugged coolers geared
• 7:24
  toward hunters and fishers.
• 7:26
  It's headquartered right here in
• 7:27
  Austin, just down the street from
• 7:29
  the capital, and a focus of its
• 7:30
  marketing is on sustainability,
• 7:33
  even honoring Big Ben National Park
• 7:34
  and one of its drinkware
• 7:36
  collections.
• 7:37
  The Big Ben region is at the center
• 7:38
  of a border security and
• 7:40
  environmentalist clash as the
• 7:41
  federal government's plans to build
• 7:43
  a border wall in the area take
• 7:44
  shape. A new report from Marfa
• 7:46
  Public Radio outlines the connection
• 7:48
  of one of Yeti's co-founders and
• 7:50
  a ranch helping with the wall's
• 7:51
  construction.
• 7:52
  Marfa public radio's Mary Cantrell
• 7:54
  is the reporter on this story and
• 7:55
  she is with us now.
• 7:56
  Hi Mary.
• 7:57
  Hi, good afternoon.
• 7:58
  So can you tell us, out there in
• 8:00
  Marfa, what's it been like as these
• 8:02
  plans for the border wall have been
• 8:03
  taking shape and how has that been
• 8:05
  for folks out there in West Texas?
• 8:07
  It has been a wild ride following
• 8:09
  this story. We've been reporting on
• 8:11
  this pretty much nonstop since
• 8:12
  February, um, us customs
• 8:14
  and border protection is moving
• 8:16
  pretty fast on this project.
• 8:18
  Plans are ever changing.
• 8:19
  Um, and there's virtually
• 8:21
  no public oversight or public
• 8:22
  involvement on the project.
• 8:24
  And, um.
• 8:25
  Since plans came out that they were
• 8:26
  intending to build walls in this
• 8:28
  area, which has never seen walls
• 8:29
  before, uh, there's been pretty
• 8:31
  bipartisan widespread opposition to
• 8:33
  the idea, um considering we have
• 8:35
  low traffic in the region.
• 8:37
  Um, and we're pretty, um,
• 8:39
  proud of our, you know, state and
• 8:40
  national parks, which are preserved.
• 8:42
  So yeah, it's been quite the story.
• 8:45
  Can you tell us a little bit about
• 8:46
  who is Ryan Cedars?
• 8:48
  So Ryan Cedars is one of
• 8:50
  the co-founders of the brand Yeti,
• 8:52
  which as you noted is well known for
• 8:54
  their coolers and drinkware
• 8:56
  products. They're headquartered
• 8:57
  right there in Austin.
• 8:59
  Ryan co-founded the company in 2006
• 9:01
  with his brother and since then the
• 9:03
  company has grown into
• 9:04
  a publicly traded billion dollar
• 9:06
  enterprise.
• 9:07
  And the Yeti brand has leaned into
• 9:09
  sustainability as part of its
• 9:11
  tenants, correct?
• 9:12
  Yes, that's correct.
• 9:13
  They emphasize a focus on renewable
• 9:15
  energy and sustainability in
• 9:17
  terms of the life cycle of their
• 9:18
  products and being a primarily
• 9:21
  outdoor lifestyle brand.
• 9:22
  Of course, there is an overall focus
• 9:24
  on a love and stewardship of the
• 9:26
  outdoors, you know, getting outside
• 9:28
  and appreciating the environment.
• 9:30
  Going back to the construction of
• 9:31
  the wall, what have experts been
• 9:32
  saying about its possible
• 9:33
  environmental impacts?
• 9:35
  Yes. So a border wall is
• 9:37
  anticipated to have a broad range
• 9:39
  of environmental impacts to the Rio
• 9:41
  Grande corridor. Like I said, we
• 9:42
  don't have any border walls out
• 9:44
  here for the large part.
• 9:45
  We're talking about in some
• 9:47
  places, a 30 foot high steel wall
• 9:49
  along the river with patrol roads,
• 9:51
  lighting, technology, just
• 9:53
  a massive border security suddenly,
• 9:55
  you know, coming down on the river
• 9:57
  corridor.
• 9:58
  Environmental advocates have voiced
• 9:59
  concerns about impacts to wildlife
• 10:01
  migration, black bears,
• 10:04
  mountain lions.
• 10:05
  Uh, we have an international dark
• 10:06
  sky reserve, uh, which they're,
• 10:08
  you know, worried could be
• 10:09
  threatened by, uh more lighting and
• 10:11
  more technology. And of course
• 10:12
  there's, uh a lot of rich
• 10:14
  archeological sites along the river.
• 10:16
  Uh, this is a long inhabited place.
• 10:18
  So not only are there environmental
• 10:20
  concerns, there's archeological
• 10:21
  concerns and, um, you now
• 10:23
  we have flash flooding in the region
• 10:25
  when it rains.
• 10:26
  It can be really, uh you know
• 10:28
  the, the corridors surge
• 10:29
  with water. And so there's a concern
• 10:31
  about, well, how is this gonna, this
• 10:32
  wall going to impact.
• 10:34
  Flooding in the region and could it
• 10:36
  put people at risk?
• 10:38
  So tell us a little bit about this
• 10:39
  ranch up in West Texas and how
• 10:41
  it's affiliated with Ryan Cedars.
• 10:43
  Right. So Ryan Cedars is
• 10:45
  one of three owners of
• 10:47
  this ranch, according to public
• 10:49
  documents that we obtained.
• 10:50
  This is a large ranch that
• 10:52
  crosses multiple counties,
• 10:54
  Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, and Presidio
• 10:56
  counties in far west Texas.
• 10:58
  And they have about 12 to 15 miles
• 10:59
  of border frontage along the Rio
• 11:01
  Grande. So in terms of border wall
• 11:03
  building, you know, 12 to 15 mile
• 11:05
  chunk is pretty significant for
• 11:06
  contractors.
• 11:07
  Um, the ranch is also strategically
• 11:09
  located at, uh, the end
• 11:11
  of one of the only roads in the area
• 11:13
  that leads toward, to the border
• 11:14
  called Chispa road.
• 11:16
  And that road has been identified by
• 11:17
  contractors as, you know, a key
• 11:19
  thorough affair to help them get the
• 11:21
  equipment and get the crews they
• 11:22
  need down to the border to see this
• 11:24
  project to fruition.
• 11:26
  So yeah, that's, that' the
• 11:27
  connection.
• 11:28
  And I know you reached out to Cedars
• 11:30
  and Yeti. What did they have to say
• 11:32
  about this?
• 11:33
  They have not responded to our
• 11:35
  requests for comments so far.
• 11:37
  You know, we're still open to
• 11:38
  hearing from them. So yeah, we'll
• 11:40
  see, but nothing yet.
• 11:41
  Well, this has been a story that's
• 11:42
  been going back and forth and back
• 11:43
  and forth.
• 11:44
  What comes next for the Big Bend
• 11:46
  area and the border wall there?
• 11:48
  So construction is slated to get
• 11:50
  underway, according to US Customs
• 11:52
  and Border Protection in late summer
• 11:54
  or early fall.
• 11:55
  We are seeing steel panels,
• 11:57
  steel wall panels already moving
• 11:59
  in to staging sites.
• 12:01
  Man camps are being set up.
• 12:04
  So billions of dollars have
• 12:05
  been awarded to see this project to
• 12:07
  fruition to primarily
• 12:09
  two firms, one of which is based
• 12:11
  out of Montana.
• 12:13
  And so they're gearing up full
• 12:15
  steam ahead for the project to try
• 12:16
  to see it through.
• 12:19
  All right, we've been speaking with
• 12:20
  Mary Cantrell.
• 12:21
  She is a reporter with Marfa Public
• 12:22
  Radio. We're gonna have a link to
• 12:24
  her story in our podcast show notes.
• 12:26
  Mary, thank you for your time.
• 12:28
  Of course, thanks so much.
• 12:30
  And while Yeti did not respond to
• 12:32
  Marfa Public Radio's request for
• 12:33
  comment, a spokesperson did offer
• 12:36
  this comment to the Austin American
• 12:38
  statesman, quote, Yeti Holdings
• 12:40
  does not have any involvement or
• 12:42
  ownership in Moody Bennett Ranch
• 12:44
  or Trans Pecos Ice
• 12:46
  LLC, end quote.
• 12:54
  We have more Austin Signal coming
• 12:56
  up for you after this
• 12:58
  break. Thank you for spending part
• 13:00
  of the Friday afternoon with
• 13:02
  us. Lots of sports going on.
• 13:03
  U.S. Plays in the World Cup tonight,
• 13:05
  but don't forget the Texas baseball
• 13:07
  team will be in the Men's College
• 13:09
  World Series tomorrow, going
• 13:11
  against Georgia.
• 13:12
  And Spurs, game five, going against
• 13:14
  the Knicks. That's tomorrow night as
• 13:16
  well.
• 13:17
  We'll be back right after this
• 13:18
  Break.
• 13:23
  This is Austin Signal, welcome
• 13:25
  back.
• 13:26
  We are almost halfway through 2026,
• 13:28
  and the team over at KUTX
• 13:30
  has already been thinking about
• 13:31
  their favorite songs of the year.
• 13:33
  So far here to talk about
• 13:35
  some of them is Ryan Wen.
• 13:37
  He is a host and producer over at
• 13:38
  kutx.
• 13:39
  Ryan, welcome to the show.
• 13:40
  Hey Jerry, thanks for having me.
• 13:42
  So there's a list for Austin songs
• 13:43
  and there's list for songs beyond
• 13:45
  our great city.
• 13:46
  I wanted to start with here in
• 13:48
  Austin because Eddie
• 13:50
  Angel by Yasso was, seemed
• 13:52
  to be a unanimous choice, it was a
• 13:53
  choice that I picked when I was
• 13:55
  asked by the KUTX intern.
• 13:57
  Why does this song have such a
• 13:59
  chokehold on everyone?
• 14:09
  Man, you know, something about this
• 14:11
  track, I mean, I remember when I
• 14:12
  first heard it, it just like
• 14:13
  immediately grabbed me.
• 14:14
  I was like, this man's voice, where
• 14:16
  is this coming from?
• 14:18
  And you know these lists are always
• 14:19
  submitted anonymously.
• 14:21
  So we're not trying to influence
• 14:22
  each other.
• 14:23
  We're all extremely opinionated too.
• 14:25
  So it might, you now, break out into
• 14:26
  a fight.
• 14:27
  So you know.
• 14:27
  So it's actually kind of against the
• 14:29
  grain that there is so much cohesion
• 14:32
  among them.
• 14:32
  Right, yeah, like almost
• 14:34
  unanimously, people picked
• 14:36
  Eddie Angel's Payaso, and I mean,
• 14:38
  there's a great reason for it.
• 14:39
  Something I love about these lists
• 14:40
  too is, you know, everyone writing
• 14:41
  about this track revealed something
• 14:43
  to me that I was like, oh, you know,
• 14:45
  like the first track, the first
• 14:47
  words in the song actually are,
• 14:49
  Hey baby, que paso.
• 14:50
  And I didn't even
• 14:51
  realize that that blew my
• 14:53
  mind and I had not put that together
• 14:54
  I saw Rene Chavez our engineer
• 14:56
  he put and I was like huh
• 14:58
  how did I not notice that
• 15:00
  I'm glad you're not the only one
• 15:01
  because I mean you're just so
• 15:02
  focused on this man's like beautiful
• 15:05
  Powerful voice and you know, it's
• 15:06
  such a great homage to the Texas
• 15:08
  tornadoes
• 15:18
  So, you know, Eddie Angel, he was
• 15:20
  our artist month last month.
• 15:21
  And if you haven't had a chance to
• 15:23
  see him live, you have a great
• 15:24
  opportunity to do it on the 18th,
• 15:26
  which is about a week from today,
• 15:28
  right? Yeah, next Thursday.
• 15:29
  Yeah. So, I mean, it's
• 15:31
  he's there's a good reason why we
• 15:33
  all picked Eddie Angels Payaso for
• 15:35
  sure.
• 15:35
  All right, that show's going to be
• 15:36
  at the 29th Street Ballroom.
• 15:38
  You can check out more at kutx.org.
• 15:40
  I noticed that there were lots of
• 15:41
  Artists of the Month from 2026 in
• 15:43
  this list.
• 15:44
  The Ani Medals, Eddie Angel,
• 15:46
  and as well as the Artists of the
• 15:48
  month for June. Who is that and
• 15:49
  what's the song?
• 15:55
  I had the opportunity to write about
• 15:56
  them so and I really think that
• 15:58
  your list that's going to come at
• 15:59
  the end of this year it'll make it
• 16:01
  to that they're called touch girl
• 16:02
  apple blossom uh the track is
• 16:04
  called the springtime reminds me of
• 16:06
  and they're signed to a label called
• 16:08
  k records which
• 16:10
  is famous for being like a hub for
• 16:12
  what's called tweet pop and the
• 16:14
  best description of tweet pop is
• 16:15
  just that it's really cute it's
• 16:17
  like adorable like very like
• 16:19
  um you know it's Like, first
• 16:21
  love. Kind of vibes and
• 16:23
  they definitely have that it's very
• 16:24
  jangly kind of like you know 80s
• 16:26
  indie rock early 90s indie Rock but
• 16:29
  they also have this really great
• 16:30
  Texas Americana angle lots of
• 16:32
  kind of you know just that that a
• 16:33
  country twang going on with a
• 16:35
  cute Tweet Pop sound I really think
• 16:37
  this band's got it another band that
• 16:39
  first moment a lot of us heard it
• 16:41
  we're like they got it
• 16:49
  I heard the track this morning for
• 16:51
  the first time and I mean this in
• 16:52
  the most complimentary way
• 16:54
  reminded me of a 90s film Soundtrack
• 16:56
  song and it just it made me feel so
• 16:59
  good. I was kind of have like the
• 17:00
  windows down It was it was a great
• 17:01
  feeling. So that's a great song
• 17:03
  case So that a little bit about here
• 17:05
  in Austin But the KU
• 17:07
  TX plays so much and
• 17:09
  there's a list that goes beyond the
• 17:11
  city limits. You wanted to highlight
• 17:13
  Johnny blues guys What's his track?
• 17:14
  Right, right, so this is another
• 17:16
  track that made it to many of our
• 17:18
  lists, Johnny Blue Skies in the Dark
• 17:19
  Clouds.
• 17:20
  You may also know this human
• 17:22
  as Sturgill Simpson.
• 17:24
  It is his alter ego and
• 17:27
  I wouldn't really
• 17:29
  compare it to Chris Gaines,
• 17:31
  but it certainly is a similar
• 17:33
  kind of like a new persona
• 17:35
  for Sturgil Simpson.
• 17:37
  In this track situation.
• 17:39
  It's a really like groovy,
• 17:42
  you know, country rock single.
• 17:44
  A little friskier
• 17:46
  than a typical Sturgill track.
• 17:52
  You know, a lot of it, it made it to
• 17:54
  many of our lists and
• 17:56
  it's a good reason why.
• 17:56
  He's also gonna be coming to town in
• 17:58
  a couple months, but
• 18:00
  it also has a really cool music
• 18:01
  video, which I didn't know about
• 18:02
  until I, you know, was going through
• 18:04
  this list, so.
• 18:06
  Check that out too.
• 18:07
  All right, all right, Ryan, last
• 18:08
  question for you.
• 18:09
  It's a two-parter, what is a flump
• 18:11
  it is and why is flea using
• 18:13
  it?
• 18:14
  So a Flumpit is
• 18:16
  a, it's somewhere between
• 18:18
  a trombone and a trumpet.
• 18:20
  It's a fairly like modern
• 18:21
  instrumentals. I think the first one
• 18:23
  was made in like the nineties.
• 18:24
  Um, and Flea, who you, he's
• 18:26
  a, uh, you may know him as
• 18:28
  the sock wearing bassist of Red Hot
• 18:30
  Chili Peppers.
• 18:31
  Um, so he did a cover of Wichita
• 18:33
  Lineman, which is like a really, uh,
• 18:35
  famous pop country song from, I
• 18:37
  believe like late sixties, like 68
• 18:39
  or something like that.
• 18:40
  So flea covering, that's already
• 18:41
  strange.
• 18:43
  And then the vocalist on it is
• 18:44
  Nick Cave.
• 18:46
  And it is one of the
• 18:48
  oddest combinations I witnessed
• 18:51
  this year, but it's also just like
• 18:53
  an incredible arrangement.
• 18:54
  I mean, the flump it really adds
• 18:56
  a texture to it that I never
• 18:59
  foresaw being a fitting arrangement
• 19:01
  for a song like this.
• 19:04
  And the witch
• 19:06
  at our alignment
• 19:11
  is still
• 19:13
  on the line
• 19:16
  And the whole album in its entirety
• 19:18
  is like this very kind of like
• 19:19
  delicate, sophisticated jazz album
• 19:21
  which is not something you would
• 19:22
  necessarily think would come from
• 19:23
  Flea. So just as a, you know,
• 19:26
  surprise but like one of the more
• 19:28
  interesting singles released this
• 19:29
  year, I highly recommend that one
• 19:30
  and I made it to some of our lists
• 19:31
  as well.
• 19:32
  Okay, I certainly didn't expect that
• 19:34
  sophisticated and flump it would be
• 19:35
  in the same sentence today, but that
• 19:37
  is the beauty of public radio.
• 19:39
  That is Ryan Wen.
• 19:40
  He is a host and producer at our
• 19:41
  sister station, KUTX.
• 19:43
  We're going to have links to both of
• 19:44
  those lists in our podcast show
• 19:46
  notes. Ryan, always great to talk
• 19:47
  with you. Thanks, Jerry.
• 19:56
  Flag football as a sport for girls
• 19:58
  and women is growing and
• 20:00
  fast, especially here in Texas.
• 20:03
  This weekend, the state's two NFL
• 20:04
  teams, the Dallas Cowboys and
• 20:06
  Houston Texans, are hosting the
• 20:08
  first ever Girls' Flag Football
• 20:10
  State Championship.
• 20:12
  KUT's Kailey Hunt went out to watch
• 20:14
  a practice for one of the Austin
• 20:15
  area high school teams preparing to
• 20:17
  compete at the tournament.
• 20:19
  A dozen or so teenage girls from
• 20:21
  Round Rock High School's flag
• 20:22
  football team gathered on a turf
• 20:24
  field this past Monday.
• 20:26
  Their head coach Ashley Castro led
• 20:28
  them through a series of passing and
• 20:30
  catching drills.
• 20:32
  Go find the ball, go find the Ball.
• 20:35
  Okay, ready, go!
• 20:38
  The team is sponsored by the NFL's
• 20:39
  Houston Texans.
• 20:41
  They'll be competing at Texas's
• 20:42
  first Girls' Flag Football State
• 20:44
  Championship this weekend.
• 20:46
  So while most teenagers were on
• 20:47
  summer vacation, at home in the
• 20:49
  A.C., enjoying their free time away
• 20:51
  from school, these girls are
• 20:53
  out on the field working, running
• 20:55
  plays in the summer heat.
• 20:57
  The Round Rock senior wide receiver
• 20:58
  and defensive back, Athena Nolan,
• 21:00
  wasn't complaining.
• 21:02
  She described being at practice this
• 21:04
  time of year as a privilege.
• 21:05
  I really wouldn't want to be
• 21:07
  anywhere else.
• 21:07
  I'm really, really excited that we
• 21:09
  get to have this opportunity.
• 21:10
  Getting to this point wasn't easy
• 21:12
  either, she says.
• 21:13
  To qualify for the state
• 21:14
  championship tournament, Round Rock
• 21:16
  first had to win the Austin area
• 21:18
  regional tournament.
• 21:19
  To do that, the team had to defeat
• 21:21
  the reigning Austin area champs,
• 21:23
  Leander Rouse.
• 21:24
  That game ended up going into two
• 21:26
  overtimes.
• 21:27
  Nolan caught the touchdown pass that
• 21:29
  allowed the team to advance to the
• 21:30
  tournament's semifinals.
• 21:32
  Just having all my teammates come in
• 21:34
  and we were all celebrating.
• 21:35
  It was such a surreal moment, it was
• 21:37
  so much fun.
• 21:38
  Round Rock would go on to defeat
• 21:39
  Cedar Park 28-12 in the
• 21:41
  tournament's regional championship,
• 21:43
  securing its spot at state and
• 21:45
  capping off a perfect undefeated
• 21:46
  season in the process.
• 21:48
  Here's the team's head coach Ashley
• 21:50
  Castro again.
• 21:51
  Just to see their faces light up
• 21:53
  when you say you're going to state
• 21:54
  and you get to represent Round
• 21:55
  Rock out of 256 teams,
• 21:57
  believe it or not in the state,
• 21:59
  you're one of eight.
• 22:00
  So I'm just excited for them to
• 22:02
  really get this opportunity.
• 22:04
  Castro says she hopes this weekend's
• 22:06
  state championship helps pave the
• 22:08
  way for the University
• 22:09
  Interscholastic League to officially
• 22:11
  sanction the sport in high schools.
• 22:13
  I think when you grow up in Texas
• 22:14
  and you live in Texas,
• 22:16
  we love football
• 22:18
  here. And why not give that
• 22:20
  opportunity to female athletes in
• 22:22
  high school to represent their
• 22:23
  school with pride and to have the
• 22:25
  opportunity to go on and play
• 22:26
  in college and one day in the
• 22:27
  Olympics and say, you know, that kid
• 22:29
  came out of Round Rock or Austin or
• 22:31
  wherever the case may be.
• 22:32
  And so I think it would just mean a
• 22:33
  lot to a lot of people if UIL became
• 22:35
  a for it.
• 22:36
  And Castro's not alone in that hope.
• 22:38
  Dozens of people, including
• 22:40
  representatives from the Houston
• 22:41
  Texans and Dallas Cowboys,
• 22:43
  converged on Austin this past week
• 22:45
  to attend the UIL's summer
• 22:46
  legislative council meeting.
• 22:48
  There they urged the organization's
• 22:50
  leaders to officially adopt girls'
• 22:52
  flag football as a high school sport
• 22:53
  in Texas.
• 22:55
  The UIL agreed to do a survey of
• 22:57
  superintendents and develop a
• 22:59
  plan to possibly sanction the sport
• 23:00
  in October.
• 23:02
  In the meantime though, Round Rock
• 23:03
  coach Ashley Castro says, She
• 23:05
  just wants her team to embrace the
• 23:07
  moment.
• 23:07
  Being at the first ever girls
• 23:09
  state flag championship is
• 23:11
  a goal that we've had set for
• 23:13
  a while and so just to see them be a
• 23:15
  part of that, live in the
• 23:17
  moment, but also just
• 23:19
  gain confidence.
• 23:20
  I think as female athletes growing
• 23:22
  up, especially in a sport that we
• 23:24
  were always told was a boy sport,
• 23:26
  to know that they can do it and that
• 23:28
  they go out there and play and
• 23:30
  that they could be as good as they
• 23:31
  set their minds to be.
• 23:33
  This weekend's state championship is
• 23:34
  set to take place at the University
• 23:36
  of North Texas.
• 23:37
  Austin's Anderson High School will
• 23:39
  also be competing.
• 23:40
  The event is free and open to the
• 23:42
  public.
• 23:43
  I'm Kailey Hunt in Williamson
• 23:44
  County.
• 23:45
  And that is it for today's
• 23:47
  show. Thank you for tuning in.
• 23:49
  There's more about today's stories
• 23:51
  and music in the podcast show notes
• 23:53
  and at kut.org
• 23:55
  slash signal.
• 23:57
  Rayna Sevilla is our technical
• 23:58
  director.
• 23:59
  Alexandra Hart is our producer.
• 24:01
  Kristen Cabrera is our managing
• 24:03
  producer.
• 24:04
  And we can't make the show work
• 24:05
  every day without the work of the
• 24:07
  KUT newsroom.
• 24:08
  So thank you to all of them.
• 24:10
  I'm your host Jerry Quijano,
• 24:12
  Austin's Signal will be back on
• 24:13
  Monday, we will talk to you then.