Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Friday, May 15, 2026.
Texas keeps growing, and Austin just crossed a major milestone
Texas added hundreds of thousands of new residents last year, with growth concentrated in the state’s largest metro areas and fast-growing suburbs.
State Demographer Lloyd Potter joins the Standard to break down the newest Census estimates, including Austin topping one million residents for the first time, which regions are booming fastest and where population losses are still showing up.
Why some Texas cities don’t hold elections at all
Across parts of North Texas, some local elections never happened this year because candidates ran unopposed.
KERA News’ Andy Lusk explores why canceled elections are becoming common in some Mid-Cities communities — and what it says about civic engagement, competition and local government participation.
How Miami reshaped Texas mental health courts
KACU’s “Minds on Trial” continues with a look at the Miami courthouse that helped pioneer the mental health court model now used across Texas. Episode Three traces how one judge’s attempt to rethink the intersection of mental illness and the criminal justice system became a national blueprint.
A Texas county hits pause on the AI data center rush
Hill County leaders have approved a one-year pause on new data center development as concerns grow over water use, electricity demand and rapid expansion tied to artificial intelligence.
County Judge Shane Brassell joins the Standard to explain why developers are flocking to rural Texas — and why some communities are pushing back.
Lou Diamond Phillips talks Texas roots, ‘La Bamba’ and legacy
Actor Lou Diamond Phillips joins Texas Standard ahead of a screening at Austin’s Cine Las Americas festival. The Texas-raised actor reflects on growing up in the state, receiving the Dallas Star Award, revisiting “La Bamba” on 35mm, and navigating a career playing Indigenous and Latino characters across film and television.
Typewriter Rodeo
The gang delivers another custom poem.
The week in Texas politics
The Texas Tribune’s Jasper Scherer joins the Standard with a recap of the week that was in Texas politics.
