Austin, TX
Groundbreaking dates set for temples in Bolivia, Texas
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced groundbreaking dates for two temples — June 8 for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple and Aug. 17 for the Austin Texas Temple.
Of the Church’s 350 temples total worldwide that are dedicated, under construction or in planning and design, nine have concluded or are concluding construction and have been announced for dedication, with 42 more currently under construction. Two — the Teton River Idaho and Cleveland Ohio temples — are scheduled for June 1 groundbreakings.
The Church makes every effort to construct temples in an expeditious manner. At times, various reasons may delay a temple’s completion and dedication.
The two groundbreaking dates were first published Monday, May 6, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Attendance at the sites will be by invitation only, with additional details on the events to be released as the groundbreaking dates draw closer.
Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple
Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s South America Northwest Area, will preside and offer a dedicatory prayer at the June 8 groundbreaking services for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple.
President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple for Santa Cruz during the October 2020 general conference. The site location was announced two years later, on Nov. 28, 2022.
With plans calling for a single-story building of approximately 29,000 square feet, the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple will be built at Avenida Quinto Anilla y Santa Rosa (Av. Radial 27), Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.
Bolivia has two other houses of the Lord — the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple, dedicated in April 2000, and the La Paz Bolivia Temple, which was announced in October 2021 and had its site made public in August 2023.
In conjunction with the groundbreaking announcement, an exterior rendering of the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple was released Monday.
Missionaries began teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Andes Mission in November 1964. Today, Bolivia is home to more than 225,000 Latter-day Saints in over 270 congregations.
Austin Texas Temple
Elder Michael A. Dunn will preside at the Aug. 17 groundbreaking ceremony and offer a dedicatory prayer. A General Authority Seventy who is currently second counselor in the North America Southwest Area presidency, Elder Dunn will serve as first counselor in the presidency beginning Aug. 1.
President Nelson announced a temple for Austin during April 2022 general conference, one of 17 locations he announced on April 3, 2022, bringing to 100 the number of temples he had announced since becoming President of the Church in 2018. Through April 2024 general conference, he has announced 168 temples.
First published in September 2023, the exterior rendering of the Austin Texas Temple visually represents that house of the Lord according to initial details as announced when its site location was released in December 2022.
The house of the Lord is to be built on a 10.6-acre site adjacent to an existing meetinghouse at 1801 E. Park St., Cedar Park, Texas. It is planned as a single-story temple of approximately 30,000 square feet. Cedar Park is a suburb northwest of Austin.
The Austin temple is one of nine in Texas. Operating temples are located in Dallas, Houston, Lubbock, McAllen and San Antonio, with one in Fort Worth under construction. The Austin temple is one of three in planning stages, along with others in McKinney and south Houston.
Missionaries first visited Texas in 1843. In 1898, about 300 Church members settled on land purchased by the Church in northeast Texas that would become the colony of Kelsey, about 110 miles east of Dallas.
Church membership in Texas has grown rapidly in recent decades — from 132,000 Latter-day Saints in 1985 to just over 210,000 in 2000. Today more than 385,000 members of the Church comprise the 750-plus congregations in the state.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25025988/merlin_3002642.jpg "Orem temple dedicatory prayer: Elder Christofferson notes the nobility, sacrifices of past generations")
You might ask, “Why is there an Ikon Pass Stoke Event in Austin, Texas?”
Fact: There are more skiers and snowboarders in Texas than in Colorado. According to a 2017 Snowsports Industry Association study, Texas is home to roughly 800,000 skiers and riders, compared to Colorado’s 500,000. That impressive number puts Texas third in the nation for total ski and snowboard participants, behind only California and New York. Texans alone make up about 6% of all U.S. ski and snowboarders. And the proof is on the slopes: Ski areas in Colorado and New Mexico report that a staggering 70% of their out-of-state visitors hail from the Lone Star State. Yes—the legend of Texans being everywhere on the mountain is absolutely true.
Fact: Every Texan who skis is a destination skier. With no local ski resorts that are a quick Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake City or short interstate drive away, Texans go big: they travel, stay longer, and spend more at Ikon Pass Destinations. As Kristin Rust, Vice President of Communications for Alterra Mountain Company, puts it, “Texas is a huge market, and Austin has a great number of pass holders.” With Ikon Pass offering such a wide network of resorts, and Texas home to so many skiers, Austin is a natural place for a Stoke Event.
This year’s Ikon Pass Stoke Event took place at Loro, the wildly popular South Lamar hangout blending Asian smokehouse flavors with laid-back Austin vibes. The gathering drew a lively crowd of local Ikon Pass holders. Guests enjoyed a spread of standout dishes—Oak-Grilled Edamame, Wonton Chips and Dip, Arugula & Melon Salad, and Oak-Smoked Brisket—paired with beer, wine, soft drinks, and Austin-meets-après cocktails like an Old Fashioned and, of course, the non-traditional slope-side margarita, a playful nod to Jimmy Buffett and the city where Margaritaville was written.
Attendance was strong, and the outdoor, under-the-oaks setting added an easy, welcoming feel. The energy was high as skiers swapped plans for upcoming trips to Ikon Pass destinations including SkiBig3 in Banff, Jackson Hole, Killington, the six Utah resorts on the pass, and the perennial “home resorts” for Texans—those in Colorado and New Mexico. Members of Austin Skiers, the city’s long-standing ski and travel club, were out in force and buzzing about club trips to the Ikon Pass resorts of Snowmass, Mt. Bachelor, SkiBig3, and Steamboat.
A major hit of the night was the CMH Heli-Skiing virtual-reality experience, a full 3D immersion complete with helicopter-ride visuals of the Canadian Rockies and a run down untouched powder with a small ski group. Riders found themselves carving turns, watching skiers float past, and looking up, down, and across the alpine terrain—an astonishingly vivid taste of what a heli-ski trip feels like. The CMH station stayed packed all evening.
The night wrapped up with a spirited swag giveaway, where lucky attendees scored prizes including Yeti mugs, a coveted Shot-Ski, and an Ikon Pass. What a great way to top off a fantastic night!
In the end, the Ikon Pass Stoke Event proved to be a fantastic celebration of Austin’s vibrant ski community—a chance to meet fellow snow lovers, swap stories, and get excited about the season ahead. For one night, Austin truly became a “Ski Town.”
AUSTIN, Texas (KVIA) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that Southwest Airlines will establish a new pilot and flight attendant crew base in Austin.
Abbott joined the Austin mayor at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to make the announcement today.
The expansion to Austin will lay the groundwork for future operational growth in Texas. It is expected to generate 2,000 jobs in Austin by mid-2027. In addition to the pilots and flight attendants, Austin will now also be home to managerial and support staff. The new crew base will have an average salary of $180,000 a year, the Governor’s Office says.
The state is extending a $14 million Texas Enterprise Fund to the airline, as well as a $375,000 Veteran Created Job Bonus.
“Southwest Airlines was born and raised in Texas and has been a core element of the economic growth we have seen in our state,” said Governor Abbott. “We are excited to announce that today Southwest Airlines will add over 2,000 high paying jobs right here in Texas. We are the home of economic opportunity for our fellow Texans more than any other state in the United States, and we know a key reason for that is because of everything Southwest Airlines provides. We are proud to partner with everybody connected with Southwest as well as the City of Austin on such a huge announcement for our state.”
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin firefighters battled their second major fire Thursday afternoon, responding to an abandoned East Austin auto shop engulfed in flames.
Crews responded to 3100 Manor Road around 4 p.m., AFD said.
No injuries were reported and no one was inside the building.
ALSO | 40+ residents displaced in North Austin third-alarm apartment fire, no injuries reported
The incident was called in as a first alarm. The building is a total loss, according to officials.
CBS Austin has a crew on the way to the scene.
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Earlier in the afternoon, firefighters extinguished a three-alarm fire in north Austin.
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