AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Monday, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas celebrated the grand opening of its new house at Texas Children’s Hospital in north Austin. 

The organization provides essential services for families such as warm meals and a place to rest near their child while they are receiving care at the hospital. 

This will be Central Texas’ second Ronald McDonald House. The first house is located in Mueller next to Dell’s Children’s Medical Center, according to the organization’s website. However, the north Austin house will be the first in-hospital house.

The north Austin house will have nine separate family suites, according to a press release. Families will also have a kitchen staffed with volunteers preparing meals, a dining area, a lounge room, complimentary laundry facilities and a room for arts and activities.

Just steps away from their child’s bedside, the collaboration with Texas Children’s Hospital Austin ties into RMHC’s mission of keeping families close. 

“This new in-hospital Ronald McDonald House represents a meaningful commitment to families across Central Texas and beyond,” said Dr. Jeffrey Shilt, president of Austin and Central Texas at Texas Children’s. “By bringing this resource directly onto our Austin campus, we are helping ensure families can stay close to their child, remain connected to their care team and focus on what matters most during some of life’s most challenging moments.”

CEO of Ronald McDonald House of Central Texas Kristin Coulter said this is a milestone for the organization. 

“We’ve been experiencing a waitlist due to shortages of rooms for the last 5 years so today is a milestone moment for Ronald McDonald House because we are going to be able to serve nine more families here at the house who have children who are critically ill or injured staying at the hospital,” Coulter said.

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A joint venture between Ascentris and Student Quarters has acquired Noble 2500, a 243-bed student housing community serving students at the University of Texas at Austin. Built in 2023, the property is located in Austin’s West Campus neighborhood and offers 118 fully furnished units in studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom configurations with bed-to-bath parity. Shared amenities include study lounges, a courtyard pool, fitness center, yoga studio and a rooftop sky lounge. The new ownership plans to enhance the property’s common areas and implement operational improvements to boost leasing performance. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.

AUSTIN, Texas — Long security lines returned to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Sunday as the partial government shutdown continued, prompting some travelers to arrive hours early and still worry they might miss their flights.

Some travelers said they showed up four hours ahead of departure to try to avoid problems at the checkpoint. Inside the terminal, security lines stretched across the building, testing patience as passengers waited to be screened.

“This has been insane. Hopefully they get it figured out,” traveler John Wittle said. Another traveler, Juliana Sombrano, said, “We arrived four hours earlier today because they said the lines were going to be really long today.”

Airport officials said they were expecting about 32,000 travelers Sunday. The airport typically considers anything over 30,000 to be a busy travel day.

The congestion contributed to travel disruptions for some passengers. “American cancelled our flight. Didn’t tell us anything about what to do. Our bags are in a completely different city right now,” traveler Michael Vosicky said.

The extended TSA lines have also affected other Texas airports, including Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. TSA agents have not been paid in more than 40 days as the partial shutdown has continued, leaving some travelers sympathetic to workers.

“Obviously feel sorry for the staff who are going through everything,” traveler Michael Radomir said.

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On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing TSA agents to be paid with Department of Homeland Security funds, while blaming Democrats for the airport controversy. “Some of them are needing money because the Democrats cut off their money. I blame the Democrats more than anything else,” Trump said.

The order came as House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate bill that would have fully funded the TSA and several other agencies.

At Austin-Bergstrom, travelers said they hope paying TSA workers will help speed up screening lines. “Hopefully it does nothing but continue to improve everything, everything that we’re seeing here,” traveler Mark Lupkey said.

TSA said agents could begin getting paid as early as Monday. The agency did not confirm how many agents have not been working in Austin since the partial shutdown began.