AUSTIN, Texas – It was initially believed that both of Athena the owl’s owlets at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center had died, but officials reported some hopeful news.

What we know:

On April 19, the wildflower center had posted that both of Athena’s owlets had not survived after they had been born on April 9 and April 11.

The first owlet died on April 17 and the second owlet was reported to have died overnight on April 18. 

Athena was not seen at the nest and was not spotted in nearby trees.

The wildflower center continued to monitor the nest and on April 20, the second owlet was found to be alive and showing signs of movement. 

In coordination with Austin Wildlife Rescue, the owlet was retrieved and is being rehabilitated.

What we don’t know:

Officials say early signs are encouraging and that the owlet is showing strength and appetite.

The exact cause of the death of the first owlet is now known, but the wildflower center says a variety of natural factors can affect survival, including food availability.

The backstory:

Since 2012, a pair of great horned owls have made a specific corner of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center their home. Like clockwork, the pair return each year to nest above the archway of the courtyard entrance, greeting visitors who pass beneath them.

The female owl, affectionately named Athena, has become a staple of the center.

Athena’s reach extends far beyond the local Austin community. Through a partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the center hosts a 24/7 livestream of the nest, allowing bird-watchers from around the globe to monitor her progress in real-time. 

The City of Austin also recently designated Athena the official Owl Ambassador of Austin.

(The Center Square) – As part of Texas’ celebration of the founding of the United States, a new monument was unveiled in Austin commemorating 69 patriots who fought for U.S. independence who later came to Texas.

Texas is also celebrating its first U.S. Navy fleet week in state history in the Houston area, where roughly 1,000 sailors and Marines are participating in nearly 200 events as part of the America 250 celebration. This also includes commemorating the Texas Navy, which helped win Texas’ independence from Mexico 190 years ago this April, The Center Square reported.

Gov. Greg Abbott and the leaders of the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution unveiled a new monument honoring Texas revolutionary war patriots at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

Abbott, a direct descendent of a patriot who supported the cause of American independence, was also inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution and received the Silver Good Citizenship Medal.

“It is appropriate to remember that today, April 18th, 251 years ago, the Battles of Lexington and Concord occurred with the shot heard around the world,” Mel Oller, president of the Texas Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, said.

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On the evening of April 18, Paul Revere rode from Boston to Charlestown warning colonists that British troops were coming. Several hundred Minute Men and colonial militia fought British soldiers the next morning in Concord and Lexington, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War.

The commemoration in Austin was important “to reflect on the courage, sacrifice and enduring principles that gave birth to the United States of America,” Oller said. “This monument stands as a tribute to those patriots and reminder to future generations of the ideas that continue to shape our Republic.”

“Texans played a role in the war too, and it’s important to recognize them, and the sacrifices they made for our freedom,” he said.

“The history that is etched the United States into the annals of the greatest country in the history of the world,” Abbott said. As others try to rewrite American history or “try to condemn the glory of what America has been able to achieve,” Abbott said Texas was focusing on teaching children about U.S. and Texas history. “We must educate every generation about why it is that America grew from just a tenuous 13 colonies into the most powerful country in the history of the world.”

“There could hardly be a better time to dedicate this monument than during our 250th celebration of freedom, of independence,” he said. It’s “an enduring testament to the heroes who fought for that freedom that is unique to America.”

One of the greatest gifts Revolutionary War heroes gave Americans was freedom, Abbott said, “but freedom is not a one-time event. The fight didn’t end with the Treaty of Paris. It’s an everyday process, perpetually. Just as the patriots took to the hillsides to battle the Red Coats, modern day Patriots” continue to fight for freedom, including the failed policies of Marxism, he said. Many Texans’ ancestors “died for a country they would never get to see. Stories of these heroes must be told. Generations of Americans must be reminded of who they are and what they fought for.”

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There are 69 American Revolutionary War heroes listed alphabetically on the monument who later settled in Texas, including native Tejanos who fought for American independence, according to TSSAR.

Listed first is John Abston, who enlisted in the militia in Virginia when he was 18. He fought alongside and under men like John Crockett, father of Davy Crockett, in one of the most pivotal battles of the war: the Battle of Kings Mountain, in South Carolina. He later moved to Collin County, Texas.

Another is José Santiago Seguín, the grandfather of Texas Revolutionary hero Juan Seguín, the first and only Tejano to be elected to the Republic of Texas Senate. He also fought with Sam Houston in the Battle of San Jacinto.

Another is Peter Sides, who fought with a North Carolina regiment against the British. He later joined the Gutierrez-Magee expedition in 1812 and was killed in 1813 at the Battle of Medina in what is now Bexar County. The battle is “known as the bloodiest battle on Texas soil. The rebels’ bodies were desecrated and their body parts were removed and scattered,” the TSSAR explains.

Another is William Sparks, who joined a North Carolina militia when he was 17. He and his family later moved to Nacagdoches, Texas; his sons and grandsons fought for Texas independence.

Listed at the bottom of the monument is Ira Hobart Evans, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and the youngest Speaker of the Texas House who founded the Texas Society of the Sons of American Revolution.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas’ highway system dropped two spots since 2025, and now ranks at No. 27 in the country for its cost-effectiveness and overall conditions, according to the Reason Foundation’s 2026 Highway Report.

The report assessed pavement conditions, fatalities, deficient bridges, infrastructure costs and congestion levels across the United States. Texas earned the following rankings:

• 33rd in urban interstate pavement conditions
• 21st in rural interstate pavement conditions
• 39th in urban arterial pavement conditions
• 12th in rural arterial pavement conditions
• 3rd in structurally deficient bridges
• 26th in urban fatality rate
• 42nd in rural fatality rate
• 41st in traffic congestion

“More than 42,000 of the nation’s 618,923 highway bridges, nearly 7%, are still structurally deficient. Arizona, Nevada, and Texas reported the lowest percentages of deficient bridges,” the report said.

The full report can be found online.