Category Archives: Community

VBR Business Briefs

Community Education Finance/Banking News Transportation & Travel Comments
Executives representing Lone Star National Bank recently received five honors on the bank’s behalf from the Independent Bankers Association of Texas.

Lone Star National Honored For Services McAllen-based Lone Star National Bank was recently honored with five best of bank awards in honors given by the Independent Bankers Association of Texas. LSNB was honored for providing South Texas entrepreneurs with a range of services, including business education, expert-led workshops, networking opportunities and financial guidance through a complimentary eight-session cohort. Lone Star’s Small Business Education Program provides business owners with added expertise…

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Worlds Of Work Opening Doors

Education News Comments
RGV students who attended the Worlds of Work said the event provided information and insights on possible careers they are considering.

Over 1,000 students from the Rio Grande Valley recently attended the first Worlds of Work event to be held in South Texas. Texas Workforce Solutions and South Texas College collaborated on the program in asking employers from across the region to provide exhibits and insights about their respective companies and industries. The students came from area high schools and middle schools to attend the hands-on event at STC’s Technology Campus…

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New Museum Gives SPI A Heritage

Community Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments
South Padre Island community and business leader Dennis Franke is seeing his dream of a historical museum on the Island coming to fruition after years of planning and fund raising.

Three South Padre Island community leaders met in 2009 to advance an idea that their city could be more than a beach resort destination. Dennis Franke, Steve Hathcock and Rod Bates founded the South Padre Island Historical Foundation with the expressed goal of establishing a museum of history. The wish of having a museum featuring the history of the Island seemed like a longshot given the resources it would take…

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Mercedes Amplifies Ties To Famed Doctor

Community News Comments
Dr. Hector P. Garcia, who grew up in Mercedes, founded the American GI Forum in the late 1940s to assist World War II veterans. (Courtesy)

Growing up in Mercedes, Skyler Howell knew the name of Dr. Hector P. Garcia, but not much else about the man whose likeness graces the front of the local library.  “I knew his name was on the library, but there was no context for it,” said Howell, a recent UTRGV graduate.  Garcia was a Mexican immigrant whose family came to the Rio Grande Valley and Mercedes in the early 1900s.…

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Artist’s Mini Murals Feature RGV Birds

Arts Featured News Comments
Ryan Henry puts the finishing touches on a blue heron at Cactus Flower Interiors on South Padre Island. (Courtesy)

Plein-air artist Ryan Henry always thought of taking a brief break from his usual landscape work to try murals and create art on the sides and fronts of buildings. “I had it in my mind for years,” said Henry, a South Padre Island-based artist.  In late July, Ryan on an artistic limb, painted a great kiskadee above the entrance to his Meridian & Muse Fine Art Gallery on Padre Boulevard.…

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Fire Academies Meeting RGV’s Needs

Education News Comments
STC’s Fire Academy has trained hundreds of firefighters that are currently serving Rio Grande Valley communities. (Courtesy)

Firefighters are in steady and acute demand nationally as training requirements become more complex and those in the profession face risks to their mental and physical health.  In the Rio Grande Valley, South Texas College is expanding its fire academy regionally with plans to open a new training facility at its Mid-Valley campus in Weslaco. Some local school districts such as Harlingen CISD have established their own fire academies that…

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VBR Business Briefs

Community Education News Technology Comments
Daniel Clark receives a McAllen SHINES award on behalf of his family and its auto dealership. (Courtesy)

McAllen Honors Clark Chevrolet Clark Chevrolet’s contributions to the city of McAllen were highlighted recently when the auto dealership was recognized as a SHINES Champion. McAllen SHINES is a community-wide civic pride and environmental initiative that focuses on promoting cleanliness, respect and responsibility among residents, businesses, and visitors. Among its key focus areas are honoring local businesses for their beautification efforts through mural creations and a commitment to keeping the…

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New Efforts Shine Light On PI

Community Featured News Comments
Economic development administrator Lori Moore, PI Mayor Martin Cantu Jr., and City Manager Jared Hockema were among the city leaders at a recent business roundtable.

The Port Isabel Lighthouse is more than a nearly 175-year-old landmark that once guided ships safely through the Gulf of Mexico and past the dangerous shoals near the Rio Grande. It shone a bright beacon that was visible for up to 16 miles in preventing shipwrecks and also acted as a strategic observation post for both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War. Today, the historic lighthouse still stands…

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UTRGV Invests To Boost Brownsville

Education News Comments
Concerns cited by Brownsville Mayor John Cowen led UTRGV to promise big improvements at its Brownsville campus.

The outdoor college graduations that became hallmarks of community life in Brownsville ended abruptly in late 2024. Brownsville Mayor John Cowen was not pleased when learning that UTRGV was moving all graduation ceremonies – including those of its Brownsville-based students – to Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg. What made it worse for the mayor was that he first heard of the move as “a rumor prior to the official announcement,”…

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Harlingen Tells ‘All-American Story’

Community Featured News Comments
A contingent of Harlingen residents and local leaders recently traveled to Denver for a presentation that resulted in the community being named an All-America city. (Courtesy)

Harlingen has been named by the National Civic League as an All-America City for its efforts in civic engagement and inclusiveness in solving local problems. For Harlingen, it is the second time the city has received the All-America honor, with its first designation being in 1992. Seven other cities in the Rio Grande Valley have received the honor since the 1960s, and they are Brownsville, Edinburg, Hidalgo, McAllen, Mission, Pharr…

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