Listen to local stories With Steve Mitchell and Sabrina McCormick that are featured during Morning Edition, Public Radio News Hour, and All Things Considered.
This week kicks off a series of exhibits in southwest Arkansas highlighting the works of impressionist Effie Anderson Smith. Anderson-Smith was born in Nashville Arkansas in 1869, and then grew up in Hope, Arkansas, she would go on to move to Arizona where she gained popularity for her desert landscapes. Sabrina McCormick reports:
(September 12, 2023).
Dr. Ben Neuman joins the Mid Day News Hour to talk about the latest Omicron Variant. Dr. Neuman is the Professor of Biology and Chief Virologist of the Global Health Research complex at Texas A & M University. (September 06, 2023).
A new Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic Program is scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2024 at Texarkana College. Sabrina McCormick spoke with the program’s new Director of Aviation. (August 30, 2023).
The first recorded observance of the Marfa Ghost Lights in west Texas occured in 1883, when a young cowhand saw a flickering light while driving cattle through the Paisano Pass. He wondered if the light was from a distant campfire. He learned later that other settlers in the area had seen the lights. However, when they went to investigate them, they found nothing. Recently, Sabrina McCormick spoke with a writer, director and co-founder of a Dallas based film company at the second annual Texas UFO Convention in Jefferson, Texas. He also wondered about the lights, and produced a film about them. (August 25, 2023).
The crash of an alleged spacecraft in Aurora, Texas in April 1897, has sparked imaginations since it occurred. For one researcher of the incident, it has broader implications for the present. Sabrina McCormick has this interview with UFO researcher and writer, Daniel Alan Jones. Jones was a guest speaker at the second annual Texas UFO Con in Jefferson, Texas on Saturday, August 19. (August 24, 2023).
Documentary filmmaker J. Michael Long was 12 years-old when two men alleged aliens abducted them while they fishing along the Pascagoula River in October of 1973. Long remembers the incident well because he also saw something unexplainable in the sky at that time. Sabrina McCormick has this interview with Long, who hosted a screening of his documentary film, Alien Contact: The Pascagoula UFO Encounter, during the second annual Texas UFO Con in Jefferson, Texas Saturday. (August 23, 2023).
The Texas UFO Con Took place Saturday August 19 in Jefferson, Texas. Sabrina McCormick attended the conference and talked with many of its speakers. Today's interview features a well-known author and researcher in the field. The is the first in a series of stories that will air this week. (August 22, 2023).
Texas UFO Con is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday August 19 at the Convention and Visitor’s Center in Jefferson Texas. The event features a panel of speakers including on a variety of topics related to UFO’s in Texas. Sabrina McCormick has more: (August 17, 2023).
Today we have the last in our series exploring aspects of Crypto Mining in Texas. Today Sabrina McCormick focuses on Crypto Mining’s impact in our own back yard. Cass County is home to two such operations. (August 11, 2023).
Today we have the second part in a three part series about Crypto Mining in Texas. For this installment, Sabrina McCormick picks up the conversation with the Texas Blockchain Council for to talk about energy use, and economic impact of mining operations in the state. (August 10, 2023).
According to Whitehouse Dot Gov, the United States is estimated to host about one third of global crypto-asset operations, consuming an estimated point- 9, to 1-point-7 percent of total US electricity usage. The Texas Blockchain Council reckons there is at least 27 operations in the state, with more to come. These operations face intense scrutiny though. Recently though Texas Gov. Greg Abbot signed HB 591 into law. The legislation provides tax exemptions on the sale of gas that would otherwise be flared or vented to data centers including crypto mining operations. The law further opens the door for crypto-mining operations to use an alternative source of energy off the grid, that may otherwise be wasted, and that might otherwise be flared back into the environment. Sabrina McCormick spoke with the COO of one organization that specializes in off grid power use for crypto mining to gain a better understanding of what exactly it means for the business. (August 09, 2023).
Today we have the third and final story in our series about how Texarkana College has implemented Artificial Intelligence. The College has been experimenting with the new technology. It is also something KTXK has access too since the station’s studios are located on the college’s campus. Sabrina McCormick Reports there is a lot of speculation about what the technology means for humankind – here we pick up again with our conversation with TC’s executive director of IT to examine those implications. (July 10, 2023).
Today marks the opening for the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council 35th annual Juried Art Exhibit, which runs through September 2. The exhibit is sponsored by the Yates Foundation, and the Texarkana Sesquicentennial Committee’s TXK 15 Award. It features up to 70 works of art from regional national and international artists. Sabrina McCormick spoke with the organization’s Visual Arts Director, Chris Wicker about the exhibit this morning: (July 07, 2023).
Artificial Intelligence has many practical uses in academics, but there are also many concerns. Sabrina McCormick spoke with TC’s head of Information Technology about the practicalities of AI in our last segment. In this second installment of the interview, TC’s executive director of IT, Bart Upchurch, will discuss concerns and how the college is addressing those. Sabrina McCormick reports: (July 07, 2023).
Curious about Artificial Intelligence? Well, KTXK and Texarkana College have been experimenting with Chat GPT – For News Director, Sabrina McCormick that has meant quizzing the new technology about random stuff, like, really random stuff. However, as she reports, the new technology does have very practical applications for education and information technology. This is the first of a multi-part series talking to TC’s executive director of Information Technology, Bart Upchurch about AI at the college. Sabrina McCormick reports: (July 06, 2023).