English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Wichita Falls, TX

CANYON, Texas – The top-ranked Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M continue Lone Star Conference action this weekend as they hit the road to take on Lubbock Christian and Midwestern State. Action starts on Friday as a doubleheader against the Lady Chaps begins at 3:00 p.m. at Maner Park followed by a Sunday doubleheader at Mustang Park starting at 3:00 p.m. in Wichita Falls.

THIS IS LADY BUFF SOFTBALL West Texas A&M Softball is in their 21st season of NCAA competition as the Lady Buffs are a staggering 806-328 (.711) since reviving the program prior to the 2006 campaign. WT has won three South Central Regional Championships (2014, 2016, 2021) along with a pair of NCAA Division II National Championships in 2014 and 2021.

2025 REWIND The Lady Buffs capped off 2025 with a 56-8 overall record and 40-4 Lone Star Conference record. WT opened the campaign ranked 13th before quickly entering the top 10 of the NFCA poll. The Lady Buffs spent 10 weeks in the top five including three weeks at No. 1. WT earned a share of the Lone Star Conference regular season title for the second consecutive season.

WT HEAD COACH MICHAEL MOOK In just six seasons, Michael Mook has led West Texas A&M to a 267-64 (.807) mark while claiming the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championship. Mook is a two-time Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year (2024, 2025) who has led the Lady Buffs to four NCAA Postseason appearances (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025). Mook recently agreed to a three-year contract extension to keep him the WT dugout until atleast the Summer of 2028. A new era of Lady Buff softball began on June 20, 2019, as Mook was hired as the third head coach in program history.

SCOUTING THE LADY CHAPS Lubbock Christian enters the weekend with an overall record of 14-12 with a 10-6 mark in league action as they picked up a pair of LSC home wins against Midwestern State (4-2 / 5-2). The Lady Chaps are 4-2 at Maner Park so far this season.

Kadin Vire leads the way offensively for the Lady Chaps as the junior catcher from Waxahachie is hitting .417 on the season with nine doubles, three triples and a homer to drive in 14 RBI for a slugging percentage of .631 to go along with eight walks and just two strikeouts for an on-base clip of .484.

LC holds a 3.17 staff ERA, allowing 108 runs (81 earned) on 177 hits with 75 walks and 92 strikeouts in 178.2 innings of work. Seven different Lady Chaps have seen time in the circle this season led by Lexi Clark as the freshman from Lubbock is 5-3 with a 2.70 ERA, allowing 25 runs (19 earned) on 48 hits with 19 walks and 23 strikeouts in her 49.1 frames for an opposing batting average of .255.

LCU HEAD COACH DAREN HAYS Daren Hays is now in his 16th season leading the Lubbock Christian softball program, becoming the 25th active Division II head coach to reach 600 career wins back on March 6th in Austin. Hays led the Lady Chaps to five NCAA Tournament appearances.

THE SERIES Friday afternoon will mark the 40th and 41st all-time meeting on the diamond between the Lady Buffs and Lady Chaps. WT is 27-12 in the series that dates back to 2008 and the Lady Buffs are 12-8 in Lubbock. Last season saw WT go 3-1 against the Lady Chaps in the regular season followed by postseason wins during the LSC Championships and the NCAA Regional Tournament both played in Canyon.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS Midwestern State enters the weekend with an overall record of 4-20 including a 2-14 mark in LSC action as they look to snap a three-game losing skid. MSU is 1-5 this season at Mustang Park with the lone home win coming against UT Permian Basin back on February 22nd. The Mustangs host Eastern New Mexico in a doubleheader on Friday afternoon.

Chipper Mayorga leads the way offensively for the Mustangs as the freshman infielder from San Antonio is hitting .408 with five doubles to drive in 15 RBI for a slugging percentage of .474 to go along with four walks and six strikeouts for an on-base clip of .434 while stealing four bases.

MSU has registered an ERA of 4.25, allowing 127 runs (94 earned) on 203 hits with 56 walks and 70 strikeouts in 155.0 innings of work. Kayleigh Bowers has made a team-high 13 appearances with 11 starts in the circle as the junior from Phoenix is 0-8 on the season, allowing 36 runs (34 earned) on 82 hits with 20 walks and 25 strikeouts in her 67.0 frames for an opposing batting average of .304.

MSU HEAD COACH KAE LANI BRYAN Kae Lani Bryan, is in her first season as the helm of the Midwestern State softball program. Bryan came to Wichita Falls following seven years as the head coach at Fort Scott Community College. The Picher, Oklahoma product played collegiately at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M

THE SERIES Sunday afternoon will mark the 65th and 66th all-time meeting between the Lady Buffs and Mustangs. West Texas A&M is 42-22 in the series that dates back to 2006, WT has won 32 straight games with the last MSU victory coming in May of 2014. The Lady Buffs are 18-12 in Wichita Falls, winning their last 14 contests at Mustang Park. Last season saw the Lady Buffs go 4-0 against Midwestern State, outscoring the Mustangs 28-7.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - Amazon has opened a new delivery station right here in the heart of Texoma, built to serve Wichita Falls residents and the surrounding towns more directly.

Jessica Breaux, Senior Manager of Academic Development for Amazon, said that construction of the Amazon building began in 2024. It took about twelve months to finish it before operations could start in December of last year.

The new 76,000-square-foot distribution center started operating on December 4th, 2025, made possible by a $4 billion investment. Today, March 3 of 2026, marks its official opening to the public.

“We will be able to facilitate faster customer delivery from this facility. We will be doing direct-to-customer delivery from this location, so you will see our partners and Amazon-branded brands in and around your neighborhoods that are delivering your Amazon orders,“ Breaux said.

Breaux said they have roughly 200 Amazon employees who work in the new facility, along with 200 delivery partners and room to grow.

“The building is roughly about 76,000 square feet, and we process close to 10,000 customer packages per day from this location,” Breaux said.

She said a typical workday for an employee is a busy one, starting in the early morning.

“A lot of the folks arrive in the early morning hours, so our first shift starts overnight, where our team members come in, sort packages, and prepare them for the day’s delivery. Then around mid-morning, so about the 9:30 to 10:00 a.m. time frame, we move into that actual van dispatched for when we are sending out the delivery vans, like the one behind me, to make deliveries to customers’ homes,” Breaux said.

Senior Station Manager Wesley Pruitt said that deliveries will be way faster through their dispatched vans, and customers’ packages will be delivered from neighboring Amazon fulfillment and sortation centers.

“We go all the way up to Lawton, Oklahoma, and then we’re expanding South towards Decatur, so those are kind of the northern and southern limits right now,” Pruitt said.

He said the facility will provide a few hundred jobs to the region and increase access for rural communities. According to Amazon, since 2010, its investment has grown throughout the years, starting from infrastructure, compensation and employees of roughly $84.3+ billion to 65,000 plus opportunities in construction, logistics, and other professional positions, as well as vendors that Amazon relies on each day.

“Amazon is inspired to bring in direct services to all customers, so we’re expanding into areas such as Wichita Falls. We want to make sure that everyone is served as quickly as possible,” Pruitt said.

The new delivery station facility is located at 2951 Production Boulevard in Wichita Falls.

The threat of a Texas Education Agency takeover was triggered by one of the North Texas district’s schools that had been underperforming for years.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — The Wichita Falls school district will not be placed under state control, district officials announced at a Thursday board meeting.

Under state law, when a single school receives five consecutive F grades on the state’s accountability scale, the Texas Education Agency can replace a district’s locally elected school board or close the struggling campus.

After years of underperformance at Kirby Middle School, Wichita Falls ISD closed the campus and moved the students to Hirschi Middle School. The district also entered a partnership with Third Future Schools, a charter school network focused on turning around struggling schools.

RELATED: To avoid state takeovers, Texas districts are spending millions to outsource struggling schools. Here’s how it works.

Donny Lee, the superintendent of Wichita Falls, said he expects to have no failing campuses when accountability ratings are released later this year.

“We’ll be able to continue operating under a locally elected school board. To say the least, we are thrilled,” Lee said at Thursday’s board meeting. The announcement was met with applause.

Texas has increasingly relied on state interventions as a means to shape learning in public schools. Last year, TEA announced it will replace the elected school boards of Fort Worth, as well as the Beaumont, Connally and Lake Worth school districts because of academic underperformance. The largest takeover is also occurring at the Houston Independent School District, which has more than 183,000 students.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. This article .

Texas declined Thursday to take over the Wichita Falls school district, which had been at risk of receiving the state’s most severe form of intervention over years of academic underperformance.

Kirby Middle School triggered the potential of a takeover. Under the state’s school accountability system, five consecutive years of unacceptable ratings at a single school allows the Texas Education Agency to replace a district’s locally elected school board with a state-selected board of managers or order the closure of the struggling campus.

The district near the Texas-Oklahoma border had already informally closed Kirby Middle School in 2024 and moved its students to Hirschi Middle School to provide them with better facilities. Facing continued pressure from the state to improve academic performance, the district adopted state math materials and outsourced operations at Hirschi to Third Future Schools, a charter school network that focuses on turning around struggling schools.

After TEA Commissioner Mike Morath visited the district last month, he and Wichita Falls ISD agreed to formally close the obsolete Kirby campus and permit Hirschi to continue its partnership with Third Future Schools. The TEA will appoint a conservator to monitor the district’s progress and advise the superintendent and school board.

“TEA will continue to tightly monitor the district’s progress through the appointment of a conservator and the other conditions that the district agreed to,” said Jake Kobersky, a spokesperson for the agency. “The district must continue to improve academic outcomes for students to prevent a campus closure or Board of Managers appointment in the future.”

The district went from 11 academically unacceptable campuses in the 2022-23 school year to five in 2024-25. Donny Lee, the superintendent of Wichita Falls, said he expects there to be no failing campuses when accountability ratings are released later this year.

With Third Future Schools in charge, students experience stricter learning environments with longer school days. They are lined up and walked to their next class, and if there’s a disruption, students are removed from the classroom, Lee said.

“We’ll be able to continue operating under a locally elected school board. To say the least, we are thrilled,” Lee said at a Thursday board meeting. The announcement was met with applause.

Texas has increasingly relied on state interventions as a means to shape learning in public schools. The largest takeover is occurring at the Houston Independent School District, which has more than 183,000 students. There, the state appointed Mike Miles as superintendent. Miles, founder of Third Future Schools, has taken a strict approach to learning in Houston that led to academic improvements but has been widely controversial among families in the district.

Wichita Falls was among five districts that reached the threshold for state intervention after accountability ratings were released last year. The other four met a different fate: The TEA is in the process of replacing the elected school board of Fort Worth, as well as the Beaumont, Connally and Lake Worth school districts. As part of the intervention, Fort Worth superintendent Karen Molinar told families this week that she won’t get to remain as superintendent.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - For those looking for things to do in Wichita Falls and the surrounding area this weekend or next, one or several of these numerous community events may do the trick.

Hosted by comedian Mitch Burrow, the series brings top talent from Austin, Texas, to Wichita Falls. The show will also feature Dallas-based comedian Tim Davies, comedian Rubyn Warren, and comedian Tre Stewart. Tickets cost $40 per person.

The Mustangs basketball team will be hosting Texas A&M Kingsville for Military Appreciation Day at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Entry is free with a military or MSU student I.D., and the first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a camouflage towel.

Take part in educational activities about the birds around Sikes Lake at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art, in conjunction with the new exhibition Framing Nature: Animals Through Art.

This 11-week course will be kicking off February 17th and is mandatory for first-time participants. All course participants will learn the proper techniques and safety elements involved in using a firearm and the rules and expectations of the course. The following classes will be held every Tuesday from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. These classes will be one-on-one, hands-on instruction.

Workforce Solutions North Texas and TravelCenters of America are partnering for a hiring event at the Wilbarger Auditorium for those interested in working at the Vernon Travel Center. Open positions include Travel Center, Deli/Bakery, Popeyes, Starbucks, and Vernon BBQ. Bring your resume and make sure to dress to impress.

Join Tucker Roberts in his hometown as the City of Nocona gears up for its 16th Annual Mardi Gras celebration, wrapping up on February 17th.

Events in Nocona include:

Advanced Rehab and Healthcare of Wichita Falls is hosting a Job Fair on February 19th to hire CNAs, LVNs, and RNs for multiple shifts. Bring your resume, apply on-site, and interview the same day.

River Bend Nature Center is hosting their Nature Tots Program, Art Rocks, which incorporates fun stories and various painting activities. This program is for ages 2-6 and is included with general admission, but begins at 10:30 a.m. and is not a come-and-go program. General admission: $6, Children/Seniors/Military/Students: $5, and Children 1 and Under and RBNC members are free.

Visit the KAUZ Community Calendar to stay updated on what’s happening now in Wichita Falls.