🚁TechFW startup Portal Aircraft wins $500k; Court says no to guns at State Fair; Trump 'markets' FW company.

James Thurman, founder and CEO of Portal Aircraft, a TechFW member, won a subjective award of $500,000 yesterday at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Liftoff at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Ohio. Portal has a battery-free, turbine-powered VTOL system and won a break-through award. Thurman is a former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander and combat-proven Naval Aviator with more than 1,500 flight hours. He also worked as a systems engineer at Lockheed. 

Court sticks to its guns: A Texas appeals court struck down the Texas Attorney General’s office challenge of the State Fair’s firearms ban, just a month before the annual event returns to Dallas. The fair banned firearms in 2024 after a shooting at Fair Park.

Don Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history, a five-time NBA champion as a player with the Boston Celtics and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has died at 86. Among his coaching and GM stops was leading the Dallas Mavericks from 1997-2005.

Fort Worth-based MP Materials was a prime-time prop for President Donald Trump Friday. He held up a pair of magnets manufactured by the company from rare earth materials mined and refined in California, underscoring the importance of the critical supply chain for electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, drones, defense systems and consumer electronics.

When FIFA World Cup officials left north Texas, not everything went with them. Texas Health Mansfield Stadium was gifted the actual goals used during World Cup matches at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, giving the city a unique piece of soccer history. Not replica goals, not practice goals -- the game goals, including the semifinal that sent Spain on its way to the FIFA championship.

You might want to avoid the AT&T Stadium/Globe Life Stadium area next weekend. No, it's not a FIFA hangover party, the Dallas Cowboys or Texas Rangers. Following their military tours, South Korean boy band BTS' Arirang World Tour is taking over AT&T Stadium Saturday and Sunday nights. Here is info on what is expected during one of the biggest stops on the group's tour. 

Layoff announcements in Texas rose during July, and the biggest blow came to employees of SP+ Corporation’s Metropolis Company – one of the largest parking networks and operators in the U.S. A contract with the D-FW International Airport will not be renewed, leaving 307 drivers, supervisors, managers and other employees unemployed by the end of September.

American Airlines is offering up to 1,205 flight attendants the option of taking September off without pay. The offer targets all 10 of the airline's crew bases and amounts to roughly 4% of its flight attendant workforce. The D-FW hub is seeing the highest number of offers at more than 300.

Pecan Lodge’s barbecue platter and smoked brisket sandwich meals for first-class passengers on select American Airlines flights have been a huge success, and the airline is expanding its partnership with the Texas barbecue giant. Beginning Sept. 9, it will offer the meal options as a pre-order item to first-class customers on all eligible domestic flights departing from D-FW International Airport. 

Oklahoma-based Lelantos Holdings, parent company of Airtopia Adventure Parks, signed a 77,106-square-foot lease across a two-building property for an Airtopia entertainment destination at the Shops of Central Park (2200 Airport Freeway in Bedford). Plans include keeping a cinema and adding indoor go-karts, arcade attractions, and birthday party and group-event experiences. It is expected to open during 2027. 

Bedford-based Legacy Housing Corp. (mobile home manufacturing) reported net income of $23.5 million in its second quarter. On a per-share basis, it had net income of 99 cents, and total revenue of $66.3 million.

Fort Worth-based Distribution Solutions Group reported a second-quarter profit of $8.5 million and had net income of 18 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 47 cents per share. The industrial products and tools maker posted revenue of $557.7 million during the period.

Bailey Powell with Hatfield Advisors says The Coop has signed a lease for 1012 S. Main in Fort Worth — the former Brix Barbecue space in S. Main Village. Opening in the fall, this is the first Texas location for the Memphis wings and comfort food concept.

The Mansfield Economic Development Corporation board voted unanimously to recommend an updated strategic plan that adds higher education and creative industries to the city’s target sectors and sets goals through 2029. A video of the meeting is here. 

Arlington residents will have three opportunities to learn more about the city's proposed $765.8-million fiscal year 2027 operating budget. Two town hall meetings and a Neighborhood Leadership Network meeting are scheduled. 

Governor Greg Abbott announced more than $5.6 million in grants to seven colleges, including Tarrant County College, through the Nursing Innovation Grant Program. It was initiated in 2023 to fund projects that improve or extend nursing education. 

A Nothing Bundt Cakes from franchisee Ashley Terry has filed to open at 8430 Eastchase Pkwy., inside the Eastchase Market shopping center in east Fort Worth. November is the listed completion month. 

With parking permits and an alcohol sales license secured, Fort Worth-based Lucile's is close to opening a location in Colleyville. A $275,000 renovation of Zafiros at 5204 Colleyville Blvd. in The Village should be done late in September. Lucile’s serves a variety of dishes, including chicken fried steak, fried butterflied shrimp, a lobster roll, soups and salads.

Mingus, Texas, about an hour west of Fort Worth, has made a Louisiana duck call. The youngest son and brother of the Robertson family, best known — after the long beards — for their Duck Commander empire and the basis for a hit A&E television series “Duck Dynasty,” is re-developing a ranch real estate venture. FW Inc.'s John Henry says this is no decoy. 

Update: Alpha Ranch, a 1,991-acre, master-planned community by Centurion American in far north Fort Worth and the Northwest ISD, has completed 1,300 residential lots in Phase 1 and 5+ miles of supporting infrastructure approved and under construction. Homebuilders include Mattamy, D.R. Horton and Ashton Woods.   

The D-FW International Airport board approved the purchase of the Hyatt Regency DFW Hotel. The transaction is for an amount not to exceed $193.65 million. Owner cities Fort Worth and Dallas still must give final approval for the deal to be completed. 

Fort Worth ISD's five high school automotive programs -- Dunbar, North Side, Polytechnic, O.D. Wyatt and Trimble Tech -- have become accredited by the ASE Education Foundation. Accreditation requires programs to align with national standards, keep instructors certified and complete a formal evaluation with an advisory committee.

Snippets:

• The remains of Medal of Honor Recipient U.S. Army Captain Willibald Bianchi have been identified 80 years after his death, and Arlington's National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation has his story.  

• QTS Data Centers, with two of its facilities in the Fort Worth area, has agreed to the standards outlined by Governor Greg Abbott to protect the state's resources.

• Texas game wardens are offering a $1,000 reward after three alligators were shot at the Fort Worth Nature Center. 

• There were fewer cargo thefts during the 2026 second quarter, but losses more than doubled. 

• Arlington day trip? Five new public art pieces or murals are up in the city this year, and 11 more are scheduled before 2027. Take this tour.

Today in history: 1999 = Aledo-born musician Sloan Struble, who records as Dayglow, was born. The All Saints’ Episcopal School graduate built the indie-pop project mostly on his own, writing, performing and producing the music. Dayglow draws more than four million monthly listeners on Spotify, with his catalog approaching two billion streams.

Believe it or not: Two former NBA players, both at least 6-8 and 250 pounds and saying they are transgender, and have said they are applying for the 2027 Women’s NBA draft.

Significant stat: SpaceX said it will build a 100-million-square-foot vertically integrated semiconductor facility called Terafab in Grimes County, northwest of Houston. When completed, the complex will be the largest facility in the world.

Announcements:

• Visit Fort Worth: Rehires Jessica Hill as Chief Marketing Officer. 

• Fort Worth Report: Promotes Babs Rodriguez to Editor. Names Hunter Niland as Events Manager.

• Bisnow: Publication selects Texas First’s Patricia Zelayandia, President of the Board for CREW Fort Worth, as the D-FW Leader of the Year. 

• Fort Worth Film Commission: Names Chris Rupert Chairman of the Board. 

• Tarrant To and Through Partnership (T3): Hires Motunrayo Laniyan as Senior Manager of Business Systems and Data Operations. Promotes Hanna Lynch to Grants Manager.

• Northern Trust: Promotes Rylee Bruton to Wealth Strategist.

• Bank of Texas: Hires Stacey Huff as Commercial Loan Closer. 

• UT-Arlington: Selects John McPhail as women's wheelchair basketball coach.

• The Freeman Company: Hires Frank Carroll as National Fleet Operations Manager.

• The Parenting Center: Hires Izzy Goninan as Parent Education and Engagement Specialist. 

• Girls Inc. of Tarrant County: Hires Heather Enright as the Vice President of Marketing and Communications. 

• Communities In Schools of Greater Tarrant: Selects Kristen Barton as Director of Marketing and Communications.

• GM Financial: Promotes Donny Young to Talent Consultant. 

• Fort Worth ISD: Hires Bailey Boyce as Office Assistant at an Elementary Elevate campus. 

• Allergan Aesthetics: Hires Nicole Cartman as Director, BOTOX Cosmetic Consumer Marketing. 

• Digital Ascension Group: Launches DAG Insurance with Karl Von Schwarz as CEO. Xure Legacy Insurance Agency, a South Dakota company licensed as an insurance producer, will operate under the name DAG Insurance.

• Gibson Dunn: Hires Vanessa Rivera as Senior Corporate Paralegal. 

• Taleris: After more than 40 years in IT, Senior Director Roy Espinoza III is retiring. 

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