🏈Del Conte $38M not largest deal of the day; Early voting sites on college campuses cut; Texas secures $9.5M from Booking.com.

Irving-based Nexstar Media has agreed to buy TEGNA for $3.54 billion, plus approximately $2.7 billion of debt. The combination of the two creates a TV powerhouse that seeks to compete better with Big Tech and national media for advertising dollars. The deal will expand Nexstar’s presence (264 stations) in nine of the top 10 U.S. markets, covering 80% of TV households. Locally, Nexstar owns KDAF Ch. 33 and TEGNA owns WFAA Ch. 8.

The Polish Ministry of National Defence accepted an offer from the U.S. to upgrade its fleet of 48 F-16 Block 52+ multi-role combat aircraft to the advanced F-16 Viper configuration. Lockheed Martin will serve as the primary contractor for the modernization effort, valued at approximately $3.8 billion.

Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte signs an extension that will pay him $38 million during the next 11 years. The former TCU AD is not the highest paid executive. 

Fort Worth residents living near D-FW International Airport could benefit from improved aircraft noise tracking after the City Council approved monitoring systems. Two solar-powered noise monitors will be installed in neighborhoods southeast of the airport. The upgraded technology could validate residents’ noise complaints and push the airport to address the concerns.

New to Division I athletics in 2025, Tarleton State University had planned ahead for a better arena than its 50-year-old Wisdom Gym. The EEUC Center opens this week and the Sports Business Journal gives it a good look. 

Most schools in Texas have opened and lawmakers have been quite active during the on-going legislative sessions. Here are things that are new for 2025-2026, including the $8+ billion for teacher raises, hello to the Ten Commandments, goodbye to cellphones, and giving schools more flexibility to discipline students.

Tarrant County commissioners voted along Republican Party lines (3-2) to remove nearly half of all early voting locations before the Nov. 4 election. Included in the cuts were polling places on all college campuses.

The Texas Attorney General's office has secured a $9.5-million settlement with Booking Holdings Inc., which deceptively marketed hotel room prices to consumers by omitting mandatory fees. It is the largest amount recovered by a State related to “junk fee” practices against any hotel or online travel agency.  The corporation operates Booking.com, Priceline.com, and Kayak.com.

Holt Lunsford Commercial began construction on its first HL Communities —The Renegade in Denton. HL Communities is a multi-family development and construction arm of Holt Lunsford. The Renegade is a Class-A, 4-story, 120,000-square-foot development with 104 units at 260 W. Mulberry St. Construction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026.

HVS Brokerage & Advisory facilitated the sale of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Dallas-Bedford at 2609 Airport Freeway.. The property was acquired by I & A Development & Construction, based in Gilmer, Tx. The seller was Cimarron Hospitality, headquartered in Arlington.

Fort Worth-based Legacy Medical Consultants, a provider of allografts for the treatment of hard-to-heal chronic wounds, acquired the U.S. rights from Israel's RedDress to exclusively sell ActiGraft wound care treatments.

The Arlington Economic Development Corporation is offering a series of free, industry-specific cohorts to help small businesses scale, grow sustainably, and sharpen strategy — starting with businesses in Professional Services. The application deadline is August 25.

Parkhill, a Southwest architecture and engineering firm that has worked many Fort Worth projects, opened a downtown regional hub at 640 Taylor Street in the Frost Tower. Among its key projects were FWISD’s Riverside Middle School, Tarrant County’s Corrections Center and Precinct 4 Maintenance Center, University Baptist Church, the Tinsley Lane Extension, Frank Kent’s Dream Park, and the ongoing TCU and Colonial Golf Center. The firm also was selected to participate in Fort Worth’s Neighborhood Improvement Program.

The 250th Anniversary Navy Ball, a night of tradition enveloped in the valor and dedication of those who have served, is Oct. 10 at the Stockyards Event Station Stampede Room, according to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth.

A district court in Texas has ruled against the Department of Health and Human Services, deciding to vacate several provisions imposed last year that impacted how Medicare Advantage plans market products. 

State Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth returned to Texas with her fellow House Democrats, but she didn't get to sleep in her bed. Monday night, she stayed in the House rather than signing what the Democrats called “permission slips” agreeing to full-time surveillance from law enforcement.

With a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Justice, researchers from UNT Health Fort Worth are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop software to help forensic anthropologists accurately identify human remains. Forensic anthropologists narrow the potential identity of a deceased individual by estimating the person’s age at death, ancestry (or population affinity), sex and stature from skeletal remains.

Cook Children’s launched the Nelson Ku High-Risk Asthma Program, which helps children and families better manage asthma and its hidden threats. Nelson Ku, 11, died in 2024 because of an asthma attack during lacrosse practice. 

Snippets:

• After Federal budget cuts, a group of foundations has stepped in with $36.5 million to support public media. 

• Vietnamese resident Hong Hon has found a new purpose for the Bell Helicopter 505 Jet Ranger. 

• Foreigners are buying U.S. homes again.

• 'Job hugging' has replaced job-hopping.

Significant stat: $2 billion = Donation that Nike co-founder Phil Knight is making to the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, the largest known single gift to a U.S. university. 

Daily digit: $108,509 = The U.S. national debt ($36.2 trillion) per citizen.

Believe it or not: The first World Humanoid Robot Games, a three-day competition during which 500+ robots from 16 countries compete across 26 sports—including soccer, gymnastics, table tennis, and track/field—concluded Sunday.

Now you know: The Cambridge Dictionary added more than 6,000 words in this edition, including "skibidi" and "tradwife".

Announcements: 

• Elevate Windows and Doors: Appoints Phil Mahaney General Manager.

• Fort Worth: Hires Jessica Rogers as Director of the Economic Development Department. She has been Assistant City Manager in Tomball, Tx.

• Catholic Charities: President & CEO Michael Iglio has left. Beth Kwasny has been named Interim CEO.

• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas: Names Judge Reed O’Connor, a George W. Bush appointee, Chief Judge. He replaces Judge David Godbey.

• Texas 2036: Adds Zoe Metcalf as Fort Worth-based Director of Development.

• UT-Arlington: Names 2025 Alumni Award winners-- Distinguished Alumni is Trey Yelverton; Alumni Service are Linda & Dan Dipert; Alumni Rising Star is Xavier Egan; and Distinguished Philanthropist is Allan Saxe (posthumously).

• Arlington Chamber: Names Wade Funeral Home & Crematory its Small Business of the Year. Other small business category winners were The Miracle League, Juno’s Liquor, Olive Physical Therapy and Parc West Luxury Living. 

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