Hundreds of thousands of men and women made contributions to the success of the Apollo moon missions, but Friday night a crowded room listened to every word spoken by someone who never left Earth. Gene Kranz served as flight director during Apollo 11, leading operations inside Mission Control. He delivered a keynote to a theater…
Tag: Texas
WATCH: Apollo 11 moon mission 50th anniversary coverage
Click here to watch my reports from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA opens $5M Apollo mission control room restoration for public tours
As the country marks 50 years since the history-making Apollo 11 moon landing, visitors to Space Center Houston are getting an inside look at the landmark that helped make the ‘giant leap’ possible. Three weeks ago, NASA and Space Center Houston unveiled a $5 million dollar renovation of Mission Operations Control Room 2, which was…
WATCH: Amazing marine life at Dallas World Aquarium
Click here for a fascinating look at marine life at the Dallas World Aquarium.
Tyler closer to formalizing sister city relationship in China
A city in southwest China is closer to being named the sixth official sister city of Tyler. The Tyler Sister Cities program is exploring a new partnership with Qujing, a city of more than six million residents located in southwestern China, located about 700 miles west of Hong Kong. Earlier this year, the Tyler City…
WATCH: Time lapse of wheelchair ramp build in Tyler
Click here to watch a time lapse of a five-hour wheelchair ramp build crammed into 40 seconds.
WATCH: Spectacular time-lapse of Dallas, Texas flyover
Click here to watch a spectacular time-lapse of the city lights over Dallas, Texas.
WATCH: Light ’em up! 40th annual Great Texas Balloon Race
Founded in 1978, the Great Texas Balloon Race has become one of the premiere ballooning events in the world. Click here to watch highlights.
WATCH: Finding signs of hope buried in Tornado debris
More than 40 volunteers showed up to help a Henderson County family search through what remains of their home, which was destroyed Saturday by a violent tornado.
WATCH: Judging the Official Texas Gumbo Cook-off
For the last few years, I’ve had the great privilege of being invited to judge the Official Texas Gumbo Cook-off. Click here to check out what goes into the competition!
Police: Rocket debris washes ashore on Texas beach
Debris that washed ashore along the south Texas coast has been identified as part of a rocket, according to law enforcement. A police officer made the discovery last week while investigating a report of possible airplane or boat debris being found at a Brazoria County beach. The large rectangular object is believed to be debris…
WATCH: Riding atop a fire engine in Longview’s Christmas Parade
One of my favorite community events in all of East Texas is the annual Longview Christmas Parade. Click here to watch.
WATCH: Spotting the Supermoon
The November 2016 Supermoon provided quite the show in the night sky. Click here to get a glimpse of the Supermoon from downtown Tyler, Texas.
WATCH: Flying around storms over northeast Texas
Click here to watch a time-lapse of my flights into Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Tyler Pound Regional Airport.
Hidden among the pines, The Blue Hole is preserved as a Texas treasure
Nestled in the Angelina National Forest in Deep East Texas, 36 miles southeast of Lufkin, is one of the hidden jewels of Texas. The Blue Hole, as it’s known, is a brilliant blue-green-colored lake surrounded by the craggy white sandstone cliffs of a former rock quarry. First opened in the late 1800s, rock was removed…
An unfamiliar place: Making sense of the current political landscape
Time and again the current presidential campaign has defied tradition, shedding any familiarity to previous election cycles. After a brutal primary season for candidates, the two presidential nominees and their running mates are ramping up the rhetoric. The next 100 days are sure to mired in mudslinging, with more tweets, nicknames, and distractions from the…
WATCH: Millions of bats take flight over downtown Austin
Crowds of people gather every Summer evening around dusk to watch as many as 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from the world’s largest urban bat colony. Click here to watch.
WATCH: Wheels up from Charlotte Douglas International Airport
Click here to watch a time-lapse of a takeoff and landing from my recent flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Dallas, Texas.
WATCH: Inside Tyler’s Cotton Belt Depot Museum
Click here to learn more about the thousands of model trains and East Texas railroad artifacts housed inside the Cotton Belt Depot Museum.
WATCH: Walk through America’s largest rose garden
Click here to take a tour of the largest rose garden in America, the Tyler Rose Garden. Fragrant roses aren’t the only flowers currently in bloom.
WATCH: Spring blooms in the 57th annual Tyler Azalea Trail
Click here to watch a tour of the 57th annual Tyler, Texas Azalea and Spring Flower Trails, which draws more than 100,000 visitors to the city each year.
WATCH: World War II era Consolidated B-24 Liberator flies over Tyler
Click here to watch a World War II era Consolidated B-24 Liberator fly over The Cascades Country Club in Tyler, Texas, on approach to Tyler Pounds Regional Airport.
East Texas Symphony presents ‘Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant’
Have you ever heard of a “Zipperpotamus,” a “Panthermometer,” or a “Pop-Up Toadster?” These imaginative animals come to life illustrated in the children’s book, “Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant” were brought to life in the East Texas Symphony’s Family Concert on Saturday, February 27. I had the great privilege of serving as narrator for the poetry,…
Remembering a pioneer in East Texas television history
This week, we learned of the passing of KLTV’s first chief engineer, Hudson Collins, who lived a long life of 94 years. While I never had the opportunity to meet him, I’m fascinated by many of the details of his pioneering career. An engineer is an important position in any television station, but he holds…
WATCH: Time-lapse of taxiing & takeoff at Bush Intercontinental Airport
Click here to watch a time-lapse of push back, taxiing, and takeoff from my flight from Houston to Tyler, Texas.
WATCH: Spectacular sunrise takeoff from Tyler Pounds Regional Airport
Click here to watch a time-lapse of push back, taxiing, and takeoff from my sunrise flight from Tyler to Houston, Texas.
WATCH: Helicopter tour over Tyler, Texas
Click here to get a view of Tyler, Texas during my ride-along with Air One, ETMC’s air ambulance service, which celebrates 30 years of operation in 2015.
Advice from a 105-year-old with no intent of slowing down
What a privilege and honor it was Wednesday morning to visit with Tyler resident Earline Andrews on her 105 birthday. She happens to be the oldest living graduate of my alma mater, Northwestern State University! I don’t think she could have been more delighted when we arrived with a beautiful bouquet of flowers on behalf…
WATCH: A vacation with a greater purpose
When was the last time you received a postcard? I received one in the mail this week that has a great story that comes all the way from Taiwan. Click here to watch.
WATCH: Helicopter drops golf balls for charity tournament
Click here to watch a medical helicopter dropping hundreds of golf balls at Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler as part of a charity golf tournament.
Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting in East Texas
Happy birthday KTRE! This weekend our station, serving Deep East Texas, celebrated 60 years of broadcasting excellence and service to the community. Hundreds of East Texans, local and state dignitaries, along with KTRE staffers, both past and present, gathered at the studios north of Lufkin for a Texas-sized celebration. A few families even camped out in…
WATCH: Rangers celebrate win with fireworks
Click here to watch the fireworks display following the Texas Rangers’ August 28, 2015 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.
WATCH: Balloon glow at the Great Texas Balloon Race
Click here for highlights from the annual balloon glow at the Great Texas Balloon Race in Longview, Texas.
Wildly popular ‘The Art of the Brick’ exhibit opens at Tyler Museum of Art
Thousands of people are expected to wind their way through an exhibition featuring thousands of LEGO bricks arranged into 25 large-scale sculptures at the Tyler Museum of Art. The Art of the Brick, a global-touring exhibit by Nathan Sawaya, is being hosted at the museum on the campus of Tyler Junior College through September 13….
Theology on Tap serves up Bible study with a twist
A Christian men’s group in Tyler is reaching out the faithful in an unlikely way, through Bible study with a twist. Theology on Tap provides fellowship and conversations about faith and spirituality in a casual setting. Rev. Justin Braun, a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Tyler, helped start the group in 2012. “We’re East…
