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Starr County Hosts Business Workshop
Starr County Entrepreneurs Gather to Strengthen Their Digital Marketing Skills The conference room at the Starr Center reached capacity as business owners from across Starr County gathered for a Lunch and Learn focused on digital marketing. Before the presentations began, attendees enjoyed a catered lunch and the opportunity to connect with fellow entrepreneurs. Rose Benavidez, president of the Starr County Industrial Foundation, welcomed those in attendance and introduced th

Maria Salinas
Jul 283 min read


Starr County Confirms Its First Screwworm Case
Starr County officials confirmed the county's first case of New World Screwworm on a calf in the western part of the county over the weekend. County Judge Eloy Vera reported that a resident north of Roma flagged a possible case Saturday, and state officials confirmed the case the same day. Vera plans to meet with the Texas Animal Health Commission on Monday to determine next steps. The parasite behind the outbreak, Cochliomyia hominivorax, disappeared from the United States d

Maria Salinas
Jul 203 min read


Why Clayton Tucker's Campaign Matters to Rural Communities Like Starr County
For many Texans living in rural counties, statewide offices often feel distant from everyday life. Yet one of the least-discussed statewide positions is the Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, which oversees programs that directly affect food security, rural development, school nutrition, water conservation, and the economic future of small farming communities. That is why Democratic nominee Clayton Tucker has drawn attention from rural advocates. A fifth-generation Texas ranc

Janie Flores-Alvarez
Jul 94 min read


The Ranch Schools of Starr County
Roma Remembers the Schools No One Remembers Anymore On a rainy Saturday morning in Roma, Texas, a dozen guests crowded together at the Roma Birding Center and became students again. Dora Perez Villarreal hosted "School Years Out in the Ranch," a traveling exhibition covering sixty years of Starr County educational history that exists in no archive, no curriculum, and no official record. Sponsored by the City of Roma, the event drew residents into a conversation about ranch sc

Maria Salinas
Jun 174 min read


A Poll Watcher's Front-Row Seat to What She Calls Election Fraud in Starr County
Martie Garcia Vela has been watching elections since she was 18 years old, working polling sites in the Dallas-Fort Worth area while putting herself through college. She knows the process. She knows what compliance looks like and what it does not. So when she filed a formal election complaint with the Texas Secretary of State following the March 3, 2026, General Primary Election in Starr County, she was not speaking from speculation. "I believe our free and fair elections are

Maria Salinas
Mar 304 min read


Learning Curve
FRONTeras Magazine Vol. 1 No. 4 Issue Osiel Peña swept floors for Coca-Colas. He was a kid in Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, watching a neighborhood carpenter turn chunks of wood into chairs, tables, doorframes. The shop owner let him hang around if he kept the sawdust off the floor. Payment came in glass bottles, preferably tall and cold. Eventually, the Cokes turned into pesos. By then, Peña wasn't just sweeping anymore. He had already been primed for this. His maternal grandfa

Maria Salinas
Mar 192 min read


Economic Development in Starr County Leaves Workers Behind
Rose Benavidez boasts about billions. The president of Starr County Industrial Foundation touts figures that would make most economic development directors weep with envy. Over four billion dollars in investments across the past decade. Six thousand jobs created. Wind farms, solar projects, and retail developments transforming one of the poorest counties in America into an emerging powerhouse. The numbers sound staggering despite Starr County maintaining the highest unemploym

Maria Salinas
Jan 184 min read


Poder Sin Ley
El Caso González Exhibe al Condado de Starr

Janie Flores-Alvarez
Aug 20, 20253 min read
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