The 17th Thin Line Festival in Downtown Denton had a theme that declared it was “a different kind of festival,” backed up by a slew of films and musical performances. Artists of all kinds shared their work across more than 10 venues across town last month, continuing the festival’s efforts to broaden beyond the documentary programming it’s long been known for.

Youth suicide is on the rise, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Counselors across the county have established initiatives to aid youths’ mental health in schools and DSHS plans to discuss with schools what can be done.

The Colored People’s Section of Der Stadt Friedhof was approved for a Historic Texas Cemetery Marker and an official plaque will arrive in the coming weeks.

Bat populations are declining rapidly across North America from White Nose Syndrome (WNS). Although the Mexican free-tailed bats are not suffering from the disease, Cave myotis bats have decreased in population by 75% since the fungus was first detected in Texas Panhandle bat habitats in 2017, according to both Bat Conservation International (BCI) and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD).

Beginning this fall, Fredericksburg High School will no longer offer upper-level German courses. The language, once a first language for many Fredericksburg residents, has been declining in use since the first World War. The absence of the course is a part of the question of the preservation of the Texas German dialect.