Texas Press Association is seeking nominations for awards to be presented at the 2026 TPA Convention & Trade Show June 18-20 at the Hyatt Regency DFW Airport Hotel.

The honors include:

• Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame

Behind every data point is a story waiting to be told. To help members tell that story to their local business communities, the Texas Press Association is providing a powerful new member benefit thanks to a new partnership with Pulse Research.

MERCEDES – The Mercedes Enterprise made a major move to continue providing news coverage in Mercedes and throughout the Rio Grande Valley with a transfer of ownership from Mid-Valley Publishers to Valleywood Publications, a company owned by Mercedes Enterprise Editor Raul Garcia Jr.

Roger and Ashlee Estlack of Clarendon have acquired the Red River Sun in Childress from Hicks Media LLA.

The sale brings the Sun under the management of the Texas Panhandle’s oldest newspaper, although the two papers will continue to be separate publications.

PLEASANTON – Jessica Alvarado-Machado and Charley Gallegos have been named co-managing editors of the Pleasanton Express, succeeding Daniel Elizondo.

The announcement by Publisher Noel Wilkerson Holmes was part of an introduction to the newspaper’s newsroom management team, which includes Lisa Luna, lifestyles editor, and Heaven Marquez, sports editor.

Neice Bell’s more than 45 years in newspapers — which began in a Kerrville closet as a typesetter in 1979 — will wrap at the end of May as she finishes her second tenure as publisher of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

By KAITLYNN HUTCHINS, The New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung