Today is
Friday June 05, 2026
LONGVIEW – A 24-year-old Lonestar man has been ordered to serve 10 years on probation in connection to a 2023 fatal crash that left a 23-year-old woman dead in Longview.
Hunter Tigert, 24 of Lone Star, was originally arrested for intoxication manslaughter in May of 2023 after the black Dodge Charger he was driving crashed in the 400 block of West Methvin Street, according to our news partner KETK. The Charger was carrying three passengers when Longview PD said the vehicle failed go through a curve in the roadway and crashed into a brick building. Longview 23-year-old Sydney Van Rijn was taken to a local hospital along with the two other passengers in the crash.
Rijn later died of her injuries at the hospital. Tigert was also injured in the crash and was arrested after being treated at a Longview hospital.
Tigert’s intoxication manslaughter charge was dismissed and he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury on Sept. 22. Tigert was given deferred adjudication by 188th District Court Judge Scott Novy meaning that he’ll avoid a conviction if he doesn’t violate the terms of his 10-year probation sentence.
SULPHUR SPRINGS – The City of Sulphur Springs will soon be home to more than 1,600 acres of artificial intelligence data centers. According to our news partner KETK the centers will be run by the Florida-based tech company MSB Global.
MSB Global broke ground on their massive facility in June, they’re planning to construct 30 AI data center buildings by 2028. The new centers will host servers for AI training while also offering other resources like large language model training and cloud computing. The project has prompted growing concerns in Sulphur Springs with several local shop owners like Sharon Feldt saying they know very little about the data centers.
“I don’t know enough about what they are doing out there. I wish we had been able to vote on this,” Feldt said. Read the rest of this entry »
SULPHUR SPRINGS – East Texas will soon be home to a massive 1,677-acre AI data center campus that’s planned to open in September of 2026 according to our news partner KETK.
MSB Global broke ground on the multi-million dollar Matrix Data Center Campus on June 13. The Fort Lauderdale-based company is calling the site a “New Era for Net-Zero AI Infrastructure.” The campus development is planned to feature eight individual 100-megawatt(MW) data center buildings during the first phase of construction in 2026. By the end of the third phase of construction in 2028, MSB plans to have a 3,000 MW capacity for data processing across 30 identical 100 MW data center buildings on the campus.
MSB Global said the project is a public-private partnership between their company, the City of Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County. MSB’s Capacity Report for the campus says they’ll have 35% property tax abatement for their first 10 years in Sulphur Springs.
MSB plans to use the data centers to run artificial intelligence programs, to train large-language models and to offer cloud computing services. Their AI data centers will make use of NVIDIA GB300 AI GPU systems and immersion-cooled tanks that use fluids to cool their computers instead of air. Read the rest of this entry »
ATHENS – Ahead of Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona on Sunday, many East Texans gathered together in Athens to mourn the conservative political speaker, who was killed in Utah on Sept. 10. According to our new partner KETK, many people spoke, prayed and participated in a moment of silence at a vigil in Kirk’s honor in downtown Athens on Saturday.
A similar event was held by residents of Palestine on Wednesday night. Another vigil will be held in Tyler’s Bergfeld Park from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Kirk’s memorial service will be held on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
NEW BOSTON – The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is currently investigating the death of an inmate who was killed at the Telford Unit in New Boston on Monday.
According to our news partner KETK and the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Isaac Jediah Acosta, a 20-year-old Hispanic man, was found unresponsive inside the Telford Unit with multiple puncture wounds from a knife or edged instrument on his body. Acosta was taken to the unit’s emergency room, where EMS tried to save his life. Life-saving measures failed and Acosta was pronounced dead at around 1:24 a.m. on Monday, a custodial death report revealed.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Office of Inspector General is investigating Acosta’s death as a homicide. KETK News has reviewed a video shared by a family member of Acosta, which has been circulating on social media and allegedly shows Acosta’s stabbing.
In the video, many inmates can be seen fighting outside of their cells in a common area of the Telford Unit. The video also shows a body being dragged along the ground of the area on a mattress.
TITUS COUNTY – The Texas Game Wardens said that an alligator was found dead and tied down with a large stone on Lake Bob Sandlin recently. According to our news partner KETK, game wardens stated that they were contacted about a dead alligator found floating in Lake Bob Sandlin, Titus County. The alligator had been shot, and its neck was tied with a ski rope that had a large architectural stone tied to the other end to try to sink the animal.
Game wardens found a house that had stones matching the ones tied to the alligator. They contacted the homeowner, who then confessed to shooting the alligator with a .308 caliber rifle and tying the stone to its neck to try to conceal the crime, according to the Texas Game Wardens. The homeowner was issued citations and civil restitution, which could involve a fine or community service. According to the Texas Game Wardens, waste of game is a Class C misdemeanor, which could result in a fine of between $25 and $500.
MARSHALL – According to a press release from the Marshall Police Department(MPD), several individuals have been arrested in connection with a gathering that turned violent at City Park over the weekend that resulted in injuries and disrupted emergency access.
On Sunday, September 14, 2025, at approximately 8:34 p.m., MPD Patrol officers responded to a large disturbance after receiving calls for police response at City Park. The fighting began between two juveniles, and escalated when a large group of adults also became involved. When officers arrived, they discovered that the disturbance had grown to a point where it was obstructing emergency and medical access to surrounding roads near City Park and a local medical facility. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – A Tyler doctor who was arrested in 2024 for allegedly sexually assaulting his patients was sentenced to 8 years in prison on Friday, according to a report from our news partner KETK.
On Oct. 24, 2023, 56-year-old Kenneth Donald Haygood was temporarily suspended by the disciplinary panel of the Texas Medical Board after violating a June 2023 Final Order, which restricted him from seeing female patients. The order stated that he needed to complete multiple continuing medical education courses and pass exams, in addition to paying a $5,000 administrative penalty. According to the Texas Medical Board, Haygood did not get consent before doing a physical exam of a female patient, and inappropriately discussed the encounter with the patient’s family via text message “in an attempt to intimidate them as witnesses.” Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Crews are putting the finishing touches on the fairgrounds for the 109th East Texas State Fair, with the highlight this year being the inaugural pro rodeo, according to a report from our news partner KETK.
The East Texas State Fair is partnering with Cavender’s to bring a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA)-sanctioned rodeo to Tyler, welcoming pro rodeo athletes across the country to East Texas. The rodeo will feature events such as bull riding, barrel racing and team roping, along with entertainment suitable for all ages.
The President of East Texas State Fair, Cody Rosenbalm, explains the community’s reaction to the rodeo: “We knew people were going to be excited about it, but we were not expecting this level of response from the community. There’s a big demand in Tyler for more rodeo opportunities.” Read the rest of this entry »
JACKSONVILLE — According to our news partner KETK, a new 100,000-square-foot TubeFab facility is coming to Jacksonville, creating immediate new full-time jobs for residents and potentially more in the future.
TubeFab, a company that assembles copper tubing parts, plans to invest nearly $30 million in a new facility located in Jacksonville’s Norman Industrial Park. As of now, the facility will create at least 40 full-time job opportunities, with the possibility of more than 80 jobs in the future.
“We’re honored TubeFab chose Jacksonville as the site for this transformative expansion,” JEDCO’s Chairman of the Board, Darrell Dement, said. “This partnership represents exactly the kind of forward-looking development we strive to attract. These are the types of projects that bring new energy, innovation, and opportunity to our city.”
TubeFab was founded in 2014 and specializes in the fabrication of copper tubing parts and assemblies for the HVAC/R market. The new facility will help TubeFab grow its operations while also highlighting Jacksonville’s role as a manufacturing hub in East Texas.
TYLER — A man was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday after a Tyler apartment shooting left one man injured in April, according to a report from our news partner KETK.
Around 10 p.m. on April 23, officers from the Tyler Police Department responded to a shooting at Southwest Pines Apartments on 3220 Walton Road, where they located one victim with a gunshot wound to the leg. Officers were able to apply a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, and he was taken to a local hospital. Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON COUNTY — A man was arrested on Wednesday evening in Henderson County after several different illegal drugs were found inside his apartment, according to a report from our news partner KETK.
Diondre Antione Young was arrested after a search warrant was conducted by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office at his apartment, located in the 200 Block of West College Street in Athens. During the search, law enforcement discovered cocaine, fentanyl pills, Xanax pills and marijuana. Following a brief struggle, Young was subsequently arrested and taken to Henderson County Jail.
Young was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and resisting arrest. His bond is set at $31,500.
SMITH COUNTY – Two East Texas men were arrested on Wednesday after they attempted to steal from vehicles in Smith County.
According to the a press release from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, at 1:05 a.m., deputies responded to the 11800 block of Bird Point Trail just south of Tyler, where a burglary was in progress involving multiple vehicles.
Deputies began speaking with witnesses who reported that two suspects had begun lifting vehicle door handles in their driveway. The homeowner confronted both suspects, who then ran from the area. Read the rest of this entry »
MARSHALL — A Marshall woman was sentenced to 16 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter after she killed a mother with a vehicle in 2024, according to a report from our news partner KETK.
At around 10 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2024, Marshall Police officers responded to Martindale Drive, where they found an ongoing altercation between multiple women and a disturbance involving around 40 people.
Officials said that 23-year-old Derkyla Fort was found underneath a vehicle along with her injured 5-year-old nearby. Fort was later pronounced dead at the scene, and her son was taken to a local hospital. The investigation led officers to believe Samantha Johnson was the one driving the vehicle that hit Fort, and she was later arrested.
Johnson pleaded guilty to intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle and was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Monday.
LONGVIEW – State Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock) made a stop in Longview on Wednesday evening to host a campaign rally as part of his run for the U.S. Senate, according to a report from our news partner KETK.
Talarico, an eighth-generation Texan, is the second major Democrat to enter the Senate primary, joining former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas), who unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in last year’s election.
The rally, held at the Longview Community Center, highlighted Talarico’s push to connect with voters in East Texas, a region long considered a Republican stronghold. Read the rest of this entry »