Elevated to critical fire weather is expected to persist across the South Plains and broader West Texas region as record-breaking March heat, strong winds and ongoing drought conditions continue to dry out vegetation. Officials warn that despite a brief cooldown from a passing cold front, wildfire risk will remain moderate into early next week, with recent fires in the Panhandle and South Plains underscoring the growing danger.

Following recent reports from the Texas Education Agency about removing Cesar Chavez from curriculum, Mayor Pro-tem and District 1 Lubbock city council representative Christy Martinez-Garcia said that she does not want the changes to erase the history altogether. This week, the Texas Department of Agriculture announced the Marketing Enhancement Grant Assistance program for GO TEXAN partners. Our Charley Maranville has more on how the program works. More at gotexan.org.

Texas Tech men’s basketball saw its Big 12 Tournament run end Thursday with a loss to Iowa State. The Red Raiders opened strong but couldn’t recover from a second-half surge by the Cyclones. The exit comes a week after the Lady Raiders were also knocked out early in the conference tournament, as both teams now await their NCAA Tournament fate on Selection Sunday.