July 17, 2026

Flooding across the Texas Hill Country continues. The city of Corpus Christi will open its filing period for mayoral and council member elections. And SpaceX scrubs its latest flight seconds before blast off. Plus, a Corpus Christi station Coast Guard rescue swimmer receives a prestigious award. This is South Texas Midday. I'm Rob Bosskamp. Thank you for joining me on this Friday, July 17th. Dangerous flooding continues across the Texas Hill Country and Southwest Texas, even as the heaviest rain begins to move out. Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies has more. At least two people have died after being swept away in the flood waters. State officials say emergency crews have conducted more than 230 rescues. This, after some areas in the region known as Flash Flood Alley, received over 20 inches of rain. The National Weather Service says moderate to major flooding is occurring or is forecast along the Waterloo, Nueces, Frio, Medina, Pernales, and San Antonio Rivers. Residents are being warned to avoid flood water. roads and remain alert for downstream river surges. I'm David Martin Davies in San Antonio. 25 News now reports that DeWitt and Victoria counties are monitoring flooding along the Guadalupe River. Officials said Canyon Lake is expected to absorb much of the flow moving downstream, which could lessen immediate effects in those two counties. Ongoing flooding across Central and South Texas led the state's Agriculture Commissioner to declare an agriculture emergency Thursday. DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Lavaca, Matagorda, Victoria, and Wharton counties were all included in the emergency declaration. It activates the Texas Department of Agriculture relief resources to help ranchers, farmers, and agribusinesses recover from flood-related damages. Commissioner Sid Miller says it's too early to know the full extent floods have caused to farms and ranches in its path, but he thinks it could potentially rival last year's devastating July 4th flooding. I think it's going to be comparable. I really do. I think the magnitude of the floods is just as bad, looks like. Several recovery resources activated include a hay and feed hotline to coordinate donations and funding to help producers recover from uninsured losses like damage fencing. Also activated is the state's agrostress helpline, which provides mental health support for farmers and ranchers and help connecting them with disaster assistance programs. Officials say damage assessments likely won't begin until recovery efforts can safely get underway. Meanwhile, back in Corpus Christi beginning Monday, the city will open its filing period to apply for candidacy in the upcoming mayoral or council member elections. It begins at 8 a.m. Monday, potential candidates must submit their applications no later than 5 p.m. August 17th.

Candidates' applications and requirements for filing are available in the 2026 candidate packet on either the city secretary's website or in paper form at the city secretary's office at City Hall during regular business hours. A $100 filing fee for a candidate's application must be paid with cash, money order, or cashier's check. Personal and business checks are not accepted. Candidates may also submit a petition instead of filing fees following instructions in the candidate packet. In the Rio Grande Valley, SpaceX scrubbed Starship's latest flight seconds before blast off on Thursday. Engine problems kept the rocket on the ground at the city of Starbase. Four main engines did not ignite, which shut down the other 29 amid clouds of smoke and vapor. The launch team immediately drained fuel from the rocket. The Scrup launch was the first ever to be canceled after Starship's Raptor engines had ignited. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told the Associated Press that two engines will be replaced for the next flight. A new launch date has not been set. The Corpus Christi Independent School District is moving further into the world of digital education with the start of its new Digital Scholars Academy this year. KEDTs, Lon Gonzalez has the details. One of the best aspects of working within a digital realm is its ease and convenience. Now the Corpus Christi Independent School District is moving further into the digital universe with the start of the district's first Digital Scholars Academy. The Digital Scholars Academy is a no-cost tuition-free online school of choice that offers flexibility electronically, virtually or potentially even a hybrid. approach in which it is that can support a high school student grades 10 through 12 in whatever capacity that they might need. That's Dr. Tracy Rodriguez, director of the CCISD's early college high school program. The Digital Scholars Academy offers certain students the opportunity to be involved in virtual classroom work without the actual classroom. Dr. Rodriguez adds this assists a student who may have outside responsibilities. Our goal is for students to start the journey with us sooner rather than later, to get acclimated into the environment, the online environment specifically, to really customer. a school schedule that's going to be flexible enough for them that's going to work well with any personal responsibilities, maybe outside of school. Students in the DSA will attend to high school courses online at the times that students are available. The opportunity the program presents helps both student and school district. Parents of students in the program are also instrumental, serving as guardian support coach for their kids. The student household must have internet and computer students. participate while instructors check on students daily checks on parents assisting comes every three weeks so to start the process together we will come up with a customized plan schedule and even talk about future ambitions for career or college pathway our partner with Delmar College

And on the note of Camp Mystic, a U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer stationed in Corpus Christi was honored during the Espies with one of the nation's highest awards for service. Petty Officer Scott Ruskin received the Pat Tillman Award for Service on Wednesday. The award highlighted his actions during the Texas floods last summer. Ruskin saved 165 victims at Camp Mystic. It was also his first ever mission with the Coast Guard. If the stage behind me was big enough and we had enough tickets, there would be a hundred people standing behind me or today that saved lives, many of whom are working now in a current flood mission going on in Texas. That was Ruskin during his acceptance speech audio courtesy of ABC. Ruskin recognized the work of camp counselors who sprung to action to move as many campers as possible before crews arrived on scene. He also explained how helicopters and air support worked together to rescue flood victims while Ruskin worked on a plan from the ground level. The service award is named for former Arizona Cardinal Pat Tillman, who were listed in the Army in spring 2002 after the 9-11 terrorist attacks. And that is the latest news and information on South Texas Midday. I'm Rob Bosskamp. Your community arts calendar and more is on the way.