Featured Stories
Montana firm awarded $960 million contract for Presidio County wall construction
County records show company sought permits before contract was awarded On March 5, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded Barnard Construction Company of Bozeman, Montana, a $960,423,540 contract…
It’s not over: Walls are still on the map
Big Bend National Park safe for now On March 5, as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was stepping down from her position, the lines on a proposed…
Big Bend sheriffs speak out against the wall
These border sheriffs felt abandoned by Biden. Now Trump wants to blast a wall through their backyard. Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson moves through the world like he’s playing…
Wall construction would push EMS resources past the brink
Presidio With border wall construction still possible through Presidio County and Big Bend State Park, residents and officials are growing increasingly worried about the impact that wall construction would…
Area governments pass resolutions against the wall
The list of local governments adding their names to concerns over a border wall is growing. Alpine kicked off the movement with a resolution last week. The Presidio Municipal…
‘Brush and Bronze’
Museum visualizes ‘The New American West’ The Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine has brought together two very different artists—a sculptor and a painter—to visualize The New American…
En español
Ver todas las historias en español
Aumenta la oposición local al muro fronterizo
A medida que la noticia de los planes de la administración Trump para construir un muro a través del Parque Estatal Big Bend Ranch y el Parque Nacional Big…
El sheriff del condado de Brewster firma contrato con ICE
El acuerdo no afectará la labor policial diaria, afirma el sheriff Dodson A finales de enero, la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Brewster (BCSO por sus siglas en…
Marfa couple indicted in infant’s death
Marfa A Marfa couple was indicted on felony charges of injuring a child after their infant daughter died of malnutrition after her feeding tube…
Ortiz resigns from commissioners court, Escontrias appointed
Precinct 3 Presidio County Commissioner Franky Ortiz resigned this month, and County Judge Joe Portillo appointed Obed Escontrias of Presidio to the seat when…
Letters to the Editor: March 12, 2026
It was taken from us once—not again My grandmother, Eva May Green, grew up in what is now Big Bend National Park. Initially, her…
The male victimization card
I write periodically for this space, up until now about national security and foreign affairs. But for a journalism class I teach at Sul…
AEP hosts open house on substation
AEP Texas is inviting the community to attend its Open House at the Casner Room from 2:30-5:30 p.m. March 17. This come-and-go event is…
Webb’s sets textile landscapes exhibit
Webb’s Faire & Square in Fort Davis is opening an exhibit, Westernly Reveries—textile landscapes by Leigh Kvetko—on Saturday from 1-4 p.m. at its gallery,…
Our Water Matters: Water and the Wall
The federal government’s recent push to build a barrier along the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park got me thinking about the widespread…
Marfa School Board member sought
A vacancy for an unexpired term on the Marfa ISD School Board will be filled at a special/regular meeting on March 23, 2026, at…
Library to feature ‘Feather Wars’ author
Fort Davis Join the Jeff Davis County Library on Wednesday, March 18, at 4 p.m., when a new book will be highlighted by Alpine…
Obituary: Zulema I. Lujan
She crafted asados with love Zulema I. Lujan, a beloved matriarch and cherished friend, passed away on March 3, 2026, in El Paso, Texas,…
Water in the Desert 2026 signals new era for West Texas Water
From the Meadows Research Institute for West Texas Water Alpine For three days in February, Alpine became the center of one of the most…
Sheriffs unite against border wall
A coalition of border sheriffs gather in Marfa Monday to express their strong opposition to the proposed construction of a border wall in the…
Dim Zayan: ‘A Three-Quarter View of the Future’
Artist’s first solo exhibit engages questions about time, erosion, and human intervention. Envisioning the future, we stare directly into the past. Zim Dayan’s debut…
Letters to the Editor: March 3, 2026
Science and meaningful engagement needed on border security As the president of Friends of Big Bend Ranch State Park, and on behalf of our…
Marfa High teams advance to state science fair
Marfa ISD High School students competed in UTPB’s Regional Science and Engineering Fair Valentine’s weekend in February. The school had eight projects enter the…
Obituary: Jose “Joe” Luis Zubiate
Vietnam sergeant worked for Presidio TxDOT for 22 years In loving memory of Jose “Joe” Luis Zubiate. Jose “Joe” Luis Zubiate was born on…
Students come out on top at cowboy poetry contest
On Saturday, February 21, 15 students from the Big Bend Area gathered with family and friends at the Event Center of the Museum of…
Trump, your wall would destroy our economy
Dear President Trump, I’m writing today with a simple plea: Please do not hand over the Rio Grande River to Mexico. When I was…
Marfa schools going back to 5 days a week
Marfa ISD will be returning to a five-day calendar for the 2026-2027 school year. The new school calendar was approved at last week’s board…
Portillo wins Presidio County
It was close—just 91 votes. But strong support from the City of Presidio precincts gave incumbent County Judge Jose “Joe” Portillo a victory over…
Border wall opposition increases political pressure
Terlingua The opposition to the proposed border wall has been organized in startlingly quick fashion. A second standing-room-only meeting was held at the Cinnabar…
Alpine City Council to vote on resolution expressing border wall concerns
The Alpine City Council will vote today on a resolution “expressing concern” over the plan to build a physical border wall through Big Bend…
Locals give wall contractors grief
Local residents and businesses aren’t keen on rolling out a welcome mat for border wall contractors in the area. One local electrician in Terlingua,…
Steel contract signals physical wall construction
How much border wall would up to $2.2 billion in steel buy you? It’s uncertain, but a Tennessee company recently won a contract for…
Marfa School Board denies interested candidate
District judge rebuffed, receives no phone call Marfa Marfa ISD School Board trustees declined to appoint State District Judge Genie Wright at Wednesday night’s…
Marfa Studio Arts hosts SITES exhibit
Marfa Studio of Arts invites the public to attend its latest art show, which will showcasethe work of the elementary students in the SITES…
One-Act Plays on Wednesday, March 4, at Crowley Theater
Marfa Live Arts presents the 15th Annual Marfa High School One-Act Playsshowcasing four award-winning student plays at the Crowley Theater onWednesday, March 4, at 7…
Mental Health Series
In a mental health crisis, Big Bend residents have options for help
Direct Hotline 988 is in place, but few know of its existence TRI-COUNTY — Few Americans are aware of a relatively new…
The weight of the badge: Customs and Border Protection responds to rash of agent suicides
US-MEXICO BORDER — As journalists and politicians endlessly dissect the current situation on the southwest border, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is…
Alpine program provides mental health support for seniors
TRI-COUNTY — A program housed in the Big Bend Regional Hospital provides crucial mental healthcare services that brighten the lives of seniors,…
A ‘deficient’ safety net
TRI-COUNTY — Jeff Davis County Justice of the Peace Mary Ann Luedecke picks up her frantically chiming cell phone. “I don’t know…
Hospital district, Big Bend National Park explore addition of mental healthcare providers
BREWSTER COUNTY — The Big Bend region’s dire need for more mental health resources was central to discussion among local political and medical…
Big Bend’s isolation creates challenges to addressing mental health
TRI-COUNTY — Brian Enlow is much different than his brother Greg was. Greg embraced an artistic world, immersed himself in music and lived…
The Big Bend Sentinel partners with Presidio County Community Fund for mental health reporting series
MARFA –– The Big Bend Sentinel is publishing a series of articles on mental and behavioral health starting with next week’s issue,…
Schools play a vital role in student mental health but face several challenges meeting needs
TRI-COUNTY — The need for mental and behavioral health resources in schools has never been more dire, with rates of depression, anxiety and…
Few options available for substance abuse treatment in the Big Bend
FAR WEST TEXAS — Big Bend residents are no strangers to tackling problems posed by the physical isolation of their home turf.…
New community-based therapy offers benefits for rural areas
TRI-COUNTY — A series of articles on mental health published by The Big Bend Sentinel the past two months has highlighted both…
Visuals
The ARTS
Last chance to view Valverde’s vibrant paintings
The Museum of the Big Bend will hold a closing reception for Desierto Peregrino with acclaimed visual artist Miguel Valverde of Chihuahua City, Mexico. With over two decades…
Anaglyphs offer a whole new dimension
This month, Galeria Raices in Presidio exhibited Luis Ramos, known as Lucatero, with his collection Anaglyphs: Three-Dimensional Studies—an exhibition that explores depth, color, and perception through oil paintings.…
Marfa Live Arts presents ‘Por La Ventana’ in San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende Marfa Live Arts Director Jennie Lyn Hamilton will present Por La Ventana at the Teatro Santa Ana in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico,…
RULE presents seven-artist exhibit
What Repeats, Holds brings together work by Sasha Alexandra, Amy Hoagland, Jim Johnson, Richard Kallweit, Matt Larson, Frances Lightbound and Clark Richert—artists who approach pattern not as surface…
Presidio kids win big at consulate drawing contest
Presidio Seven schoolchildren in Presidio were named winners of the global drawing contest hosted by the Mexican Consulate. Their drawings will be exhibited throughout Presidio through the end…
Cody Barber’s latest ‘Moiré Work’ pays homage to early chair restoration
Artist experimented with ‘psycho color’ chairs When artist Cody Barber graduated from Texas Tech with a mass communications degree in 2009, he applied for jobs in television and…
MAINTENANT inviting submissions for group exhibition
Marfa Founded in 2020, MAINTENANT is an art and fighting laboratory in the Chihuahuan High Desert, with two gallery spaces—one also a boxing gym—and outdoor sculptural works embedded…
Guitar in the Big Bend features Bokyung Byun
“Here is a simple fact: with artistry such as Ms. Byun’s, the state-of-the-art of guitar performance has reached a new level.” —Soundboard Magazine Guitar in the Big Bend…
Melendez exhibits assemblages
Marfa Country Clinic announces Aquarius Rising, an exhibition of new works by Natalie Melendez, featuring recent collages, reliefs, and a video installation. The works will be on display…
Junior high students writing with Marfa Live Arts this week
Marfa This week Marfa Live Arts is back in Marfa Junior High for the 10th Annual Marfa Live Arts Playwriting Preparatory workshop. “It’s been 10 years of working…
Cal Poly professor to work with Marfa High School
By JD Garcia Marfa Marfa Live Arts’ collaboration with Marfa ISD has entered its 15th year with playwright and California Polytechnic State University assistant professor of theater Ramón…
Chinati Foundation announces 2026 Artists in Residence
Last week, The Chinati Foundation/La Fundación Chinati announced its 2026 Artists in Residence: David Batchelor, Will Boone, Deondre Davis, SoiL Thornton, Gillian Walsh, and Sarah Zapata. The 2026…
Art in Review: Part II
Shoshannah White and Andrea Caretto join forces on Ghost Keepers Ghost Keepers, a two-person show at RULE Gallery opened on December 13 and is scheduled to continue until…
Art in the Rearview Mirror Part II
By R. Parks Shoshannah White and Andrea Caretto join forces on Ghost Keepers Ghost Keepers, a two-person show at RULE Gallery opened on December 13 and is scheduled…
Joe Ely — A Tribute
1947-2025 Very few musical collaborations have been as successful and long-lasting as the beloved Texas troubadour band The Flatlanders—Joe Ely, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock. Many Texans…
Art in the rear view mirror
Origin myths worth retelling: Art’s intrinsic value 2025 may be remembered as a tumultuous year in the world of the global art market, especially for Los Angeles. (In…
The Trio performs poetry and music at Do Right Hall
“The Trio” will perform at Do Right Hall Thursday, December 18, at 7:30 p.m. The group includes guitarist Steve Gunn, who has played many times in Marfa, and…
‘Ghost Keepers’ brings ancient ice and pillars to RULE
Marfa RULE Gallery is pleased to present Ghost Keepers, a duo exhibition featuring works by Andrea Caretto and Shoshannah White. Together, their practices consider the material world as…
Chinati staff present ‘UN TITLED’ art show
The staff at the Chinati Foundation invite you to UN TITLED: Chinati Staff Art Show, opening at the Locker Plant this Friday, December 12, from 6 to 9…
Marfa Book Co. features Terry’s ‘watercolors’
Join Marfa Book Co. on Friday, December 12, from 5 to 7 p.m., for an opening of watercolors, an exhibition of new work by Nick Terry. The event…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
STAY IN TOUCH WITH
Be notified every week of the latest stories from The Sentinel. Our email newsletter is packed with the most important news from the tri-county areas of Far West Texas.
Features
Tough, fair, Texas. Since 1926. Help us keep up this vital work.