The Amarillo Tribune

06/05/2026

Homicide investigators with the Amarillo Police Department obtained warrants for murder for Meghan Dawn Kern, 43, and Jaylyn Andrew Johnson, 18, in connection with a shooting on the 3900 block of South Tyler Street on May 25. Both now face murder charges in Randall County.

Johnson was booked into the Randall County jail on Thursday night. Kern was booked into the Potter County Detention Center on May 25 on unrelated charges.

According to APD, Jeremy Ray, 45, was injured in the shooting on May 25 and died from those injuries on May 29.

According to court documents, Kern told APD that she saw Johnson commit the offense. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

The bond for both has been recommended at $500,000 each. A magistrate judge ordered that Johnson can not be released on bond without a GPS tracking device, and prosecutors recommended that Kern receive one as well.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2026/06/05/two-charged-with-murder-in-connection-with-south-tyler-street-shooting/

06/05/2026

The Cattleman’s Club & Cafe sign on Historic Route 66 has been restored, thanks in part to a grant from the City of Amarillo. The sign was recognized for its historical significance in a 2016 Texas Historical Survey.

According to the City, the sign was restored with the installation of true neon tubing by Casteel Sign, a company known for restoring landmarks such as the neon Pegasus in downtown Dallas and the Paramount Theatre sign in Chicago.

In a social media post, the City said, “The sign stands as a reminder of the open roads, opportunities, and rich history that have shaped our city for decades.”

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2026/06/05/dont-miss-historic-cattlemans-club-cafe-sign-shines-again/

06/05/2026

On Wednesday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department received the first confirmation of a detection of New World screwworm in Zavala County. A sample collected from a three-week-old calf with an umbilical lesion was identified and confirmed as NWS by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory. No other Texas animals have been found to be carriers at this time.

Following Randy Rikel’s retirement, Dr. Todd McNeill has been named the new vice president of business development at West Texas A&M University. Other administration changes were also announced this week, check them out on WT’s website https://www.wtamu.edu/news/2026/06/mcneill-named-wts-vp-of-business-finance-other-admin-changes-announced.html

People can fish for free without a license in Texas on Saturday. Find your neighborhood fishing spot on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/programs/neighborhood-fishin/

Amarillo Netplex will host a Route 66 Rally All Sports Play Day where people can play basketball, volleyball, pickleball, and dodgeball throughout the day on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are $12 and players can register online at https://app.courtreserve.com/Online/Events/List/10145

Harold Lewis, Sherwin Cox, Teresa Tinner, and Ryan Palmer are the 2026 Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame inductees. They’ll be honored in a public ceremony on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Amarillo Civic Center.

An Amarillo Police Officer was injured when a drunk driver crashed into the back of their patrol vehicle on Thursday morning at around 2 a.m. According to reports, Micah Glenn Lacy, 28, crashed into the back of a patrol vehicle near Bayswater and Coulter Road. Lacy was arrested for Intoxication Assault with a Vehicle Causing Serious Bodily Injury after being cleared at the hospital, and the officer was treated and released.

TxDOT’s Amarillo District announced it will move forward with construction of the main lanes on SL 335, extending from north of FM 2186 to north of Arden Road. The $47 million project will include constructing main lanes, an overpass at Arden Road, traffic signal lights at Arden Road, high-mast lighting and shared use paths to enhance safety and mobility in that area. The project is expected to begin in early winter.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2026/06/05/in-brief-june-5-2026/

06/04/2026

The Amarillo Tribune is celebrating its second publishing anniversary on Thursday. We’re honored to have been your local, in-depth, and always free news source for two years, and we look forward to many years serving as Amarillo’s first nonprofit online newspaper.

To mark the occasion—and in appreciation of our own and each other’s hard work—we’ve each selected two stories the Amarillo Tribune published in the past year to highlight: one by the staff member picking, and one by another Amarillo Tribune journalist. If any of our articles have stuck with you, given you new information, and made you appreciate our wonderful community, we’d love to hear from you!

We welcome you to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss an article. Our newsletters are entirely written by Amarillo Tribune staff and delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2026/06/04/the-amarillo-tribune-turns-two/

06/04/2026

On the 100th anniversary of Route 66—the 2,448-mile-long highway stretching from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, running through Amarillo on its way—the Texas Route 66 Festival will bring 66 events through town over the course of 10 days starting on Thursday.

“These 10 days are very important to us to make our impact and to really call ourselves out as a major player along Route 66,” Kashion Smith, the executive director of Visit Amarillo, said. “There are a lot of cities pulling out a lot of stops this year, and I think that we are above most all of them.”

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2026/06/04/100th-anniversary-festival-for-the-mother-road-brings-66-events-to-celebrate-route-66/

06/04/2026

🎉🎉🎉🥰🥰🥰

TWO YEARS OF REPORTING, and they're still thriving. Bit thanks to Jackie Kingston of The Amarillo Tribune for stopping by "High Plains Morning" today to share their online newspaper's 2-year anniversary milestone! All "Press Club" donors are welcome to their "Second Rodeo" event on Thursday, 6/4 from 5-7pm. Here's the link to join, & then you'll get an invite with location details. Congrats to all the Trib journalists, & thank you for your reporting! https://amarillotribune.org/support-our-publication/

06/04/2026

Don’t Miss: Amarillo ISD opens summer feeding program
Amarillo ISD’s summer feeding program is open Mondays through Fridays at more than 20 AISD schools until June 26. The program offers free meals to children and teens under 18 and enrolled students with disabilities up to 21.

Breakfast is available from 7:45 to 8:15 a.m., and lunch is offered from 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Meals must be eaten on site, according to AISD. Summer feeding locations are included below:

Amarillo High Cluster
Austin Middle School
Belmar Elementary School
Coronado Elementary School
Ridgecrest Elementary School
Amarillo High School is not a summer feeding location

Tascosa Cluster
Tascosa High School
North Heights High School
Bowie Middle School
San Jacinto Elementary School
Wills Elementary School

Caprock Cluster
Caprock High School
Glenwood Elementary School
Humphrey’s Highland Elementary School
Lawndale Elementary School
Tradewind Elementary School

Palo Duro Cluster
Palo Duro High School
Travis Middle School
Hamlet Elementary School
Mesa Verde Elementary School
Rogers Elementary School
Forest Hill Elementary School

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2026/06/04/dont-miss-amarillo-isd-opens-summer-feeding-program/

06/04/2026

Ogallala Commons’ second roundtable meeting of the year is today from 10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. The topic for the meeting is Using Adaptive Grazing to Restore Healthy Water Cycling. Fernando Falomir, a rancher from Chihuahua, Mexico, and a consultant with Understanding Ag, will be one of the speakers. Click here to register:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/L85d7cV8RG6v03DuNtPf-g #/registration

The Canyon Farmers Market kicks off its 2026 season on Saturday at the Historic Downtown Square and will run every Saturday through September from 8 a.m. to noon. The market also accepts SNAP/EBT benefits.

West Texas A&M University dining services won a gold award in the 2026 Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards for renovation of the year. Renovation began in May 2025 and concluded in November 2025.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles will now administer all Texas CDL knowledge exams in English only to align with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s English proficiency requirements.

The 55+ Club of Amarillo is launching a capital campaign to open its senior activities center. For more information, email [email protected], or call 806-374-5500. To donate, visit www.55plusclub.org.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center researchers Aric Logsdon, Ph.D., and Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., received Junior Investigator Research Grants from the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium for research on alzheimers disease and memory care.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2026/06/04/in-brief-june-4-2026/

06/03/2026

Hannah Doggett, a West Texas chapter board member for the American Foundation for Su***de Prevention, recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate and gain support for three bills that would better support veterans’ mental health needs. Doggett said that the bills, which would work to lower veteran su***de rates, need community support to increase the chances of being passed.

Doggett said that her expertise is in su***de and trauma. She referenced two reports from the Department of Veterans Affairs: one released in 2012 found that 18.3 veterans die by su***de a day. According to the 2024 national veteran su***de prevention annual report, that number decreased to 17.6. Doggett said that although the number is smaller, it is still significant.

“One is too many, and it honestly indicates that the country in which they’ve served, and for which they’ve served, has not supported them in the ways that they’ve needed to the fullest extent possible,” Doggett said.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2026/06/03/locals-advocate-for-more-veteran-mental-health-support/

06/03/2026

Canyon City Commission held a regular meeting on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. During the meeting, commissioners expressed their gratitude for the Texas Youth Sports Foundation, approved plans for Independence Day festivities, and approved a master fee schedule that allows for some increases.

The commission thanked the Panhandle Youth Sports Foundation for its $75,000 donation to fund light pole replacements at the Kent Johnson Baseball Complex. According to the agenda, the City was replacing lights destroyed in the June 5, 2025, hailstorm and found that five light poles in the complex were unstable. The poles were removed as a safety precaution, and replacing them was expected to cost $143,000. With this donation, the City was able to move forward with replacing the poles. The commission approved the Parks Department’s request to install a plaque at the baseball complex recognizing the donation.

The commission approved allowing the Chamber of Commerce to manage the Downtown Square, Paul Lindsey Park, and the public areas surrounding those spaces for the planned Fourth of July celebrations. The Chamber will hold the Fair on the Square, as always, and will host various festivities, including the fireworks show (weather permitting), with Paul Lindsey Park as the central location. It also approved an ordinance prohibiting parking along the Independence Day Parade route.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2026/06/03/canyon-city-commission-june-2-2026/