Hi! I grew up in a one-stoplight town in rural Nebraska and my whole family still lives there with three churches, a bar, and a courthouse. I left because I like lots of people and taller buildings, and I don't like cold weather. On those rare days in Texas when it gets snowy and icy, you'll find me inside Googling beach vacations. I don't plan to leave Texas now that I've been here for most of my adult life because the barbecue and fajitas are just way too addictive. I've worked in radio from the moment I graduated from college at the University of Nebraska, and besides getting the hang out with cool people like you every day, I love sports, great restaurants, self improvement, and meeting new people. I love all movies starring Melissa McCarthy or Julia Roberts, and all TV shows with home improvements or food in them. You'll probably hear me talk about my three daughters on the air, along with the challenges of being a single mom. I'm on several of the dating apps, because trying to meet someone in person these days is way too creepy.
Jen Austin
ArtWalk Happens Saturday in Tyler
This weekend we've got a chance to experience something we don't get to see every ole Saturday.
It could make a romantic date night, or a fun family night out. The downtown Tyler ArtWalk is from 4pm to 9pm on Saturday, and I'm thinking it will be a good way to keep the kids busy. I'm always looking for that! Wear 'em out, and get them away from the TV.
East Texas Animal Shelter in Dire Need of Adopters
The Longview Animal Shelter is at capacity, if not over, and that means the animals could use our help. Do you have room in your home?
I've got two miniature schnauzers now, and at one point we had four of them. The more the merrier!
Operation Save the Animals is a task force in Longview that has been given 90 days to come up with a plan for the City of Longview to build a new animal shelter. As i
How Much Do You Love Your iPad?
We gave away iPads earlier this summer and there was big buzz and huge demand. Everyone wanted them. Hope you won!
Once you own an iPad, it turns out you end up loving it more than perhaps you love your own teeth. In fact, many iPad owners would rather endure root canal pain than part with their iPad. And you?
Celebrity’s Face Carved into East Texas Field
It can’t be easy carving a face into a corn field. How in the world do they do that? Walking through the maze, you probably can’t tell all the paths are making a face or that you’re walking through an eyeball, but from the air it looks pretty cool.
Shopping Season is Here
On a shopping trip this weekend I saw what may be the first one of the year. A Christmas tree! On September 15th.
At this particular store, the Christmas tree was fully decorated, and the snow globes, stockings, and Christmas cards were already for sale. Right there next to the Halloween decorations.
Kidd Kraddick has asked the question before, and I'll ask it again. How early is too early?
Cowboys Visit Seattle Sunday — Remember Last Time?
I’m the first one to agree you can’t be defined by one event, or one circumstance, or one fleeting moment in time.
BUT! Anyone remember that bobbled snap in the 2006 playoff game that kicked us all in the gut? All Cowboy fans anyway.
Tony Romo was the holder for the field goal kicker back then. The Cowboys were about too win the Wild Card game at Seattle, all they needed was a field goal as time e
This is the Most Forgotten Item at Hotels
Have you ever checked out of a hotel, traveled home, and then realized you left something behind in the room?
I have. On a road trip to the north, my family stayed at a hotel in Wichita, Kansas, and when we got home we could only find one Dora The Explorer sock. In the process of jumping on the bed and running around the room, our 3-year old at the time must have shed a sock and a cleaning person
Tyler Businesses Affected by Go Daddy Hack
Indy racer Danica Patrick’s #7 car has become a well-known symbol for the company Go Daddy. Turns out, nobody could navigate Go Daddy out of yesterday’s hack that shut down millions of websites, including several in Tyler.
If you went to a website on Monday and you got an error message, chances are it wasn’t your internet connection. A hacker group has claimed responsibility for shutting down Go D
Rose Festival Makes National Rankings
Tour buses love the Rose Festival.
In fact, the festival has been named one of the best events in North America. So expect the big buses to keep rolling in.
This Weekend May Feel More Like Fall
The first week of September has been HOT. Summer, leave us alone already! Don’t you know it’s after Labor Day?
But relief is on the way.
How Many People Skip Out on Washing Their Hands?
Do you wash your hands EVERY time you use a public restroom?
Perhaps you wash your hands religiously after using the restroom at a store or restaurant, but not so much at work. Who cares, you know all those people in the office and they’re like family, right? You can let the hand-washing slide there. Ew! Family members and those donut-eating co-workers have germs too.
Football Fans at John Tyler High School are Recognized Nationwide
If you’ve been one of the thousands of fans in the stands and on the sidelines on a Friday night cheering on the John Tyler Lions, you know the atmosphere is electric.
Livability.com has released their list of the Top 10 High School Football cities in the country, and two East Texas towns made the list. Lufkin is #1. Where did Tyler land?