A record crowd gathered this past Saturday for the 40th annual Polo on the Prairie, as the longtime West Texas fundraiser drew an estimated 2,000 attendees for its milestone year.

Event founder Henry Musselman said the 2026 crowd was the largest in the event’s history, continuing a tradition that has grown steadily over four decades. What began as a small gathering in 1987 has now become one of the most recognized fundraising events supporting UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.

McCollum performance draws larger crowd

Albany High School has announced honor students for the Class of 2026, with Woods Peterson named valedictorian and Mimi Ivy selected as salutatorian.

Seven other seniors were recognized as honor students, representing the top 25 percent of the class.

Peterson earned a four-year average of 102.71, while Ivy posted a 102 average. Other honor students, in rank order, are Allison McDaniel, Ryan Turner, Jaxson Street, Madison Parrott, Hollis Yeates, Cache Clark and Caysn Hargett.

One of the most accomplished athletes to ever come out of Albany is now part of the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame, as Kami Norton Richey was inducted during last week’s annual banquet in Abilene.

Richey’s career, which began with a dominant run at Albany High School and carried through to national championships at the collegiate level, made her a clear choice for the honor.

“It was definitely a trip back down memory lane,” Richey said. “Coming back to the Big Country and getting to share that with my family was really special.”

The Albany Lions closed out district play last week with an 11-4 loss to Hawley, a result that secured the district championship for the Bearcats and left Albany finishing as the runner-up.

The Lions wrapped up district with a 7-3 record and stand at 12-4 overall heading into the postseason. Despite the loss, Albany remains in strong position as it shifts its attention to the playoffs.

A former Albany Lion received a surprise honor recently when a newly improved girls softball field in Sundown was named after him, recognizing years of work in the community and local athletics.

Ron Holson, a 1988 Albany High School graduate, said the recognition was unexpected.

“It caught me completely off guard,” Holson said. “I’m very honored to have received that.”

The U.S. Highway 180 bridge over Hubbard Creek Reservoir will be fully closed to traffic beginning Monday, April 27, as TxDOT crews conduct routine maintenance work on the structure.

According to information released by the Texas Department of Transportation, the closure will allow crews to complete work that could not be safely performed with traffic on the bridge. The project is expected to take approximately one week, though it could be completed in as little as five days if weather conditions remain favorable.

A newly filed recommendation from state regulatory staff has added a new layer to the ongoing discussion surrounding the proposed Dinosaur–Longshore 765-kilovolt transmission line, identifying a preferred route that differs from the one submitted by Oncor.

In a filing submitted April 16, 2026, Public Utility Commission staff engineer Eduardo Acosta of the agency’s Infrastructure Division recommended Route 713 as the option that best meets state routing criteria. The filing is part of Acosta’s direct testimony in the case.

Albany ISD officials will return to the community this evening for a second town hall meeting on the proposed $26 million school bond, giving residents another opportunity to review the plan and ask questions ahead of the upcoming election.

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday (today), April 23 at 6 p.m. in the Nancy Smith Elementary gym.

Two Albany doubles teams punched their tickets to the state tennis tournament with runner-up finishes at the rain-delayed Region II-2A meet April 20-21 in North Richland Hills.

Coach M.J. Reneau said the boys doubles team of Woods Peterson and Jaxson Street and the mixed doubles pair of Mimi Ivy and Cade Fairchild both secured state berths by advancing to their respective championship matches, finishing as regional runners-up.

The state tournament is scheduled for May 7-8 at the Blossom Tennis Center in San Antonio.

Nine Albany High School athletes qualified for the regional track meet following competition at the area meet held Friday, April 17, in Graham. The regional meet is scheduled for May 1-2 in Springtown.