Mary Cantrell
ReporterMary is a journalist committed to serving communities across Far West Texas. Her past experience as a reporter for The Big Bend Sentinel newspaper taught her the value of local news and instilled in her a deep appreciation for the region’s land and people.
Before moving to Marfa in 2021, Mary worked for various non-profit arts entities in Austin and freelanced for Sightlines and Glasstire arts magazines. She is a University of Texas alum originally from the Houston area.
When she’s not busy pursuing stories, she likes to try out new recipes and go on hikes with her partner Cody — one of Marfa Public Radio’s volunteer DJs.
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At a Friday hearing in El Paso, a U.S. District Judge ordered all construction on the Big Bend area border wall project to stop immediately — including in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. The order also included the stay of federal waivers that expedited the project. -
Pacifico Energy, the company developing a massive natural gas power plant and data center owned by Amazon in Pecos County, met with officials in neighboring Brewster County this week about the possibility of a similar project northeast of Alpine. -
Hinojosa made stops in Presidio and Terlingua this week to decry the Trump administration’s border wall plans for the region and talk about other issues central to her bid against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. -
The Trump administration says its pause on border construction in Big Bend National Park will last at least through the end of the month, according to a Monday court filing. A local indigenous group and river outfitter are asking a judge to block construction across the region. -
The new superintendent of Fort Davis ISD, Jason Crow, made a controversial decision earlier this year to close Dirks-Anderson Elementary School because of the district’s strained finances. The move prompted a staff exodus and local pushback, but Crow maintains it’s necessary to keep the district alive. -
A federal judge on Sunday rejected a Presidio, Texas entity’s request to block construction over claims that the Trump administration violated the Rivers and Harbors Act in pursuing the border wall build near the city’s levee system. -
Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham on Friday sent cease and desist letters to Barnard Construction and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, claiming the border wall contractor had performed “illegal” land clearing work on state-owned land in southern Presidio County. -
The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas spoke out against the Trump administration’s Big Bend area border wall plans this week while campaigning in West Texas, calling the wall a "monument to corruption.” -
A recent lawsuit claims border agencies violated the federal Rivers and Harbors Act as part of the Trump administration’s plan for a border wall through the Big Bend region. The Department of Homeland Security responded by waiving that law, so it doesn’t have to follow it. -
Hudspeth County officials entered into an agreement with Barnard Construction this week that will allow the border wall contractor to use and improve two county roads leading to the Rio Grande. The vote revealed riffs in the broader community over whether to fight or comply with the advancing wall project.
