Axios Dallas

May 28, 2026
Happy Thursday! Overthinking is a trap.
🌦️ Today's weather: The rain continues. High in the mid-80s.
🎵 Sounds like: "Hound Dog"
Today's newsletter is 883 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: Meet River, the water leak detector
River, a rambunctious Labrador retriever mix, is Mansfield's new "technology" to identify leaks in the city's water lines.
Why it matters: The city lost more than 79 million gallons of water in 2025 due to pipeline leaks and other issues in the system.
- As the Dallas-Fort Worth region grows and demand for water increases, cities are looking for new ways to conserve water.
Driving the news: River, 2, is one of the first canines in the region to sniff out leaks. He started working for Mansfield a little over a year ago after he was adopted from the city's animal shelter and trained in Arkansas.
- Arlington also launched a similar program in December, when the city introduced its first water leak detection K9, Splash.
By the numbers: The Tarrant Regional Water District is working to conserve current water resources and add supply to accommodate up to a 175% increase in demand due to population growth.
- Mansfield's population, for example, is expected to reach nearly 136,000 by 2035, up from about 94,000 currently.
How it works: There's a small amount of chlorine in drinking water to keep it clean. Water detection canines can smell the chemical and are trained to alert their human coworkers when they sniff it.
- River partners daily with water inspector Brad Blan to check areas of Mansfield where satellite imaging shows there might be a leak.
- The pup is fitted with his work vest when he's on a call. The outfit reminds the dog that he's working. He checks an area and paws at the ground to notify Blan that he's found a possible leak.
State of play: River can even smell traces of chlorine through concrete, making him a less invasive tool for finding leaks than exploratory digging.
- He's still early in his tenure, but he has already detected some unusual leaks, including one that was flowing into a sewer.
Fun fact: River attends community events to educate residents on water conservation and to take pictures with his fans.
- His tongue is usually sticking out.
2. 💧 Comment on the water plan
Texans have little time left to send comments to the Texas Water Development Board about its water plan.
Why it matters: Texas needs $174 billion to complete the projects recommended in the plan to ensure the state can meet water demand for the next 50 years.
State of play: The state plan predicts water demand from 2030 to 2050 and estimates possible shortages.
- The report predicts a water shortage of 3.6 million acre-feet per year by 2030 in drought conditions, or about a quarter of what Texas used last year.
Friction point: The water plan is updated every five years, and the projections in the new plan don't include data center water usage, per Politico.
- The estimates include irrigation, municipal, manufacturing, steam electric power, livestock and mining water usage.
What's next: Public comments must be submitted by 5pm Friday.
- The finalized plan is due before Jan. 5, 2027.
3. 🍻 Plan your weekend: Musicals, lights and Perot
⚽️ Tap into soccer. The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is hosting Thursdays on Tap with afterhours access to the Soccer: More than a Game exhibit.
- 6-10pm Thursdays. Tickets start at $27.
🩷 You'll be popular. "Wicked" is now open at the Music Hall at Fair Park. The Broadway musical defied gravity at the box office and now flies into Dallas until June 14.
- Shows nightly, except Monday. Tickets start at $60.
🏮 Nightly glow. The Dallas Zoo's "Illuminature" features glowing lanterns and performances some nights through June 28.
- 6:30-10:30pm Fridays and Saturdays. Other nights available occasionally. Tickets start at $20.
🏠 Mall art. The annual Dallas CASA Parade of Playhouses are on display at NorthPark Center until June 7.
- Raffle tickets are available for $5 each or $20 for five tickets until 3pm June 7. The proceeds go to CASA and the winners receive one of the playhouses.
4. 🗞 Burnt ends: Bite-sized news bits
🏘️ Dallas built more new homes than any other U.S. city last year. (WFAA)
🗼 Plano has rezoned a sliver of land that's part of the planned AT&T headquarters to build a "mini Reunion Tower." (DMN)
📚 Barnes & Noble is going to open a second new location in Fort Worth. One will go in Montgomery Plaza and the second is located in Presidio Town Crossing. (Star-Telegram)
5. 🏈 Parting gif: AT&T Stadium art

Look closely and you'll see these lights are more than they appear.
- The blinking LEDs aren't random. They show a football game.
Why it matters: "Exploded View" is part of the extensive art collection inside AT&T Stadium, known currently as Dallas Stadium for the 2026 World Cup.
Zoom in: Artist Jim Campbell digitized plays from Dallas Cowboys games and mapped the pixels into a hanging LED lights.
- At first, the lights just look like twinkling stars, but stand back and you can see football players running across the field.
If you go: The piece is just inside Entry A across from the pro shop.
- You can see it without going on a tour.
This newsletter was edited by Bob Gee.
Our picks:
🎧 Tasha can't get enough of Kacey Musgrave's new album.
🌳 Naheed is reading about the plans for a new state park.
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