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Mortgage rates hit 23-year high which may deter some Austin homebuyers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The average long-term mortgage rate has risen to 7.57%, reaching a 23-year high, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. Rates may even breach 8%, increasing the income a family unit would need to earn to comfortably afford a typical home, according to Zillow. At the current rate in Austin, the income needed to afford a typical home is $107,000 annually. If the mortgage rate increases to 8%, a household will need to earn around $114,000 a year to comfortably afford a standard Austin home, according to a Zillow analysis. This prediction is based on the 30% income threshold commonly used as a guideline for homeowners. “The probability that mortgage rates could reach 8% is certainly higher now than it was in months past,” said Claire Losey, the housing economist for the Austin Board of Realtors. “Higher mortgage rates diminish purchase affordability or the homebuyer's potential purchasing power. So, in essence, each increase in the mortgage interest ra...

Heightened traffic congestion expected as annular eclipse passes over Central Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Central Texans are in for a celestial phenomenon Saturday as an annular solar eclipse crosses over the state. It'll begin around 10:23 a.m. and culminate at 1:33 p.m., with full annularity and peak darkness set to occur around 11:54 a.m. -- and the Texas Department of Transportation is anticipating plenty of traffic along Central Texas roadways."We're gonna see a lot of traffic, a lot of congestion, so just be ready for it," said Glynda Chu, a public information officer for TxDOT's Austin District. "It's all part of it. But we hope that people will make this a fun event for themselves and their families." RELATED: How to stay safe while driving during annular solar eclipse The optimal viewing point will be in Junction, west of Austin along Interstate 10 or U.S. Hwy. 290, Chu said. TxDOT is stressing to drivers this weekend not to park on the highway or along the shoulder of the roads, adding that would be a safety issue that could impede traffic flow or emergency ...

High school football: With a newfound energy and togetherness, Eastview has found success

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

Wade Buckley took over as Eastview High School football coach in the spring, void of expectations and hoping to simply find his footing and put his imprint on the program after serving as an offensive assistant in each of the previous two seasons.Buckley is just the second coach in program history at the Apple Valley school, taking over for the iconic Kelly Sherwin, who resigned from the position at the end of last season.What, exactly, did Buckley’s imprint look like? You can see it in practice, where senior offensive lineman Roland Roseman said Buckley will line up against him to give him a legitimate pass blocking rep against what would otherwise be empty trash cans.Eastview senior quarterback Grayson Osberg, left, and sophomore running back Drew Bartosh celebrate a Bartosh touchdown run during the Lightning’s 37-0 home victory over Hopkins on Sept. 15, 2023. (Piercen Haehnel / Eastview Football)“The big thing for me was energy. I wanted to bring energy, and with the help o...

Nicholas Kristof: Seeing a moral compass in Gaza’s war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

The terror attacks by Hamas against civilians who were in their homes and dancing at a concert are being called Israel’s Sept. 11, and that’s a fair comparison.Let’s hope that Israel responds to this outrage more wisely than we in the United States did to the attack on our country.There’s a lot of loose talk about eliminating Hamas, and Hamas deserves it. As a journalist who has traveled repeatedly to Gaza, I’m appalled by the sympathy that some Americans and Europeans have shown for a misogynist and repressive terror organization like Hamas. If you care about human rights, you want to see Hamas eliminated.Yet dismantling terrorist organizations can be harder than it looks and can raise troubling moral questions about collateral damage. The Taliban also deserved elimination, yet in the end it was the United States that was eliminated from Afghanistan. I worry that Israel may charge into Gaza with a ground invasion as thoughtlessly as we plowed into Iraq.Neal Keny-Guyer, a former CEO...

3M opens collision repairs skills development center in St. Paul

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

Standing in front of a cluster of automotive vocational students, Jason Garfoot held up a demonstration panel featuring three swathes of car paint, each one of them a different color and texture.A professional car painter might consider some two dozen material conditions before spraying his paint gun, making prep as important as, if not more so than, the act of painting itself.Engineer Jason Garfoot, center right, demonstrates car paint spraying techniques for vocational students at the new 3M Skills Development Center on Wells Street in St. Paul on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (Courtesy of 3M)“On the back of the panel, you’ll write what pressure — how many turns the knobs on your spray gun were to get that texture — and then we mask off half of it and spray it,” said Garfoot, a senior application engineer at 3M with more than 20 years of experience in the field of car painting.“The reason we do that is when you have your texture dialed in, and then y...

Hastings domestic and sexual violence shelter to close next month despite rising demand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

A domestic and sexual violence shelter in Hastings will close next month due to a lack of funding.The Hastings Lewis House, run by 360 Communities, announced Thursday that it will be closing mid-November and reducing its staff in its violence prevention and intervention programs, according to a news release from the organization.“Resource constraints led us to this difficult decision,” said Jeff Mortensen, president and CEO of 360 Communities, in the release. “Unfortunately, at a time when anti-violence work is needed most, critical funding is not keeping pace with the rising cost of operations.”The two Lewis Houses, one in Hastings and the other in Eagan which will remain open, rely primarily on a grant from the Minnesota Office of Justice Programs.Despite an increase in demand for services and rising costs, the dollar amount of the grant has remained stagnant, according to the release, though 360 Communities did request additional funds to continue its services.The closure of the ...

Sarah Green Carmichael: Two full-time jobs? That’s a remote work myth.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

There is a bogeyman lurking behind corporate America’s push to bring workers back to the office: the remote employee who is secretly working a second full-time job, not by working 80-hour weeks, but by toggling between Job 1 and Job 2.Over the past two years, the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Wired, the BBC and many others have run exposes of these “overemployed” people. The details are always irresistibly juicy. One engineer told Vanity Fair that he earns $295,000 a year combined from two jobs, one of which requires about 15 hours a week, and a second that takes up “zero” time — he’s not sure his bosses even remember he still works there. A marketer told Vice that he gets 80% of his work done with ChatGPT, freeing up enough time to add a second job.The workers say the appeal of holding two full-time roles is entirely financial: Doing decent work at two jobs pays far better than excelling at one. They claim there’s so much slac...

Inver Grove Heights child endangerment charges: Boy, 7, injured in shooting when mom’s gun was unattended

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

A woman and her boyfriend are charged with child endangerment after prosecutors say her 7-year-old child was injured in an Inver Grove Heights shooting when they left a gun unattended.Kamera Karmeasha Wright Ramsey, 31, gave officials varying accounts of what happened.The Dakota County attorney’s office provided the following information in recently-filed criminal complaints:Kamera Karmeasha Wright Ramsey (Courtesy of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)Officers responded to a St. Paul hospital on Aug. 16 on a report of a child who’d been shot. He had injuries to his hand and thigh, which resulted in numerous fractures and surgery, and medical records noted it was unlikely he was shot once given the location of his injuries.The boy’s mother, Wright Ramsey, told Inver Grove Heights police that her son was playing with other children at Salem Hills Park in Inver Grove Heights when she heard a boom and saw her son was shot. She said she took him to her residence ...

Vikings kickoff return star Kene Nwangwu finally back at practice. When will he be ready?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

The most interesting name on the Vikings’ injury report this week is running back Kene Nwangwu.Though he still is technically on injured reserve after suffering a back injury in training camp, Nwangwu recently returned to practice for the first time this season. He was listed as a full participant on Wednesday, then again on Thursday, leaving the door open for him to make his return to game action Sunday when the Vikings travel to play the Chicago Bears at Solider Field.Asked about Nwangwu’s progress, special-teams coordinator Matt Daniels emphasized that the Vikings are still trying to be careful with him as they work him back into the mix. As many players have noted, being in good shape is completely different than being in game shape.“Just making sure he’s feeling very confident in his ability to go out and do his job at a high level,” Daniels said. “It’s going to take a little bit of time to get his conditioning up and his feet back unde...

Saratoga Springs has a new Code Blue shelter location

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

With winter around the corner, temperatures will soon start dropping. Shelters of Saratoga is proactively preparing; they're prepping a new location to help the homeless population. NEWS10 toured the new facility that officials say will allow them to help even more homeless people this year. 5-year mark nears for St. Clare’s pension woes Executive Director, Duane Vaughn, said the new facility will be able to house roughly 25% more people in need. “We had a capacity of 61 and we were full most days. So, we knew we had to find a place that we could expand a little bit and make sure that we can help everybody that needs it.”Fortunately, they found just that. 120 South Broadway in Saratoga Springs is the location of the new shelter, with an upgraded 75 beds per night capacity. This new location comes along with added healthy safety measures. We're told mealtimes will be staggered to help lower the risk of COVID-19 and flu. “The way we're going to do our meal planning this year is...