The Lakelander Newspaper

06/04/2026

The Hill County Commissioners Court just voted unanimously to rescind the county's data center moratorium, citing a need to protect the county after legal challenges. They are still in session, discussing other agenda items that would provide more oversight for large-scale industrial projects.

Commissioners also accepted Precinct 3 Commissioner Scotty Hawkins' resignation. County Judge Shane Brassell said that with an election coming up in November, Republican and Democratic precinct chairs will be able to select candidates to appear on the ballot. Hawkins will continue to have obligations to fulfill until a new commissioner is in place.

See next week's edition of The Lakelander for the full story.

05/21/2026

We will continue to accept ads through the day today!

05/16/2026

Hill County Cleanup Update:

05/03/2026

Unofficial election results for contested races:

05/03/2026

UNOFFICIAL EARLY/MAIL VOTE TOTALS
Will be updated with Election Day results -

05/02/2026

04/29/2026

Check out this week’s Lakelander for an update on Hill County data center discussions.

In response to local concerns, commissioners passed a resolution and rescinded current tax abatement guidelines, which County Judge Shane Brassell said prevents the county from entering into any abatement negotiations while revisions are under review.

He said that the county plans to schedule an evening meeting for public feedback before any future guidelines are approved.

02/10/2026

2/9/26 10:30PM - PUBLIC NOTICE: Local Disaster declared and 7 day disaster burn ban effective tomorrow morning.

Hill County Judge Shane Brassell has declared a local disaster and instituted a Disaster Burn Ban for 7 days, effective 2/10/26 at 6AM. The Disaster burn ban is set to expire on 2/17/26 at 6AM unless ratified by the Commissioners Court.

Today alone, Hill County Fire Departments have responded to 8 controlled burns that got out of control and 2 additional random start fires. Fire calls have been increasing over the last few days and have been exhausting local resources.

A copy of the order will be placed in the comments.

10/17/2025

Hill County officials are working quickly to prepare for early voting after the sudden termination of Elections Administrator Aaron Torres.

Both the Hill County Elections Commission and Commissioners Court held emergency meetings this morning and voted to terminate Torres, who County Judge Shane Brassell said had abandoned his post this week.

Brassell said that the election will move forward properly, with county officials and the Texas Secretary of State’s Office stepping in to ensure everything is ready for early voting on Monday.

The Elections Commission had been questioning Torres about unprocessed voter registrations, which he attributed to issues with the state’s system that have been causing delays for elections officials throughout the state.

Brassell said that the county was met with resistance when attempting to become more heavily involved in the November election due to questions about the preparations. As of yesterday, Torres had reportedly told county employees that he would not be back.

Brassell laid out multiple issues that the county is working to address in the elections office, but he expressed confidence that the team of county officials and outside assistants will be ready for the election by Monday.

See next week’s edition for the complete story.

10/15/2025