Wichita Falls Pundit
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09-06-2025 - 1:50 PM - Our local Air Evac Lifeteam is active on 159.900 MHz. Tune in to their operations on your scanner radio.
09-06-2025 2:09 PM - I contacted a station in Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site (US-0571) in Illinois on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. POTA hunter count: 564.
09-05-2025 - 5:15 AM - Good Morning! It's Friday, and that means different things to different people. I quit watching sports, cold turkey, as they say, a week ago. My mind seems so rested. The only social media account I had was X, formerly known as Twitter. A few days ago it was suspended over what X called "inauthentic content." The only thing they could mean is me calling myself Omar from OMARC, the One-Man Amateur Radio Club. Don't I have a right to start a new radio club? It was all in fun. Anyway, X did me a favor. Now I'm not exposed to all the poilitical, and other, bickering that gets thrown up in your face. My mind is now even more at ease. Thank you, X! My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
09-05-2025 - 5:35 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 93. Southwest wind 9 to 13 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 60. North northeast wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation.
09-05-2025 - 5:40 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
09-05-2025 - 5:45 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 92.0% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 95.2%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 96.0% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (93.6%) to determine drought stage.
09-05-2025 - 5:50 AM - ERCOT (Texas) snapshot of grid conditions - ERCOT reports that conditions are normal and there is enough power for current demand with an operating reserve of 14,175 Megawatts.
09-05-2025 - 7:00 AM - WFISD school buses (152.360 MHz) and BNSF Railroad (160.920 MHz) are active this morning. Tune in with your scanner radio.
09-05-2025 - 7:15 AM - In the 1970s, and probably earlier, a candy and gum stand was located on the north end of the first-floor lobby of the downtown Post Office. It was operated by a man who was blind. I can’t remember his name. These days, someone would rob him, blind or not.
09-05-2025 - 7:55 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring – September 4-5, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant events
Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Weather – Tennessee and Ohio Valleys
• Fire Weather – Pacific Northwest and Northern Intermountain
• Tropical Activity
Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1 (AL91): High (90%)
Central and Eastern Pacific:
• Post-Tropical Cyclone Lorena
• Hurricane Kiko (CAT-3)
• Disturbance 1: Low (20%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• Request: Major Disaster Declaration – ND
Event Monitoring:
• No new significant events
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09-05-2025 - 8:25 AM - Can you believe that in the early 1980s, there was a gun show at Sikes Senter Mall? I walked into the mall one Saturday, and there were gun-loaded tables scattered about the concourse. I'm not sure if that was the only event ever held back then, but I bet you'll never see it happen these days!
09-05-2025 - 8:40 AM - In the early 1980s, Fuddruckers (burgers) appeared on the northwest corner of Kemp & Call Field. They didn't last very long. They said Wichita Falls wasn't quite ready for their type of restaurant. I took that as a compliment, but I'm sure many others did not. With Pat's, Ronnie's, and Willie's, who needs a Fuddruckers? About a decade later, I saw a letter in the “Letters to the Editor” section of our local newspaper, saying that getting an In-N-Out Burger would really put us on the map. Are we in such a sad ---ondition that we need a burger joint to put us on the map? Don’t answer that!
09-05-2025 - 10:30 AM - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Economics Daily - Employment of wind turbine service technicians expected to increase 49.9 percent by 2034 - The U.S. economy is projected to add 5.2 million jobs from 2024 to 2034. Total employment is projected to increase to 175.2 million and grow 3.1 percent, which is slower than the 13.0-percent growth recorded over the 2014–24 decade. The fastest growing occupations over the 2024–34 decade are projected to be wind turbine service technicians and solar photovoltaic installers. Although fast growing, the two occupations combined will add fewer than 20,000 new jobs. The repair and maintenance of wind turbines is expected to drive demand for wind turbine service technicians. More new solar panels will lead to the need for more solar photovoltaic installers. Several healthcare occupations also expect rapid growth over the next ten years, including nurse practitioners (+40.1 percent), physical therapist assistants (+22.0 percent), and physician assistants (+20.4 percent). These data are from the Employment Projections program.
09-05-2025 - 1:00 PM - I heard two local Amateur (ham) Radio guys chatting. It all sounded normal until I checked my radio and scanner. One ham was talking on 146.520 MHz simplex, and the other was on the 147.140 MHz repeater. Both must have had their radios on "scan" because neither noticed the mix-up until near the end of their contact.
09-05-2025 - 1:30 PM - I'm a little confused. The Wichita Falls Independent School district now has 22 schools. Why do I hear bus route numbers from #1 to over #200? Someone explain that to me.
09-05-2025 - 1:40 PM - In the 1977 Wichita Falls City Directory, a business named "CB Shop" was located at 2417A 10th Street.
09-05-2025 - 2:00 PM - A local Amateur (ham) Radio operator, now a Silent Key*, configured the burglar alarm in his business to send a signal to his home via an unused Amateur (ham) Radio two-meter frequency. I'm not sure if it ever activated other than for testing purposes. *Deceased.
09-05-2025 - 2:15 PM - From the U.S. Federal Trade Commission - Whaleco, Inc., which operates the online marketplace Temu, will pay $2 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that it violated the INFORM Consumers Act of 2023, by failing to provide consumers with required information and tools to help them avoid and report stolen, counterfeit, or unsafe goods while shopping online.
09-04-2025 - 5:15 AM - Good Morning! It's Thursday, and we're in for a mini-heatwave today. I say mini because you know it can be a lot hotter! I have nothing scheduled for today other than playing on the radio and writing in this journal. So, that's exactly what I'm going to do. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
09-04-2025 - 5:30 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny and hot, with a high near 97. South southwest wind around 6 mph becoming west northwest in the morning. Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 77. South southeast wind 6 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.