Wichita Falls Pundit
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09-07-2025 - 4:00 PM - On a family disturbance call that turned out not to be one, a woman told Wichita Falls police that her husband refused to get off the sofa and do work around the house or look for a job. The man, while supine, told police that his wife didn't understand that most of his work was mental. The officers suggested marriage counseling and departed. See more here!
M-80 Firecrackers and the Mushroom Cloud at the Lake
09-07-2025 - 5:00 PM - Do you remember the Mead's Bakery at 1116 E. Scott (E.Scott at Windthorst Road.) You could smell the bread a mile away sometimes.
09-07-2025 - 6:30 PM - I turned the CB Radio to Channel 23 and found the Local Group on the air. I don't know how long they've been chatting this evening.
09-07-2025 - 7:00 PM - Were you around for the good old days of the Texas "Blue Laws"? Back then (for me, it was the 1960s and 1970s), stores were restricted in what they could sell on consecutive weekend days. If a store sold "anything and everything on Saturday, it couldn't sell much more than food, medicine, and household goods on Sunday. Car dealerships may be open on either Saturday or Sunday, but not both days. Hard liquor could not be sold on Sunday, and that law remains in effect today.
09-06-2025 - 5:05 AM - Good Morning! It's Saturday. Our lakes are slowly draining, and that means we need a little more rain before we head into the frozen months of Winter. The Montague County Simplex Net begins at 9:00 AM on 147.500 MHz. You'll need a good outside antenna to monitor this group. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
09-06-2025 - 5:15 AM - Wichita Falls NWS Forecast - Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7am, then a slight chance of showers between 7am and 10am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 79. North northeast wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. East wind 3 to 7 mph.
09-06-2025 - 5:40 AM - Current National Short Range Weather Forecast
09-06-2025 - 5:45 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 91.7% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 94.7%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 95.9% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (93.2%) to determine drought stage.
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09-06-2025 - 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 10,888 Megawatts.
09-06-2025 - 6:00 AM - Wichita Falls needs an indoor skydiving attraction, also known as a vertical wind tunnel. I'd spend a few bucks reliving my old skydiving days! Besides, we need to be known for something other than a sawed-off skyscraper, a waterfall, and a Crepe Myrtle sculpture! What do you say, Wichita Falls investors?
09-06-2025 - 6:05 AM - The Fort Worth Bureau of Engraving & Printing (Money Factory) makes for a great "day trip". This is one of two locations in the U.S. where paper money is made. (Coins are made at the Mint.) It's located just off U.S. 287, before you reach I-35, so there's no traffic hassle for Wichita Falls visitors. It's located at 9100 Blue Mound Rd in Fort Worth.
09-06-2025 - 6:15 AM - It's time to give the Briggs & Stratton Q6500 generator its regular start-up. Wichita Falls is known for a power glitch or two every year. The Q6500 kept the lights, fridge, & furnace going at the Wichita Falls Pundit HQ during the 15 hrs we were without power during the Big Texas Freeze. You don't have to get a huge "run the whole household" unit. You can get a small unit and rotate through powering different appliances. For example, run a few window air conditioners (or the furnace) for half an hour, then the refrigerator for half an hour, and so on. Even the smallest unit will make a big difference in your "quality of life" when you lose commercial power.
09-06-2025 - 6:45 AM - The CB Radio is getting a good start this morning with signals across the band. As far as I know, some local Amateur (ham) Radio Operators are still meeting informally for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel on I-44. I've also heard talk of the Wichita Amateur Radio Society moving its monthly meetings from the American Red Cross to the Hotter 'N Hell building on Scott Avenue. Let's see how that develops. UPDATE: The latest info I have is that the breakfast meeting has moved back to P3 at Iowa Park Road and Sheppard Access Road. The W.A.R.S. meeting is at the HHH building at 104 Scott Ave. For the "last word on all of this stuff, look up "Wichita Falls Area Hams (Amateur Radio Operators)" and/or "Wichita Amateur Radio Society" on Facebook.
09-06-2025 -7:10 AM - Some weekend Wichita Falls radio scanning targets: Walmart (154.570 MHz), Allred Unit (153.815 MHz), Wichita County Jail (155.520 MHz), State Hospital (154.800 MHz) city transit buses (453.5375 MHz), Wichita Valley Airport (122.800 MHz), Kickapoo Airport (122.700 MHz), Wichita Falls Regional Airport / SAFB (119.750 & 122.950 MHz), and the BNSF Railroad (160.920 MHz). Get more SCANNING TARGETS! here!
09-06-2025 - 7:25 AM - Walmart is usually the only thing I hear on 154.600 MHz, one of the five channels in the Multi-Use Radio Service, but this morning I'm hearing traffic that doesn't sound like Walmart. MURS is license-free and open to all citizens. Tune in with your scanner radio. By the way, 154.600 MHz is usually used by Walmart supervisors, and 154.570 MHz is used storewide.
09-06-2025 - 7:45 AM - I might have mentioned this before, but I'll mention it again. Some of our local Amateur (ham) Radio Operators don't realize how much their VHF-UHF radios amplify background noise such as televisions and other entertainment devices.
09-06-2025 - 8:55 AM - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring – September 5-6, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• Hurricane Kiko (CAT-4) Preparations – Central Pacific
Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Weather/Heavy Rain/Flash Flooding – Mid-Atlantic to Northeast
• Fire Weather – Pacific Northwest and Northern Intermountain
• Tropical Activity
Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1 (AL91): Low (30%)
Central and Eastern Pacific:
• Hurricane Kiko (CAT-4)
• Disturbance 1: Low (20%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• Request: Major Disaster Declaration – NE
Event Monitoring:
• No new significant events
09-06-2025 10:52 AM - I contacted a station in Galveston Island State Park (US-3013) in Texas on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. POTA hunter count: 562.
09-06-2025 11:09 AM - I contacted a station in Finger Lakes State Park (US-1758) in Missouri on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. POTA hunter count: 563.
09-06-2025 - 12:10 PM - Wichitan Army Specialist E-4 Zan Hess was killed in action in Vietnam in 1967. I just happened to see his name in concrete of a curb in the City View area of Wichita Falls. It said, "My Name Is Zan Hess." I don't know if he did it or if someone was trying to frame him. Either way, thank you for your service and sacrifice, Zan.
