News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Texas Is A Pretty Good Place To Start Your Career, Survey Says

Jimmy Emerson
/
flickr.com/photos/auvet/
Texas is a good place to start a career. That’s according to WalletHub, the personal finance social network.";

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Texas is a good place to start a career; the Van tornado caused $40 million in damage; Mama the elephant has died at the Dallas Zoo; and more.

Texas is a good place to start a career. That’s according to WalletHub, the personal finance social network. Many Texas cities scored well on WalletHub’s “Best & Worst Cities to Start a Career.”

Irving ranked No. 1; Grand Prairie ranked No. 2; Austin was No. 3. Houston, Corpus Christi and Fort Worth all made the top 10. Arlington was No. 11 and Dallas was No. 14.

WalletHub looked at the 150 largest U.S. cities and considered 19 key metrics, including income growth rate, workforce diversity and quality of life. Houston had the highest starting salary, when adjusted for the cost of living, while Arlington ranked No. 2. Plano had the cheapest housing.  

Inc. reports: “WalletHub spokeswoman Jill Gonzalez attributes Texas' strong rankings to the fact that it boasts a high number of entry-level jobs that span multiple different industries.”

Explore WalletHub's map to compare cities across the country:

  • An emergency official says a deadly tornado that blasted an East Texas town left behind about $40 million in damage. Van Zandt County emergency management coordinator Chuck Allen provided the damage estimate as recovery continues from Sunday's twister in Van. Hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed in the violent weather that killed a husband and wife. More than 40 other people were hurt, with two still hospitalized Thursday in critical condition. A boil water order remained in effect Thursday for Van, a town of about 2,600 people located 70 miles southeast of Dallas. Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster says a resource center opened Thursday with representatives from government agencies and volunteers offering help. Foster says 18 people remained at a shelter at First Baptist Church. [Associated Press]

  • Mama, an African elephant at the Dallas Zoo since 2010, has died. She died Wednesday due to age-related health conditions, the zoo announced. She was 45 and the oldest of the zoo’s five-member geriatric female herd, dubbed the “Golden Girls.” Mama was one of the 10 oldest elephants in the country, the zoo says. Read more here – and see a video the zoo made in honor of Mama.

  • The Amazing Race, the popular CBS show that sends contestants around the world, wraps up its season finale tonight – in Dallas. Here’s what CBS says: “Monster Truck Heroes – Everything is bigger in Texas, including The Amazing Race season finale! With the $1 million dollar prize on the line, the final four teams race from Peru to Dallas, where they go to great heights at the top of AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, join a Texas cattle ranch and rappel 500 feet down the Reunion Tower.” The show airs at 7 p.m. on KTVT (CBS 11).

  • The Via Dolorosa Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Biblical Art is opening. There’s a ribbon-cutting ceremony tonight at 5 and a dedication at 11 a.m. Saturday. The museum is at 7500 Park Lane in Dallas. The museum passes along these details: “The Via Dolorosa is a Mediterranean-style garden featuring 18 life-sized bronze sculptures, the largest outdoor installation of bronze in the world, by the late artist Gib Singleton of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The installation includes the traditional 14 stages of the ‘Way of the Cross’ commemorating the last hours of Christ’s life and death. In addition, Singleton’s ‘Redemption’ depicting the resurrected Christ and ‘The Legend of the Dogwood’ are exhibited towards the end of the pathway." Learn more here.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.