Penelope Rivera
Tarrant County accountability reporterPenelope Rivera is KERA’s Tarrant County accountability reporter. She joined the newsroom in 2024 as an intern before becoming a full-time breaking news reporter. In 2025, she received a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her continuous coverage of North Texas church scandals. Penelope was born and raised in Fort Worth.
In her free time, she enjoys painting, creative writing and trying new local restaurants and coffee shops.
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Tuesday marked the start of jury selection in the trial for nine defendants charged in the July 4 Prairieland shooting. -
Two Democratic candidates and two Republican candidates are on the ballot for next month’s primary election. -
The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the probe Friday. -
The Tarrant County jail has 388 inmates with a federal immigration hold, officials said Tuesday. -
A Dallas County judge on Friday denied requests from two former Gateway Church elders to be dismissed from the lawsuit. -
The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office said both Carlos Romero and Victor Castillo were back in custody as of Tuesday afternoon. The two incidents were not related. -
Tarrant County was dismissed last year from a lawsuit over the death of an inmate, Anthony Johnson, Jr., who died at the Tarrant County Jail in 2024. His family filed an appeal in December to add the county back to the suit. -
During a meeting Tuesday, residents raised concerns over ICE agents coming to FWISD school campuses amid rising fears from the federal agency presence in Minnesota. -
The Tarrant County monument was privately donated by the American History & Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2015 dedicated to “educating and informing the public about American history and heritage.” -
The Cold Case Task Force will work with local police departments to help identify suspects on unsolved homicide cases, Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells said in a press release. -
Tarrant County commissioners approve funding for legal counsel in jail death, redistricting lawsuitsTarrant County commissioners Tuesday approved more than $135,000 in funding for legal counsel in two different lawsuits. -
Lucy Fowlkes is accused of helping delete messages that contained evidence related to the July 4 shooting outside an ICE facility, according to a criminal complaint.
