Five stories that have North Texas talking: The number of minority-owned businesses in D-FW exceeds the national rate; a century ago, Bevo didn’t get any respect; did you hear the good news from Blue Bell?; and more.
Dallas-Fort Worth has a higher rate of minority-owned businesses than the national average, an inaugural study from the U.S. Census Bureau found.
The Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs found that 17.5 percent of firms in the U.S. are owned by minorities. In the metroplex, the rate is 23.4 percent. The survey used 2014 (the most recent comprehensive) data.
Excluding businesses with a single worker, there were 5.4 million U.S. firms with paid employees, according to the report. Of those firms, 17.5 percent, or 949,318, were minority-owned.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington region, there were 107,964 businesses with employees: 7,417 were owned by Hispanics and 2,991 were owned by African Americans.
The 2014 data from the entrepreneur survey will supplement the Survey of Business Owners, which is done every five years. Read local reaction from Fort Worth Star-Telegram. [U.S Census Bureau, Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
- The 15th incarnation of the Longhorns mascot will make his debut Sunday during the University of Texas-Notre Dame game. The beloved bovine wasn’t always held in such high esteem, however. In 1916, the first Bevo (bought for $125) was introduced as a nameless steer at the Texas-Texas A&M game. KUT reported: “Months later, in February of 1917, some Aggies ended up breaking into the longhorn's stockyard and branded the steer "13-0," the Aggie's winning score of the football game in the 1915 season.” Legend has it, he was branded again to make 13-0 read BEVO, but that’s still a murky part of the mascot’s origin story. Skipping to the end, Bevo was barbecued at the 1919 season banquet attended by both Longhorns and Aggies alike. [KUT]
- Instagram not only boosts exposure for small-scale artists but also expedites exhibition opportunities. Dallas artist Dan Lam, 28, credits the social media platform for the major support her art has received over the past eight months or so. “[Galleries] reach out to me and they ask to be a part of shows. It’s crazy. Like, you know there’s all these books out with information about how artist can make it or whatever and it doesn’t even touch on how Instagram needs to be a very crucial part of your strategy.”Even celebrities like Miley Cyrus follow her. See Lam’s piece that Cyrus purchased. [Art&Seek]
- Thursday was a big day for hunters: opening day of Dove Season. Apparently, even if Texas has a bad dove season, it’s still going to be better than any other state, according to Shaun Oldenburger, who heads dove-related programs for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. But, he told the Houston Chronicle the 2016-2017 session is looking really good. Texas has more mourning (as many as 35 million) and white-winged doves (around 10 million) than any other state. Texas also has the most people who participate in dove hunting: 400,000. Go figure. Also, here’s a recipe for bacon-wrapped dove that Texas Monthly re-shared Thursday to celebrate. [Houston Chronicle, Texas Monthly]
- There’s a new flavor of Blue Bell ice cream to try. “Camo‘n cream” is a blend of the Brenham-based company’s Pistachio Almond, Milk Chocolate and cream cheese. “We are having a little fun with this flavor,” marketing director Carl Breed said, according to Wide Open Country. “You see the camo design on everything these days, so we thought why not create an ice cream flavor that looks camouflage?” No objections here. The ice cream is now available in limited quantities on Texas grocery store shelves. [Wide Open Country]
