1. Montgomery County backs down on proposal to offer $500 stimulus checks to county residents
Published Aug. 24, 2020
On June 1, Montgomery County commissioners unanimously approved a plan to provide $500 stimulus checks to Montgomery County homesteaders for COVID-19 relief, which commissioners said needed final approval by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The plan, which was proposed by Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack, would have used about $65 million of the nearly $105 million the county received in funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
2. Conroe, Montgomery businesses struggle to adapt to ‘new normal’ amid bleak sales
Published March 16, 2020
Days after Montgomery County and the city of Conroe issued disaster declarations banning large gatherings, local businesses and restaurants in Conroe and Montgomery are reporting slumped sales and feelings of uncertainty amid the coronavirus pandemic. In some cases, the effects of the coronavirus have led to more than a 50% decline in sales, and business owners said they are struggling to adapt and attract customers.
3. Montgomery County residents raise concerns over property appraisals during coronavirus outbreak
Published April 27, 2020
The Montgomery County Appraisal District has sent out notices of appraised value for the 2020-21 tax year, and residents are criticizing what they call a “cash grab”—raising values during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
4. PHOTOS: Scenes of Montgomery County as residents deal with stay-at-home order
Published April 3, 2020
Montgomery County roads and places of interest were notably emptier, despite the warming spring weather. The ongoing coronavirus outbreak and Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough's stay-at-home order, effective March 27 through April 30, have replaced residents on the streets of one of the fastest-growing areas in the country with silence.
5. FIRST LOOK: Margaritaville prepares to open Lake Conroe resort
Published June 5, 2020
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville opened its first Texas location in June.
6. Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Que announces opening date in Conroe
Published Sept. 9, 2020
Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Que opened its seventh store in the Greater Houston area Sept. 11 in Conroe.
7. Conroe-based company made unusable COVID-19 test supplies using $10-million FEMA grant
Published July 2, 2020
A Conroe-based manufacturing company awarded a $10.16 million grant in May from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to manufacture COVID-19 testing supplies has since ceased production, leaving behind millions of unusable products and little trace of its existence.
8. Home buyouts underway in Montgomery County
Published June 16, 2020
Following flood events, such as the Tax Day Floods in 2016 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Montgomery County officials have been purchasing homes prone to flooding as part of the county’s home buyout program.
9. Miracle City, a community for Montgomery County’s homeless, breaks ground in Conroe
Published Oct. 8, 2020
Standing on a 5-acre tract of wooded land, officials from Compassion United, a support ministry in Montgomery County, posed for photos with their shovels pressed slightly into the dirt. On the sides of their bright red shovels were the words “Miracle City.” The groundbreaking, which took place Oct. 8 at 350 Foster Drive, Conroe, marked the end of years of planning and praying and the beginning of years of construction, officials said.
10. Protesters convene in downtown Conroe over George Floyd's death
Published June 1, 2020
Protesters peacefully gathered in downtown Conroe on May 31.
