The Stand Up Desk
June 21, 2023
Meet Executive Editor Michael Hall: Rock Star, Award-Winning Journalist, and a New Documentary’s Leading Man
Decades of his dogged reporting are receiving well-deserved recognition.
Mineola
Latest
1-28 of 28 Articles
Film & TV
May 23, 2023
‘How to Create a Sex Scandal’: What You Need to Know About the New Docuseries
The Max docuseries debuting today sheds new light on my reporting for Texas Monthly.
Texas Country Reporter
March 16, 2023
Farmhouse Fried Pies: Easily Overlooked, but Not to Be Missed
The best secret in Mineola can be found at the back of a downtown mercantile where Shelia Parker serves hot, homemade fried pies.
Politics & Policy
February 28, 2023
Linda Coffee Argued Roe v. Wade. Now She’s Auctioning Off Her Archive.
A conversation on abortion rights with the Dallas lawyer whose argument against Texas’s abortion law changed the course of history.
White Hats
December 6, 2022
White Hats, Episode 5: Bias Toward Action
How does the Texas Rangers’ legacy as frontier lawmen affect the men and women who wear the badge today?
Texas Country Reporter
July 8, 2022
Mineola Was Home to the Oldest Female Barber in Texas
Getting a haircut in a small town used to be a story-finding strategy for Texas Country Reporter, but the tale of Blanche Harris is one of my favorites.
BBQ Joint Reviews
August 1, 2019
CowBurners BBQ & Taproom Brings ‘Rib Candy’ and Craft Beer to Mineola
And see if you can guess the mysterious, meaty ingredient in the joint’s special-recipe potato salad.
News & Politics
March 20, 2019
A Third Accuser in Mineola Child Sex Abuse Case Recants
Carly Mayo, eighteen, is now back in Tyler and living with her mom as she reckons with her past.
True Crime
February 21, 2018
The Girl Who Told the Truth
A decade ago, Gabby Sones accused her parents and five others of running the most depraved child sex ring in Texas history. Now she’s ready to clear their names.
Music
February 21, 2018
Kacey Musgraves Has a Surprise for Nashville
The country music provocateur and East Texas native talks growing up, ”getting weird” onstage, and taking risks with her new album.
Travel & Outdoors
March 25, 2016
Texas’s Best Wellness Retreats
Where to go for a little spring-cleaning.
Travel & Outdoors
March 10, 2016
The Ultimate Texas Road Trip
And the apps to download before you go.
Travel & Outdoors
September 25, 2015
Six Must-Attend Events: September 25-October 2
The state's top offerings, from the start of the famed State Fair of Texas in Dallas to the beginning of amazing Antiques Week in Round Top.
BBQ Joint Reviews
May 20, 2014
Mack’s Split Rail Bar-B-Que
In Wyatt McSpadden’s book Texas BBQ from 2009 there are two evocative early-morning photos of the tall smokestack at Mack’s Split Rail Bar-B-Que in Mineola. Other than these photos, I hadn’t seen or heard much about the place and wondered if maybe it had closed. On a trip to Tyler
The Daily Post
November 19, 2013
The San Antonio 4 Are Finally Free
Four women spent more than thirteen years in prison because of bad science and scurrilous tales told by children who had been coached by an adult. They’re free now, but who else is sitting behind bars based on these types of false accusations?
News & Politics
November 10, 2013
Foster Mother Whose Children Testified in the “Mineola Swingers Club” Case Now Accused of Abuse
Eight years ago Margie Cantrell pushed law enforcement to investigate allegations of abuse by a group of adults in Mineola. Seven people were convicted of child sexual abuse, and the scandal rocked East Texas. Now, two of those same children are alleging Cantrell physically abused them.
News & Politics
June 1, 2011
An Absolute Honest-to-God Texas Frame-up
The “Mineola Swingers Club” cases come to a disgraceful end.
News & Politics
September 1, 2010
Trial and Error
The wheels of justice (or injustice) continue to turn in the shockingly bizarre Mineola swingers club case.
News & Politics
July 15, 2010
The Verdict
Another defendant in the Mineola child sex ring crimes is found guilty.
News & Politics
June 18, 2010
Reversal of Misfortune
New trials for two of the Mineola Swinger's Club defendants.
News & Politics
April 1, 2010
When DAs Attack!
The Mineola child sex ring scandal keeps getting weirder.
News & Politics
August 1, 2009
Sex, Lies, and Videotapes
The Texas attorney general takes a second look at the Mineola child sex ring cases.
News & Politics
June 30, 2009
Searching for Truth
Investigators and social workers in the Mineola Swingers Club cases have admitted that there was plenty of evidence that never made it into the first three trials that resulted in three life sentences. Will it make a difference?
News & Politics
April 1, 2009
Hysteria
When adults are accused of unthinkable crimes against children, what’s fact and what’s fiction can get lost in translation.
True Crime
April 1, 2009
Across the Line
Was the quaint East Texas town of Mineola home to a horrific child sex ring? Were the three people sent to prison last year for running it guilty? Was justice served? Depends on which district attorney you ask.