SouthPadreInfo.com — Blog
News, stories, and updates.
2026-09-22
October on South Padre Island: Sandcastle Days, Queen Isabella Days Revival & Fall Guide
Your essential October guide to South Padre Island: 38th Annual Sandcastle Days, the 41-year revival of Queen Isabella Days, Ride for Rotary, and monarch migration.
Read more →
2026-09-22
Sea Turtle, Inc. Opens Its New Marine Hospital as the 2026 Nesting Calendar Closes
Sea Turtle, Inc. has opened a new marine hospital it calls the largest enclosed sea turtle hospital in the world — and its published 2026 nesting calendar runs to 282 logged nests.
Read more →
2026-09-22
Place 1 Special Election: Early Voting Is Open, Election Day Is 3 October
Early voting runs 16–29 September and Election Day is Saturday 3 October at the Community Center. Gayle Hood and Rita Hernandez are on the ballot for the Place 1 seat left vacant by the death of Ken Medders.
Read more →
2026-09-22
Sandcastle Days Turns 38, and the Island’s Two Art Trails Keep the Sand Up All Year
The 38th annual Sandcastle Days lands at Clayton’s on 2–4 October 2026 — a World Championship qualifier drawing 30,000+ fans — alongside the island’s 30-piece Sandcastle Trail, 13 turtle sculptures, and launch views from Isla Blanca Park.
Read more →
2026-09-22
State Highway 104: What Is Really on the Books for a Second Causeway — and a $1 Billion Desalination Plant
TxDOT’s South Padre Island Second Access Project is State Highway 104: an 8-mile bridge inside a 17.6-mile corridor, non-tolled, still in environmental study. Separately, RGV-Desal has announced a 50-million-gallon-a-day seawater plant near the Island.
Read more →
2026-09-22
Convention Centre Expansion: Council Chose Option B, and the County Set a Condition on the Trees
The City puts the multi-phase Convention Center renovation and annex at $98 million, growing the building from 92,834 to 188,481 square feet. Council chose Option B on 18 August 2026 — and Cameron County tied its approval to leaving the tree growth at the south end intact.
Read more →