Day of Mourning

President Barack Obama joins crowd of mourners at West memorial service

Thousands of people gathered at Baylor University's Ferrell Center in Waco to remember 12 people who died fighting a devastating fertilizer plant fire on April 17. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended the service, flying in from the morning dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at SMU.

"We are here to say you are not alone. You are not forgotten. We may not all live here in Texas, but we’re neighbors too. We’re Americans too," Obama said to great applause. He then added, "We’ll be there even after the cameras leave."

"We may not all live here in Texas, but we’re neighbors too. We’re Americans too," President Obama said.

The victims honored at the April 25 memorial were Morris Bridges, 41; Perry Calvin, 37; Jerry Chapman, 26; Cody Dragoo, 50; Kenneth Harris, 52; Jimmy Matus, 52; Joey Pustejovsky, 29; Cyrus Reed, 29; Kevin Sanders, 33; Doug Snokhaus, 50; Robert Snokhaus, 48; and William "Buck" Uptmor Jr., 45.

The Waco Tribune-Herald reports that "honorary firefighters" Matus and Uptmor joined the flag-draped caskets of 10 firefighters for a total of 12 memorial honorees.

Baylor president Kenneth Starr, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Gov. Rick Perry all spoke at the service, praising the bravery and selflessness of the men who lost their lives.

"First responders know better than anyone that there is no such thing as a routine emergency," Perry said. "We will never forget what happened here, nor forget the sacrifices of those who first responded."

Each of the families offered heartfelt video tributes to the departed. They told stories about their everyday lives, from first jobs at ice cream shops to a love of riding horses and going fishing, as well as their selfless service to others.

Morris Bridges lost his life fighting the fertilizer plant fire. His wife says before leaving to fight the fire, Bridges picked up his 2-year-old son and said, "Daddy loves you, and I’ll be right back."

"God is bigger than all of this, and he’s here with you in West," President Barack Obama said.

West, Texas, memorial service April 2013 Barack Obama

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"God is bigger than all of this, and he’s here with you in West," President Barack Obama said.

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happy go lucky plano

Dallas neighbor dazzles on new list of happiest cities in America

Photo courtesy of Visit Plano

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A new happiness study has ranked Plano one of the happiest cities in America this year, and it once again landed on top as the happiest city in Texas.

Plano has moved up on the list and ranks as the 16th happiest U.S. city in 2026. Last year, it was 17th.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Plano across the three key dimensions:

No. 15 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 22 – Community and environment
No. 72 – Income and employment

Plano and its residents have continued improving their city year after year, whether its through opening new bakeries and restaurants, inviting fun pop-ups for locals, or having a strong job market.

Plano's happiness far outshines the rest of North Texas; according to WalletHub, Irving is the 70th happiest city in the country, the third-happiest in Texas, and the second-happiest city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Garland ranked farther behind as No. 92 nationally, and more DFW cities ranked even lower: Grand Prairie (No. 106), Dallas (No. 111), Fort Worth (No. 113), and Arlington (No. 119).

The report additionally found that Dallasites spend the third-most amount of time at work in the nation. The city ranked No. 180 in the national analysis of U.S. cities with the "fewest work hours."

WalletHub also emphasized that money doesn't buy happiness — after a certain point.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Six-figure earners in Plano aren't necessarily as happy as those who don't make as much, as a separate financial study from SmartAsset revealed these big earners are only taking home about $72,653 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 39 – Austin
No. 128 – Houston
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

wallethub plano reports