🍩 A Shark Tank-Backed Donut Chain Just Landed at Grogan's Mill

🏛️ Conroe Just Passed a Budget That's $4.3 Million in the Red on Purpose

🎓 Lone Star College Will Now Pay Its Own Teachers-in-Training

👕 A Homegrown Teen Resale Shop Opens Where Its Owner Grew Up

💆 The Conroe Spa Treatment That Starts Inside Your Mouth

🌤️ Partly Cloudy with Isolated Storms · 92°F / 78°F

Warm and mostly comfortable for a September day, good one for being outside.

Source: Vaisala Xweather

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Yonutz Donuts and Ice Cream held its grand opening Sept. 14 at Grogan's Mill Village Center, the latest tenant to move into 7 Switchbud Place. Franchise owner Staci Loftus is bringing the chain's Smashed Donut, a doughnut cut in half, packed with ice cream, hot-pressed and topped, along with milkshakes and a rotating lineup of toppings.

"We can't wait to share our fun, exciting and delicious dessert options, especially our Smashed Donuts and milkshakes with The Woodlands community," Loftus said.

Yonutz got its start in South Florida in 2018 and built its name on the Smashed Donut, going on to win the brand's Dessert Wars title in both 2019 and 2020 and partnering with Kevin Harrington, the original Shark Tank investor, to franchise the concept nationwide. The Woodlands location joins a small but growing Houston-area footprint that already includes a shop in Kingwood.

Why it matters: it's one more small business betting on Grogan's Mill, whichever way you slice it a vote of confidence in the oldest shopping center in The Woodlands.

Source/Credits: Community Impact · Yonutz

The Conroe City Council adopted a $389.9 million budget for the coming year in a 4-2 vote on Sept. 10, a modest increase over the current $381 million budget. The plan includes a $4.3 million deficit, covered by pulling from the city's cash reserves rather than raising taxes.

The property tax rate holds steady at 42.72 cents per $100 of valuation. Councilman David Hairel framed the shortfall as a choice, not a shortage: "We really aren't short money; we are just allocating reserves for things we need," he said, pointing to the capital improvement projects the reserve funds are covering.

The budget also sets aside $11.3 million in contingency funds for the year ahead.

Why it matters: a city spending down its savings to build rather than raising the tax bill to do it is a specific bet, worth knowing which one your hometown just made.

Source/Credits: The Courier · Community Impact

Lone Star College System has partnered with iEducate to put students working toward an Associate of Arts in Teaching into paid instructional jobs, posted through the college's Handshake career portal, starting this academic year.

The program does double duty: real classroom experience while students are still in school, aimed at improving how many actually finish the degree and stick with teaching afterward. iEducate plans to employ up to 20 of those students in year one, growing to 50 in year two and as many as 100 in year three, depending on demand and funding.

Students without an education degree yet have other doors open too. LSCS also offers a Bachelor of Science in Applied Science in Early Childhood Education and Teaching, and an Alternative Teacher Certification Program for anyone who already holds a bachelor's degree in something else.

Why it matters: Texas's teacher shortage shows up in families' lives as bigger classes and midyear turnover, and paying people to practice before they're running the room on their own is a real shot at fixing that from the ground up.

Source/Credits: Woodlands Online

Plato's Closet, the national teen and young-adult resale chain, opens its doors in Conroe on Sept. 17 at 1108 W. Dallas Street. The store buys and sells gently used clothing, shoes and accessories, part of the Winmark resale family, at up to 70% off retail.

For owner Joseph Brassard, this one is personal. He grew up in Conroe, got into the business while studying business management in college and working at his parents' Plato's Closet in Oklahoma City, then managed that store about two years before deciding to bring one home. "Coming back to Conroe and opening a Plato's Closet in the community where I was raised is incredibly meaningful to me," he said.

The grand opening runs through the weekend with daily giveaways and product releases. Customers can also sell their own gently used clothes for cash on the spot, no appointment required.

Why it matters: it's an easy story to root for, someone who left Conroe to learn a trade coming back to open a shop for the town that raised him.

Source/Credits: Hello Woodlands

Sophie Galindo runs Galindo Aesthetics, a boutique spa off FM 1488 in Conroe built around a bigger idea than the usual facial menu. "We're not just a regular facial spa," she says. "We care deeply about your life, your routines, your stress, your workload, how you're unwinding."

The signature offering is the buccal release, a combination of lymphatic massage, fascia release and buccal massage that works inside the mouth to release tension in the facial muscles. Sophie built it around TMJ, jaw clenching and the tension people carry in their face and neck without realizing it, and it's the treatment clients ask to rebook before they've even left the chair.

Sophie has learned the treatment works best when clients arrive already calm, so she coaches them ahead of time to skip the caffeine and settle in before their appointment. She generally recommends coming back every three to four weeks, though clients with severe jaw tension can come weekly until the deeper layers of tension ease.

Why it matters: it's a reminder that real relaxation sometimes means going somewhere you'd never think to look, in this case, inside your own mouth.

🗓️ Fall Concert Series: Danny Ray & Atlantic Street Band | Market Street | 6:00–8:30 PM | Free | More info

🗓️ Gabby's Dollhouse MEOWseum Discovery Days (through Sat, Sept 19) | The Woodlands Children's Museum | Tue–Fri 9:30 AM–4 PM, Sat 10 AM–5 PM | $10 | More info

🗓️ Starlight Swan Ride | Riva Row Boat House | 7:30 PM & 9:00 PM | $45 per boat | More info

🗓️ Moonlight Paddle | Riva Row Boat House | 8:30 PM | Pricing varies | More info

🗓️ The Woodlands Farmers Market | Grogan's Mill Village Center | 9 AM–Noon | Free | More info

🗓️ Movies on the Lawn: Dora and The Lost City of Gold | The Woodlands Mall | 7 PM | Free | More info

🗓️ Concert in the Park: Texas Sundown Band | Northshore Park | 5:30–7:30 PM | Free | More info

🗓️ Shadowbend YMCA 40th Anniversary Celebration | Shadowbend YMCA | 5:30–7:30 PM | Free | More info

Note: Dates and times are as announced online. Organizers may make changes. Always confirm before heading out.

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