I received an email from Chris Blake from NewsRadio 1080 KRLD in Dallas asking if I would talk about Muleshoe on his podcast “Texas Wants to Know.”

Well, of course, I told him I would be delighted to visit with him about all things Muleshoe. The focus of the segment Muleshoe will be featured in is about Texas towns with unusual names. Turns out Muleshoe and Gun Barrel City are the two that will be highlighted.

Gun Barrel City is in Northeast Texas and is slightly larger than Muleshoe, our 5,000+ compared to their 6,000+ which balloons during boating and fishing season since the city is located on the banks of the Cedar Creek Reservoir and draws visitors from the Dallas area. Just like Muleshoe, Gun Barrel City has a story that goes with its name, but I should let you discover that when you listen to the podcast.

Chris called me last week, and we did talk about how Muleshoe got its name, along with how I got into writing about Muleshoe, the sandhill cranes and the wildlife refuge, and our agricultural-based  economy. He was also curious about Lincoln Riley and how his football coaching career had affected the town. We talked at length about what makes Muleshoe special and how we fit into the state at large. He let me ramble on at this point while I mentioned Ol’ Pete, the Heritage Center, several of our prominent citizens, and the belief by some that Muleshoe is the center of the universe because it always elicits connections when mentioned in conversations with people from somewhere else in Texas.  Now, how much of my rambling will make the edits for the final podcast is anyone’s guess. He will be talking to someone from the other town, too, ya know, and they get their turn, too.

So even with some of my comments being edited out, this will be one more way for Muleshoe to be put on the map, another chance at our fifteen minutes of fame, if you will.

I have been told that 1080 AM won’t reach us, but it can be streamed on the Internet. The podcast will first be broadcast on June 15 at 5 a.m.! It doesn’t air on the radio, so you need to go to the podcasts link on your computer or phone and listen to it specifically. It can be listened to then or anytime after that at this link:

https://www.audacy.com/podcast/texas-wants-to-know-6d1ab

If you lose this link, simply google KRLD News Radio and click on Podcasts, look for “Texas Wants to Know,”  and you should see the one about unusual Texas town names listed. Click on that, and away you go.

This was my first introduction to podcasts, so it has been a learning experience for me. Always good to learn more about things in this world run by computers. I was glad to have the opportunity to be exposed to them. And it was fun talking about Muleshoe.

You may or may not agree with anything I said about Muleshoe for the podcast, but I do think you will agree that having the spotlight on Muleshoe through this well-known radio station is a compliment to the town.

What a deal!

Thanks to LeAnn Gallman and Gil Rennels for their help with this story. Thanks to KRLD’s Chris Blake and Savannah Jones for their help with the technical details about podcasts.  I also researched in Bailey County : Tales and Trails, the first 70 years , for some of my information.