This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso. 

UTEP Breaks Admission Record; EPCC Sees 4% Enrollment Bump 

A record 27,368 students enrolled at the University of Texas at El Paso for fall 2026 classes – a 4.1% increase over last year, which was the institution’s previous record with 26,297 students. That was a 5% bump over the previous year.

The university also reported a fifth consecutive year of record admission of first-time-in-college students. The 4,695 first-time students is a 4.3% increase over last year. That category, online opportunities – especially for graduate students – and student persistence, or continued enrollment from year to year, are among the reasons for UTEP’s enrollment success, according to a university news release. It also noted additional academic advising and many financial aid options as causes for rising admission numbers.

READ MORE: Texas Legislature to consider funding formula that rewards student persistence and degrees tied to earnings

Additionally, UTEP noted enrollment increases among graduate and doctoral students, as well as undergraduates in the colleges of Nursing, Health Sciences, the Miguel A. Loya College of Engineering and the Woody L. Hunt College of Business.

El Paso Community College also experienced an increase in student admission this fall. The institution reported a fall 2026 enrollment of 26,745 students, which is a 4.4% increase over last year.

LEARN MORE: El Paso’s early college experiment turns 20 — and dual credit is still growing

The college stated that 43.2% of those registered, or 11,547, were high school students enrolled in dual credit or early college high school programs. This continues an upward trend since fall 2023 when 36.3% of enrollment was high school students taking dual credit courses.

EPCC’s peak enrollment was 40,798 students in 2011.   

The official number of students is made at the end of Census Day, which was Sept. 9 for UTEP and EPCC. Both institutions started their fall semesters Aug. 24.

Texas Tech Health El Paso’s schools of Nursing, Medicine, Dental Medicine and Biomedical Sciences have staggered fall start dates through early September. The university usually reports its fall enrollment in October.

El Paso County officials break ground for the Office of the Medical Examiner on the far Eastside, Sept. 15, 2026. (Courtesy El Paso County)El Paso County Breaks Ground on Medical Examiner’s Office

El Paso County officials broke ground Tuesday at the site of the future Office of the Medical Examiner in far East El Paso.

The new facility will be built at 3901 State Jail Road and funded with about $27 million in general obligation bonds approved by voters in 2024.

The funding included land acquisition, construction and equipping a new 26,000-square-foot facility. The new campus will also have administrative offices.

The Medical Examiner’s Office investigates sudden, unexpected and suspicious deaths and determines how and why a person died. Services include forensic scene investigation, forensic pathology, morgue services, forensic imaging, forensic odontology, forensic anthropology and forensic toxicology.

The medical examiner has the authority to send investigators to examine the death scene and collect evidence, order toxicology, laboratory and microscopic testing, work with police and other investigative agencies, sign death certificates and authorize cremations and help identify unknown bodies.

Design for the new facility was completed in June with construction set to begin this fall with a tentative completion of 2028.

The current office is located at 4505 Alberta Ave. in Central El Paso.

City Looks to Shift $2.5 Million From First-time Homebuyers to Rental Housing

The city’s Department of Community and Human Development is looking to shift $2.5 million from its first-time homebuyers program to instead expand affordable housing by developing rental housing and is seeking public feedback.

The amendment would be made to the department’s 2019-2023 annual action plans under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s, or HUD, HOME Investment Partnerships Program.

The change will not reduce the overall program funding, but first-time homebuyers would not have access to the program that offers down payment and closing cost assistance. It would allow the city to help develop affordable rental housing identified through the city’s Community Needs Assessment and Strategic Economic Mobility efforts.

The amendment was presented to the City Council on Tuesday.

Written comments on the proposed amendments may be submitted to DCHDFacilities@elpasotexas.gov through 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1.

Information: DCHDFacilities@elpasotexas.gov or 915-212-0138.

Old El Paso Becomes New Sun Bowl Title Sponsor

The Sun Bowl has a new title sponsor, with Old El Paso taking over from Tony the Tiger after a seven-year run.

The Sun Bowl Association announced Thursday that the annual college football game will be known as the Old El Paso Sun Bowl under a one-year sponsorship agreement with the Tex-Mex food brand owned by General Mills.

Old El Paso replaces WK Kellogg Co., whose Frosted Flakes brand had sponsored the game since 2019. The change marks the latest chapter in a sponsorship history dating to 1986, when the Sun Bowl became the first college bowl game to secure a corporate title sponsor. Previous sponsors have included John Hancock, Norwest, Wells Fargo, El Paso-based Helen of Troy and Hyundai.

• RELATED: As college football shifts, the Sun Bowl holds its place

“Now to have someone whose origins are here in El Paso, it could not have been a better match,” Sun Bowl Association Executive Director Bernie Olivas said in a statement.

The sponsorship change comes as the Sun Bowl prepares for its 93rd edition and a period of broader change in college football. The bowl has relied on its conference affiliations, national CBS broadcast and strong local attendance to maintain its place in the postseason as the College Football Playoff and conference landscape have evolved.

For 2026, the Sun Bowl will retain its matchup between an Atlantic Coast Conference team and a Pacific-12 Conference legacy school after bowl organizers kept existing conference tie-ins in place for another season. Discussions over conference alignments and bowl partnerships are expected to resume ahead of 2027.

The Old El Paso Sun Bowl is scheduled for noon Dec. 31 at Sun Bowl Stadium.