April 3 News Roundup + Kacie Birkes Interview

By Molly-Jo Tilton,

J.B. Smith

Published April 3, 2026 at 2:25 PM CDT

This week, co-hosts Molly-Jo Tilton and JB Smith talk about a renovation project at the former Estella Maxey Apartments and give a preview of May’s local elections..

Plus, Molly-Jo Tilton will be talking to Kacie Birkes, director of signature events for the Waco Chamber of Commerce about the Texas Food Truck Showdown coming to town next weekend.

And our trivia question this week: The Waco Regional Airpot wasn't always a municipal airport. What was it before? Listen to this week's Friday Forum to find out!

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Friday Forum with The Waco Bridge

Molly-Jo Tilton

Molly-Jo Tilton joined KWBU in 2024 as the station's Multimedia Reporter. She covers all things Waco for KWBU, from City Council to the local arts scene. Her work has appeared on The Texas Standard and NPR's All Things Considered.

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J.B. Smith

Before joining The Waco Bridge in February as editor-in-chief, J.B. Smith had 33 years of Texas journalism experience, most of it as local government reporter and managing editor at the Tribune-Herald. He has won numerous statewide awards for enterprise journalism, including a series on migrant deaths on the Mexico border. A Sulphur Springs native and Southwestern University graduate, he is grateful for the opportunity to build a nonprofit newsroom in his adopted hometown of Waco.

See stories by J.B. Smith