Unfurling accolades

Nature-loving North Texas city flourishes as Money’s No. 4 best place to live in 2021

Flower Mound is known for its outdoorsy offerings in places like Stone Creek Park.

Facebook/Flower Mound Parks and Recreation

The North Texas city of Flower Mound is enjoying a blossoming reputation.

Money magazine awards Flower Mound the No. 4 spot on its new list of the 50 best places to live in the U.S. Just one other DFW community appears on the list: No. 19 Frisco.

The only other Texas city to make it is No. 25 Round Rock. Chanhassen, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, lands in the No. 1 spot this year.

Flower Mound bumped Rockwall from the fourth-place perch it earned last year. Money says that to “keep the list interesting,” it disqualified the top five finishers from 2020, including Rockwall.

“Locals say Flower Mound still has a small-town feel, but it’s growing quickly. The city saw the highest job growth of any place on our list over the last five years. It also comes in second for the highest projected job growth over the next five, just after Round Rock down near Austin,” according to Money.

The publication highlights Flower Mound’s:

Recreational activities such as camping, boating, hiking, and horseback riding.
Annual Fourth of July bash.
Location near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
100 percent graduation rate at Flower Mound High School.
New campus of Midwestern State University.

And about the name itself, "Flower Mound," Money writes, "According to town legend, in the mid-1800s in what is now Texas, settlers came across a hill covered in an unusually large number of wildflowers and aptly named it The Flower Mound. Now, 150 years later, more than 175 types of wildflowers, plants and grasses have been identified on the mound, and the area surrounding the hill is a thriving Dallas suburb..."

For the list, Money considered communities with populations ranging from 25,000 to 500,000. Flower Mound is home to about 76,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The magazine then narrowed the list to 50 towns or cities based on factors such as:

Crime rate.
Median income.
Population growth.
Diversity.
Cost of living.
Economic opportunity.
Education.
Amenities.
Health and safety.
Housing market.
Quality of life.

"Flo Mo," as it's affectionately known, is no stranger to making lists. In 2019, it topped Chamber of Commerce's list of best places to live in Texas; came in No. 4 on Apartment List's ranking of best cities for young families; and nabbed SafeHome.org's title as the safest city in Texas.

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Police News

Fort Worth police officer fired for unjustified use of force

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A Fort Worth police officer has been terminated following his involvement in a use of force incident. According to a release, Officer Matthew Krueger was let go on December 18, following an investigation into an incident involving someone who was videotaping his actions while he was on duty.

On Sunday, June 23, Fort Worth police officers responded to a hit-and-run collision near 1000 Foch St. The incident involved a suspected intoxicated driver who crashed into another vehicle and a structure before fleeing the scene on foot.

While officers were investigating, a woman approached them and used her cell phone to record their actions. Krueger asked and advised her multiple times to move across the street. When she failed to comply, she was placed under arrest.

During the arrest, Krueger used force to take the woman into custody, resulting in injuries that required medical care at an area hospital.

After being treated, the woman was released from the hospital, booked into jail, and charged with interference with public duties, resisting arrest and/or detention, evading arrest, and making a false alarm or report.

Krueger had been with the department for just under eight years and was assigned to the Patrol Bureau at the time of the incident.

The Fort Worth Police Major Case and Internal Affairs Units began immediate and congruent investigations. Krueger was transferred from Patrol to a unit with no public interaction, pending the outcome of the investigation.

After a review of the Internal Affairs investigation, Krueger’s chain of command determined that the level of force used was unjustified and violated departmental policy. Police Chief Neil Noakes concurred and terminated Krueger’s employment.

politics