The Bachelor's Texas Ties

Fort Worth-area cowgirl vies for love on new season of The Bachelor

Houston, The Bachelor season 20, December 2015, Maegan from Weatherford TX

Maegan Miller hails from Weatherford.

Break out the popcorn: ABC has announced the lineup of single ladies competing for the heart of The Bachelor, Ben Higgins, when the hit reality show returns January 4, 2016. This season has a Texas bent, with four contestants hailing from the Lone Star State.

Higgins was rejected by Kaitlyn Bristowe on last season’s The Bachelorette, but the 27-year-old Colorado businessman still hopes to find love. Twenty-eight girls are competing to win his heart, including twin sisters, a chicken lover, and a Weatherford cowgirl.

From romantics looking for true love to drama queens looking for trouble, the range of personas promises Monday night thrills. Here's a glimpse of the four Texas contestants on the show, along with a few other interesting singles from across the U.S.

Maegan Miller
Hometown: Weatherford
How does the spunky, small-town cowgirl rope a guy in? "Ass grabbing always works great!" Definitely not timid, the 30-year-old also says, if given the choice to be any animal, she'd be a kangaroo. "They kick ass. Literally."

Joelle "JoJo" Fletcher
Hometown: Dallas
Fletcher, 24, may only be average at cooking, but she boasts skills in other areas. The real estate developer declares her special talent is twisting her tongue into a three-leaf clover.

Olivia Caridi
Hometown: Austin
The 23-year-old news anchor, currently based in Virginia, is hoping Higgins will warm up to her. A fan of cold weather, she is big on hot chocolate, scarves, flannel sweaters, and cuddling.

Lauren Russell
Hometown: Houston
It will take some work for Lauren R. to separate herself from the homogeneous Lauren pack. Could the 26-year-old math teacher be the perfect 10 for Higgins? She names chick-flick The Notebook as one of her all-time favorite movies. She also lists kitten cuddles and popcorn and movies on her to-do list for a typical lazy Saturday night.

The best of the rest
We'll also be keeping an eye on repeat contestants Becca Tilley and Amber James, both eliminated in season 19 by Chris Soules; 22-year-old identical twins Emily and Haley Ferguson; and 26-year-old Tiara Soleim from Redmond, Washington, a “chicken enthusiast.”

For the full list of contestants head to ABC's website.

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Party Is Over

Party City chain to close all stores including 9 in Fort Worth

Party City

A chain of stores where the party is always going on is closing down: Party City will close all of its stores and has initiated layoffs, effective immediately. According to CNN, CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees that Party City has to “commence a winddown process immediately,” and that Friday would be their last day of work for the company.

However, the actual store locations, including those around North Texas, will be open until February 28.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, Party City is largest party goods retailer in the U.S. — the go-to destination for every type of celebration, with more than 700 company-owned and franchise store locations across North America selling home decor, candles, balloons, wrapping paper, tableware, bulk candy, baking supplies, and more.

A typical Party City store ranges in size from 10,000 to 12,000 square feet and carries approximately 30,000 items. Halloween accounts for as much as one-quarter of yearly sales, but they celebrate all seasonal holidays, from New Year's Eve to the Fourth of July to Father's Day to Super Bowl Sunday, and offer a wide array of merchandise for birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, wedding and bridal showers, and baby showers.

Party and costume merchandise has become more competitive in recent years, with companies like the budget-focused Spirit Halloween expanding beyond its Halloween pop-ups into “Spirit Christmas” stores, as well as competition from Amazon and other online retailers.

In 2023, the chain filed for bankruptcy, then emerged with a plan that included transitioning into a privately held company and canceling nearly $1 billion in debt. At that time, there were approximately 800 U.S. stores.

There are 64 stores in Texas, with 9 in the Fort Worth area, as follows:

Arlington
Burleson
Denton
Euless
Fort Worth
Hurst
Lake Worth
Mansfield
Watauga

Dallas-Fort Worth stores have already started sales between 5 and 50 percent off.

holidays closings