Innovations in media: Kerr County Lead

Relentlessly creative is how I describe Louis Amestoy, my former compadre at The Bakersfield Californian. Louis is passionate about local media and is constantly unearthing new ways to serve readers and advertisers in new ways. 

Over the past two decades, he’s been a leader in leveraging live video of all kinds into other content streams. A recent example of this comes via the Kerr County Lead, the 5-year-old digital-first media company he founded and operates in Kerrville, Texas. 

Amestoy is a multimedia master who hosts an hour-long livestreamed video show on Facebook every weekday morning in addition to producing a wide variety of stories, photos and video for his robust community-news site. 

Of particular note for me was Amestoy’s production of a glossy 160-page, perfect-bound “2025 in Review” magazine featuring a variety of original content, but with a primary focus on the tragic flooding in Kerr County that killed 119 people on July 4. The issue — with the overarching cover headline “Our duty is simple: Remember” — is dominated by a hard-hitting analysis of the flood and its aftermath, and a celebration of those who lost their lives. But other content spotlights the many positive things that occurred in the market during 2025. Amid the tragedy,

Click to read more ...

Back in the saddle

As anyone who’s visited my site more than once in recent years knows, fresh posts have been few and far between. 

I've been retired for four years, but remain as busy as ever, volunteering for several non-profits, serving on two local boards and tackling personal projects. Those passion projects include more writing, specifically a book project I’ll share more about soon. 

A decade ago, I was posting here nearly every day. But my career got especially busy, and fun diversions like “My Spew” and “My Distractions” quickly became low priorities, then strangers.

I’d like to change that, not only because writing is empowering, but because my site appears dead. My Marchbanks Speedway/Hanford Motor Speedway content continues to draw daily readers even though the bulk of that content is 15 years old. 

So, rather than starting a Substack or BeeHiv like everyone else, I’ll continue to tinker here. And I said in my first post nearly two decades ago, I consider this site an experiment. It’s in dire need of fresh paint — Elon bounced me from Twitter several years ago, and I haven’t locked into Flickr for ages, so I need to ditch those page elements — but for now, I’ll start with writing more frequently and take it from there. 

Cheers! 

Getting into the balloon-festival business

Balloons hover near Bald Eagle Lake in Steamboat Springs in 2018I've been in the local-media business a long time and have gotten my hands into a wide variety of initiatives. And while I've managed events, I've never taken on something of the scope of a hot-air balloon festival. Well, that time has come. 

The Steamboat Springs Chamber of Commerce has handed management of the long-running Steamboat balloon event over the Steamboat Pilot & Today. We're thrilled to be entrusted to take over an iconic event that has brought tens of thousands of visitors to Steamboat over the last 37 years. 

This year's event will be July 13-14, and will feature early morning launches Saturday and Sunday and a Saturday evening "Night Glow" in which the hot-air balloon launches don't lift off but instead deliver a light show as night falls. 

I shadowed chamber staff during the 2018 Hot Air Balloon Rodeo to learn the ropes of putting on the event, and also attended the Soaring above Bald Eagle Lake at the 2018 Steamboat balloon event.much larger Labor Day Liftoff in Colorado Springs to pick up some other ideas. 

There are many things that work well with the Steamboat event, so we plan to protect what's working. One thing we will change is to rename the event the Steamboat Springs Hot Air Balloon Festival.  We will still offer competitions for the balloon pilots -- that's where the Rodeo term comes from -- but want to accentuate the full complement of activities visitors can enjoy while at the three balloon events. 

There is much planning to be done in the coming months, so stay tuned as we move forward. But be sure to block out July 13-14 on your calendars.