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    RodeoHouston shake-up

    A rodeo first: A painting brings in more bucks than the grand champion steer

    Shelby Hodge
    Mar 15, 2010 | 12:31 pm

    Something funny happened on the way to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo steer auction on Saturday. Maybe the bloody Mary's and milk punches didn't flow freely enough at the steer auction breakfast. Or perhaps it was because Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale, always a big buyer, didn't show.

    Whatever the reason, the Grand Champion steer went for a price so low that the following day the Grand Champion artwork went for more.

    And that is unheard of in RodeoHouston annals.

    The beef sold to high-bidder Paul Somerville, a former rodeo chairman, for a song at $175,000, just over half of the $300,000 top bid made for the Grand Champion in 2009, 2008 and 2007.

    On Sunday at the School Art Auction, Somerville joined with Mimi and Tom Dompier, Joe Van Matre, and Lynda and Jim Wynne in making the winning $190,000 bid on an oil painting titled, "A Piece of Heaven," done by 15-year-old Lamar ISD student Christy Beltz (who also won grand champion artwork honors for the elementary school division in 2006). The cheers that erupted at this record rodeo artwork sale were in stark contrast to the polite applause that greeted sale of the steer.

    But hold on to your horses before you start singing the cowboy blues, says Joel Cowley, RodeoHouston executive director of agricultural programs. The overall take from the steeer auction, he said, is expected to approach the $3.3 million figure that was raised last year. (Totals will not be finalized until the end of the week.) After all, more than $2 million was committed before the first auction gavel fell.

    Cowley pointed to the Reserve Grand Champion that went for $168,000, well over last-year's purchase price of $100,000, though well under the $365,000 paid in 2001. But that year, the Grand Champion went for $600,000, thank you McIngvales.

    As one veteran Steer Auction committee member attempted to explain it, in the previous big-bucks years, the grand champions were purchased by consortiums of wealthy buyers. This year, the winning steer was bought by an individual. But, we ask, where were the consortiums this year?

    Not to worry, counters Cowley. "All of our auctions have been up over last year, which we're very excited about with this uncertain economy." He also pointed out that the champion steer that went for $175,000 is valued at a mere $1,100 on the open market. "Not bad no matter how you look at it," he said.

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    working hard

    Texas clocks in as 7th hardest working state in America for 2026

    Amber Heckler
    Aug 26, 2026 | 10:30 am
    Downtown Austin view of the Texas Capitol building
    Photo by Felipe Vieira on Unsplash
    Texas has ranked among the top 10 for nearly a decade.

    Texans pride themselves on being industrious, and a new report has confirmed Texas as one of the 10 most hardworking states in America in 2026.

    The Lone Star State claimed the No. 7 spot this year in a slight dip from its 2025 ranking, where it appeared in the top five. Texas last ranked 7th in 2024, but the state has consistently appeared among the top 10 for nearly a decade.

    WalletHub determined the rankings after analyzing 10 "direct" and "indirect" work factors across all 50 states, and then graded each metric on a 100-point scale, where a score of 100 signified the "hardest working." Analysts then examined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

    There was only a 10.32-point difference between Texas and South Dakota, who claimed the top spot as America's hardest working state in 2026 with a score of 64.59 out of a possible 100 points.

    Texas ranked 6th nationally in the "direct" work factors category, which examined the following six metrics:

    • The state's average workweek hours.
    • Employment rates.
    • The share of households where no adults work.
    • The share of workers leaving vacation time unused.
    • The share of "engaged" workers — those that are "involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace," as defined by Gallup.
    • The rate of "idle youth" — individuals aged 18-24 who are not currently enrolled in school, not working, and have no degree beyond a high school diploma or GED.

    Texas ties with Louisiana for the second highest average workweek hours nationwide, with Alaska topping the list with the No. 1 longest workweeks in America. Alaska is the only state where workers clock in more than 40 hours per week at their jobs, with WalletHub reporting Alaskans work 41.4 hours on average weekly.

    In the "indirect" work factors category — which encompassed workers' average commute times, the share of workers with multiple jobs, annual volunteer hours per resident, and the average leisure time spent per day — Texas ranked 36th nationwide.

    Here's how WalletHub ranked Texas in three individual metrics:

    • No. 10 – Average commute times
    • No. 20 – Average leisure time spent per day
    • No. 30 – Employment rates

    According to the World Economic Forum, Americans clock in about 1,800 hours at work per year on average, which is 468 more hours per year than workers in Germany. And many are leaving vacation time on the table, WalletHub says.

    "Even when given the chance to take time off, many Americans won’t, as nearly half of workers don't expect to use all of their allotted vacation days," the report said. "It is possible to work hard without overdoing it, though. Hard work is key to success, and the residents of some states understand that better than others."

    Hardest-Working States in America

    Source: WalletHub

    The top 10 hardest working states in America in 2026 are:

    • No. 1 – South Dakota
    • No. 2 – North Dakota
    • No. 3 – Alaska
    • No. 4 – Hawaii
    • No. 5 – Wyoming
    • No. 6 – Nebraska
    • No. 7 – Texas
    • No. 8 – New Hampshire
    • No. 9 – Tennessee
    • No. 10 – Georgia
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