Mornin’ North Texas,

You may have heard something about a statue at Globe Life Field, and that it’s disappointed a lot of people. Let me tell you what all the fuss is about.

A bronze statue of Texas Ranger Capt. Jay Banks sat inside Dallas Love Field for decades. Then in 2020, amid a racial reckoning, it was removed. Why? Banks, who died in 1987, was one of the rangers who helped keep Black students out of white schools after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling of 1954. 

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: Here’s a photo of Banks on that fateful day. 

Remember the Mansfield High anti- desegregation mob of 1956? Banks and his officers didn’t intervene when a mob of white students and community members blocked Black students from entering the school, threatened to shoot anyone who tried, and hung representations of Black people from trees. Instead, Banks threatened to arrest Black students and refused to take down the depiction of a Black man hanging from a tree. (Learn more about desegregating Mansfield here.)

(UNITED PRESS PHOTO/AFP via Getty Images)

This story would be over, but the Texas Rangers baseball team has pulled the statue from whatever storage unit it sat in and is now displaying it in Globe Life Stadium. Fans are upset, and both the NAACP and Congressman Marc Veasey have asked the team to remove the figure. Here’s what Rangers Owner, Ray Davis, had to say at the statues unveiling.

I’ll keep you updated as this story unfolds. 

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Rhett Bennett, CEO of Black Mountain Energy (right), hosted a private meeting to discuss plans for a $10 billion data center on Wednesday. (Katie Serrano/COURIER DFW)

By Katie Serrano

Residents voiced their concerns over a new $10 billion data center during a contentious meeting at a local hotel in Forest Hills Wednesday night. 

The meeting was organized by Black Mountain Power LLC—the developers behind the project—and was meant to show the current site plan for a new AI data center, which would be built on vacant land near Forest Hill Drive and Lon Stephenson Road.

But attendees were quick to voice their opposition to the development, holding up “No Black Mountain” signs and asking Rhett Bennett, CEO of Black Mountain Energy, the company that controls Black Mountain Power, and business consultant, Bob Riley, about the impact it will have on the environment, noise pollution, traffic, and their electric bills.

Enter the new Ikea from the parking garage, or from a lower-level escalator in front of the Old Navy, at the Shops at Park Lane. (Joi Louviere/COURIER DFW)

The city of Dallas’ first Ikea is here! The store had its grand opening last week, with giveaways and an open cafe, ready to serve up all your Swedish faves. If you’ve felt like your past Ikea experiences have been overwhelming, you might like this one better.

Typical Ikeas are massive warehouses that force you to walk through most of their stadium-size stores. Getting in and out can be hard, and your errand becomes a half-day activity. For example, the Frisco Ikea is 310,000 square feet. This new location is only 63,000 square feet. I found that quick shopping was easy here.

This smaller layout means not everything is in the store, ready to take home that day, but associates can order the item for you, and it will arrive straight to your home. That seems a little better than trying to shove an entire bedroom set into your trunk.

But even with less square footage, the store didn’t skimp on the food. The cafe is spacious and is accompanied by a mini grocery store with Ikea-brand groceries like cookies, jam, chocolate bars, and, of course, frozen bags of their famous Swedish meatballs.

While I love the meatballs, I wanted to spotlight another star they have on the menu, their 90-cent veggie dog.

I tried the veggie dogs years ago and thought it was so delicious that I started to buy the frozen bags of links to take home. They used to serve this with fried onions, pickled cabbage, and mustard on top, and now you can add those on or go without. With my add-ons and tax, the dog was $1.52. Definitely try one on your next Ikea visit, but ignore my recommendation if you’re not going to like that it tastes like vegetables. This hot dog is not made to mimic the taste of meat; it’s simply a patty of red lentils, onions, kale, quinoa, and carrots, bonded by whey protein and seasoned with ginger, turmeric, and soy sauce. 

If you’re wondering this, you might be surprised to know it’s at the Shops at Park Lane. It’s pretty inconspicuous, but look for it the next time you decide to brave a trip to North Park. For more views of this new location (and a fabulous nod to ABBA), check out my video here. 

Don’t Sleep On is a weekly series where I shout out DFW events and businesses I think you should try. Have a suggestion? Reply to this email.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Joi Louviere with reporting by Katie Serrano. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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