Health & wellness
BY DANIEL SCHWALM
Health & Wellness Edition 2026
Welcome to our annual Health & Wellness Edition! The older I get, the more I find myself thinking about wellness. What once felt like a squishy, loosely defined concept I did not give much weight to now seems to be everywhere I look—and increasingly relevant to my own life. For this guide, we focus on wellness rooted in health—stories about parks, the YMCA, digital detoxing and other ways to get moving in the new year. We launched this guide last year and have spent significant time discussing what wellness means and which topics best serve our readers. If you have lived in a Community Impact market for some time, you may know that June is our Health Care edition. That guide centers on hospital development, public health spending and services unique to each community or needed in our rapidly growing areas. The list of potential stories for that edition is endless, and many do not make it to print. As we reviewed those stories, we noticed a common thread. Many fit squarely into wellness—or, as the World Health Organization defines it, “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
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Future uncertain for Leander Municipal Athletic Complex
The future of the planned Leander Municipal Athletic Complex is uncertain after the design pro- cess identified significant challenges with regard to water, according to Ty Meighan, communications manager for the city of Leander. Meighan said in an email that those challenges include drainage, flood plain issues, and access to wastewater. “Before the City of Leander commits to spending additional funding to address these issues, the city is evaluating to determine if there is a more fiscally prudent option for the park,” Meighan said. “The evaluation is continuing, and the city has not yet made a final decision on the project.” The background The park plans were approved by the Leander City Council in May 2023, with an expected 2025 opening. The plans call for the park to be built along US 183 on the north bank of the south fork of the San Gabriel River.
Community Impact previously reported that the complex would cover about 77 acres and would offer a variety of amenities, including: • Six softball fields • Multipurpose fields for soccer, lacrosse, cricket and rugby • Playscape • Walking and hiking trails The project has been in the works for years and was a part of Leander’s 2016 bond package.
Bond funding breakdown
Recreation center $18M
Senior center $4.2M
$22.5M Transportation projects
Total: $70.9M
Parks and park improvements $26.3M
2016 voter-approved bond funding Total bond funding Allocated athletic complex phase 1 funding
29
183A TOLL
$70.9M
$10M
SOUTH FORK SAN GABRIEL RIVER
NOTE: PREVIOUS REPORTING FOUND THE SPORTS COMPLEX WAS INITIALLY ALLOCATED $10 MILLION, THOUGH NEWER ESTIMATES INDICATE ADDITIONAL FUNDING MAY BE REQUIRED.
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SOURCE: CITY OF LEANDER/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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LEANDER - LIBERTY HILL EDITION
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