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San Antonio firefighter group pulls out of Fiesta Flambeau parade

A group of first responders has pulled out of the Fiesta Flambeau parade.

A group of San Antonio first responders have pulled out of the May 3 Fiesta Flambeau parade, citing a policy that only allows limited participation per group. The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association says that marching in the annual night parade would force them to choose between the more than 300 members who signed up to represent the group.

“We were unwilling to make the impossible decision of choosing only a fraction of our brothers and sisters to represent us, so we felt it was most fair to withdraw entirely,” the group said in a May 1 statement posted on Facebook. “Our commitment to unity and fairness guided and informed our decision to withdraw rather than separate our membership for the sake of meeting this restriction.”

The Fiesta Flambeau parade is one of the premier happenings during San Antonio's annual Fiesta celebration. The annual event, billed as the “largest illuminated night parade in the country,” draws over 200 entries and 800,000-plus onlookers each year. Parade organizers limit participation to 25 people per entry as a safety measure.

“We are deeply disappointed that we cannot take part in the parade this year,” the statement continued. “However, we remain dedicated to serving and supporting our community in every way possible, and we look forward to rejoining the Fiesta Flambeau Parade next year.”

Reactions to the post expressed disappointment in the policy, with some commenters saying city planners should make exceptions for first responders. One Facebook user suggested that the association squeeze in an extra 275 marchers a couple of blocks down the road.

“Thank you for your service,” wrote one commenter, capturing the general feel of the responses. “Once again, our city completely misses the mark.”

Although the firefighters won’t officially be part of the procession, they will be present at the parade. The statement reminded locals that associated members will be posted throughout the route to provide emergency medical services and ensure the safety of attendees.

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population report

San Antonio saw 4th biggest population gain in 2024, per Census

Photo by Raul Miranda on Unsplash

San Antonio is the seventh largest U.S. city.

San Antonio saw the fourth-highest population increase in the United States in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The new population report revealed San Antonio added nearly 24,000 residents from July 2023 to July 2024, bringing the city's population to 1,526,656.

The Alamo City hung on to its ranking as the seventh largest city in the country, and joined 11 other Southern cities that saw the largest numeric population gains in 2024, the report added.

Elsewhere in Texas, Fort Worth is now home to more than 1 million residents, surpassing Austin as the 11th largest city in the U.S. The North Texas city had the fifth-highest numeric increase in population, adding 23,442 residents during that same time frame to bring the city's total population to 1,008,106 residents.

Austin slipped two spots and now ranks as the 13th largest city after adding more than 13,000 residents to bring the Texas Capital's population to 993,588.

Houston gained 43,217 residents — the second-highest increase nationwide – and was the only other city besides San Antonio to have a higher numerical growth rate than Fort Worth during the one-year period.

Fastest growing U.S. cities
Princeton, a North Texas suburb of Dallas, topped the charts as the No. 1 fastest-growing U.S. city in 2024. The Census Bureau says the city's population has more than doubled in the last five years to more than 37,000 residents.

The Austin suburb of Georgetown's growth has continued to slow down since 2023, and it no longer appears in the list of fastest-growing cities. However, it did surpass 100,000 residents in 2024.

Six additional Texas cities made the list of fastest-growing U.S. cities:

Fulshear, near Houston (No. 2) with 26.7 percent growth (54,629 total population)
Celina, near Dallas (No. 4) with 18.2 percent growth (51,661 total population)
Anna, near Dallas (No. 5) with 14.6 percent growth (31,986 total population)
Fate, near Dallas (No. 8) with 11.4 percent growth (27,467 total population)
Melissa, near Dallas (No. 11) with 10 percent growth (26,194 total population)
Hutto, near Austin (No. 13) with 9.4 percent growth (42,661 total population)

San Angelo, a small city in West Texas, also surpassed the 100,000-population threshold.

Most populous U.S. cities in 2024
New York City maintained its stronghold as the biggest in America in 2024, boasting a population of nearly 8.5 million residents. Los Angeles and Chicago also retained second and third place, with respective populations of nearly 3.88 million and more than 2.7 million residents.

"Cities in the Northeast that had experienced population declines in 2023 are now experiencing significant population growth, on average," said Crystal Delbé, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. "In fact, cities of all sizes, in all regions, showed faster growth and larger gains than in 2023, except for small cities in the South, whose average population growth rate remained the same."

The 15 most populous U.S. cities as of July 1, 2024 were:

No. 1 – New York, New York (8.48 million)
No. 2 – Los Angeles, California (3.88 million)
No. 3 – Chicago, Illinois (2.72 million)
No. 4 – Houston, Texas (2.39 million)
No. 5 – Phoenix, Arizona (1.67 million)
No. 6 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1.57 million)
No. 7 – San Antonio, Texas (1.53 million)
No. 8 – San Diego, California (1.4 million)
No. 9 – Dallas, Texas (1.33 million)
No. 10 – Jacksonville, Florida (1 million)
No. 11 – Fort Worth, Texas (1 million)
No. 12 – San Jose, California (997,368)
No. 13 – Austin, Texas (993,588)
No. 14 – Charlotte, North Carolina (943,476)
No. 15 – Columbus, Ohio (933,263)

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