Snarky Puppy, a band with North Texas roots, won a Grammy Sunday.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: A recap of last night’s lieutenant governor debate; a man who made an East Texas town special has died; Snarky Puppy celebrates its Grammy; and more.

• Bestselling author Amy Tan heads to First United Methodist Church in Dallas tonight at 7:30 as part of the Arts & Letters Live Series to discuss her new book “The Valley of Amazement.” The novel follows a family through three generations of women from San Francisco to Shanghai. She will also share insights about the commonalities she’s found between fiction and museums. Ticket information is here. Tan appears at noon today on KERA’s ‘Think.’

• The Denton-born music collective Snarky Puppy earned a Grammy Sunday for the single “Something.” It earned Best R&B Performance during the pre-telecast. So how is the group feeling? KERA’s Lyndsay Knecht caught up with the group Monday. Mark Lettieri did notice something different about Sunday. “I’ll tell you what. I woke up on a friend’s couch and I slept in a hotel. From the bottom to the top, all in one day,” he laughs.

• They came. They debated. And now they continue campaigning. The four lieutenant governor candidates debated live in the KERA studios Monday night. They talked about marijuana, immigration, education – and the controversy over Marlise Munoz, the North Texas woman who was pregnant and brain dead and on life support, which was removed after a court battle. Watch the debate and read KERA’s minute-by-minute debate blog. And here’s a story from KERA that recaps last night’s event.

• A man who rebuilt a tiny East Texas town died Sunday. Brooks Gremmels transformed Ben Wheeler, turning the Van Zandt County town into a thriving arts mecca. He and his wife, Rese, created art galleries and shops, as well as two restaurants that feature live music, and a library that gives away free books to kids. He had pancreatic cancer, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported. He was 70. KERA’s Jerome Weeks profiled Gremmels in 2009 and KERA’s Anne Bothwell caught up with him again last year. Read Anne’s remembrance on KERA’s Art&Seek.

• Politico profiles the latest up-and-comer from the Bush family dynasty. “George Prescott Bush, the scion of arguably the most successful political family in American history, is launching a statewide bus tour that will introduce him to public prominence as he runs for commissioner of the Texas General Land Office,” Politico reports. “Bush is a lock: He faces no serious challengers, a fact attributable largely to the overwhelming advantages that accompany his name. Come November, the handsome, studious and half-Hispanic 37-year-old George P. will walk into public office, and a choir of observers will begin a round of intense speculation about what his ascension means for his party, his state and his country.”