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Opinion: To improve student outcomes, Oklahoma lawmakers should consider tackling hunger
Two thumbs up to the groups that are working to erase over $76,000 in student lunch debt. The two advocacy groups — Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition and Oklahomans for Public Education — announced that they are partnering to launch a fundraiser to eliminate the debt generated by students who eat at their schools. As Nuria […]
Oklahoma governor hosts event to honor Native American heritage, families
OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Kevin Stitt hosted several dozen tribal members at a special event Tuesday designed to celebrate and honor Native American heritage and families. Attendees said the event at the Oklahoma Governor’s Mansion was a fitting way to commemorate the end of Native American Heritage Month, but also served as a way for […]
Opinion: Oklahoma’s lack of sex ed curriculum harming the state’s health outcomes
It’s time to have a candid conversation about a topic that seems to make many lawmakers cringe and flush. Sex education. StateImpact reporter Jillian Taylor reported recently that the only sexual education topic that must be taught is AIDS prevention instruction. School districts, though, get to decide when and how to teach it. Parents can […]
Opinion: Oklahomans are watching to see if big bet on Canoo pays off
This week, an Oklahoma City electric vehicle company announced it had manufactured three vehicles in the state — the first Oklahoma-made automobiles since 2006. The announcement marked a momentous occasion for both Gov. Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma’s economic development officials. They’ve continued to bet big that the state can capitalize on the shifting automobile market […]
Electric vehicle startup Canoo manufactures first vehicles in Oklahoma
A startup electric vehicle company has manufactured its first vehicles in Oklahoma, officials said. State officials said Monday they plan to purchase Canoo’s first three made-in-Oklahoma vehicles when they’re delivered to the state later this year. Canoo officials said in a press release that they had already delivered the electric vehicles, but spokespeople with the […]
Opinion: Oklahomans deserve and should expect a fully functioning state-tribal relationship
The feud involving Gov. Kevin Stitt and tribal leaders has gone on long enough. People deserve a fully functioning relationship between our 39 federally recognized tribes and the state. It’s time for someone — anyone — to step up and lead Oklahoma out of the morass. For nearly four years now, residents have watched in […]
Oklahoma AG’s office subpoenas agency for Winter Storm Uri records amid legal probe
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office has subpoenaed a state agency as part of an ongoing probe into “unlawful activity” related to price market manipulation during a weather emergency that saw energy prices soar to astronomical levels. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has 20 days to produce evidence related to Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s […]
Opinion: Oklahoma may be losing in bids for businesses because lawmakers focus on wrong issues
The City of Ardmore recently received devastating news that its Michelin tire plant will close by 2025. As Oklahoma Voice reporter Carmen Forman reported, the planned closure of the 53-year-old plant, which employs 1,400 workers, came as a shock to state and community leaders. Perhaps not surprisingly though, Oklahoma lawmakers immediately began trying to figure […]
Oklahoma’s governor presses NCAA to change transgender student athlete participation policy
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s governor is pressing the nation’s top collegiate sports governing body to overhaul its transgender student athlete policies to “guarantee a fair environment” for female athletes. In a letter, Gov. Kevin Stitt and eight other Republican governors wrote that the NCAA has “the chance to guarantee an environment where female college athletes […]
Opinion: Sudden exodus of textbook publishers should alarm Oklahomans
Parents, business owners and taxpayers should be alarmed that qualified math textbook publishers no longer want to do business in Oklahoma. Somehow Oklahoma’s education climate has become so abhorrent, controversial and politicized in the past year that companies specializing in teaching children how to count apples and bananas and calculate the shortest distance to grandma’s […]
Lawmakers reject gaming compacts for two small Oklahoma tribes
OKLAHOMA CITY — Saying there were “significant fatal flaws,” Oklahoma lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously rejected a pair of compacts that would have allowed two tribes to offer gaming outside of their traditional boundaries. Leaders with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town said after the vote that they were disappointed […]
As two small tribes seek to build casinos, Oklahoma lawmakers asked to approve compacts
OKLAHOMA CITY — Lawmakers might have to decide whether two small Oklahoma tribes should have the right to build casinos outside their traditional boundaries. Supporters contend that allowing the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town to offer gaming in Oklahoma and Logan counties would be an economic boon for their […]