Government & Politics
Nebraska’s $450 million Memorial Stadium project faces fundraising questions
LINCOLN — If Nebraska football is a state religion, recent efforts to raise private funds for a new NU football facility and to pay players are its offering plate. The people in the pews remain generous. Donors largely funded a still-under-construction $165 million indoor facility east of the stadium. History says they will continue to […]
Kansas adopting new vehicle license plate design, jettisoning eroded embossed tags
TOPEKA — A Kansas license plate with dark text on a blazing yellow background will replace in 2024 the peeling raised-letter tags that years ago became an impediment to law enforcement officers trying to quickly identify vehicles. “Many of the embossed plates out on the road have become difficult to read due to significant deterioration,” […]
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 […]
Deadly chronic wasting disease discovered in Oklahoma’s wild deer herd
The first appearance of chronic wasting disease in Oklahoma’s wild, free-ranging deer population is threatening the health of its herd. “We’ve only had two confirmed cases in the state, one in Texas (County) and one in Woodward County,” said Dallas Barber, big game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “It’s a disease that […]
Oklahoma AG clarifies exceptions for abortion patients and medical providers
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s attorney general said Tuesday that although state law prohibits most abortions, pregnant women cannot be punished for seeking out the procedure. In response to a request from six GOP lawmakers, Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a formal opinion clarifying that state law does not allow for pregnant women — even those […]
Oklahoma State Chamber, Farm Bureau challenge effort to raise minimum wage
OKLAHOMA CITY — A proposed state question to raise Oklahoma’s hourly minimum wage to $15 faces its first legal challenge. The State Chamber of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation asked the state’s high court on Monday to find the proposal unconstitutional for delegating state lawmakers’ power to officials at a federal agency. Proposed […]
Oklahoma Turnpike Authority goes back to drawing board as work resumes on $5B ACCESS plan
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is rethinking its $5 billion turnpike expansion and improvement plans now that two lawsuits have been settled. The agency recently acquired $500 million in bonds that will allow it to resume engineering design work and property acquisitions, but will reprioritize the order of the projects, said agency spokesperson […]
Worries over secrecy grow as state officials shield records from the public
Just weeks after lawmakers in Little Rock passed legislation shielding certain state records from public disclosure, opponents launched an effort to amend the Arkansas Constitution to protect access to government documents. “The coalition that’s coming together on this is about as broadly bipartisan as you could get — from the extreme, extreme right to the […]
State retiree files legal challenge over Oklahoma’s bank boycott law
OKLAHOMA CITY — A retired state employee filed a lawsuit Monday to block the enforcement of a new law barring the state from working with banks deemed hostile to fossil fuel energy companies. Former Oklahoma Public Employees Association President Don Keenan alleges the law that targets financial institutions with environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies […]
Oklahoma AG sues Biden administration over family planning grant clawback
OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Genter Drummond filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden administration for clawing back a nearly $5 million family planning grant from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. The Biden administration reallocated those funds to abortion-rights groups like Planned Parenthood, according to a Monday news release from Drummond’s office. After the […]
Stitt says Oklahoma tribal tags present fairness issue, urges tribes to compact
OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Kevin Stitt said he didn’t know an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper was going to ticket an Otoe-Missouria citizen for having a tribal license plate while living outside her tribe’s boundaries, but that he “100%” supports the action. In an interview, Stitt said he did not direct the Oklahoma Department of Public […]
Tributes pour in celebrating Rosalynn Carter’s rich legacy of advocacy, public service
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has died, according to the Carter Center, leaving a rich legacy of championing mental health and women’s rights. She will be buried at the ranch house in Plains she and former President Jimmy Carter built in 1961. She died Sunday just days after the family announced she had entered hospice […]