Oklahoma News
Big Tech Is Now Targeting Native American Land for Massive Data Centers: The dizzying expansion of data centers to power artificial intelligence has communities in Republican and Democratic states feeling blindsided as citizens and local governments are forced to grapple with noise, water and energy concerns. That division may be even more palpable on Native lands, where outside exploitation has a long and ugly history and where technology companies see a chance for rapid development that gets past the red tape impeding projects elsewhere. [The New York Times]
States will shape America’s future as nation confronts a pivotal choice: The United States’ foundations are undergoing a significant stress test, experts say, raising questions about whether a radical reconception of the nation lies ahead. The federalism that has helped bind the states — and therefore, the nation — together is fraying, pulled apart by a president who demonstrates little regard for many of the nation’s core principles. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Democrats, Republicans alike focus on states’ rights as a way out of America’s political woes [Oklahoma Voice]
State Government News
Rejected for Oklahoma funding, an anti-abortion group helped rewrite state law: An out-of-state anti-abortion group successfully lobbied to change Oklahoma law after it was rejected for public funding from a program that encourages women to keep their unplanned pregnancies. [The Frontier and StateImpact Oklahoma]
Allstate Next in Drummond’s Insurance Crusade: On Tuesday, Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a lawsuit in Cleveland County against Allstate, Oklahoma’s third-largest writer of homeowners insurance, alleging systematic underpayment of claims of roof damage. [Oklahoma Watch]
- Oklahoma attorney general sues second insurance company for claims practices [Oklahoma Voice]
- Oklahoma AG Drummond files lawsuit against Cash App [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma AG joins effort to stop robocalls [Tulsa World]
Transportation Commission approves $950 million to improve county roadways: The County Improvements for Roads and Bridges, or CIRB program, plans to spend roughly $950 million between fiscal years 2027 and 2031 to replace and rehabilitate roadways in every Oklahoma county, including 238 bridges. [KOSU]
PSO rate hearing concludes; judge to make recommendation to corporation commissioners: A hearing that may be key in determining how much Public Service Co. of Oklahoma customers pay for electricity in the future concluded on Wednesday at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. [Tulsa World]
Oklahoma’s top forestry, wildfire management post remains vacant over a year later: More than a year after Gov. Kevin Stitt fired the state’s forestry director, the post remains vacant. The director is responsible for the planning and development of state forestry programs and serves as the primary point of contact for wildfire management activities in the state. [Oklahoma Voice]
As Gary Lumpkin retires from Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, 6 apply for post: Gov. Kevin Stitt will have at least one more appointment to an Oklahoma court of last resort after Judge Gary Lumpkin announced he will retire from the Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 1, 2027. Lumpkin is the longest serving judge currently on the state’s top criminal court, with former Gov. Henry Bellmon appointing him in 1989. [NonDoc]
Opinion, This Week in Oklahoma Politics: Stitt endorses Mazzei, Medicaid cuts, Yukon mayor recall and more (podcast): Panelists talk about Gov. Kevin Stitt endorsing Mike Mazzei in the Republican gubernatorial runoff against Gentner Drummond, an increase in money and endorsements for Republican runoff elections in state legislative races and Oklahoma hospitals raising concerns about cuts to Medicaid. The trio also discusses Attorney General Drummond filing a lawsuit against another home insurance company and the Mayor of Yukon faces a recall after backlash over a data center. [KOSU]
Opinion: Has DOGE-OK produced measurable, recurring savings?: Gov. Kevin Stitt has never lacked for ambition, big ideas or memorable slogans. Whether it's "Top 10" or DOGE-OK, announcing bold initiatives has never been the problem. The challenge has always been following through and producing measurable, lasting results. Good government isn't measured by headlines, press conferences or executive orders. It's measured by whether government costs less, performs better and delivers lasting value to taxpayers. That's my question about DOGE-OK. [Former State Rep. Mark McBride / The Oklahoman]
Federal Government News
From Marines to manhunts, a look at the Oklahoma trooper Trump tapped to head ICE: Richard “Lance” Schroyer, 54, joined the Oklahoma Highway Patrol on June 30, 2000. By the time he left OHP in 2026, he’d worked his way up through various assignments and leadership roles, retiring on May 9 as a major. Less than two months later, he would receive the highest level of attention in his life after President Donald Trump nominated him to serve as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. [The Oklahoman]
Housing bill becomes law without Trump’s signature: The housing package, known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, overhauls several areas of housing policy in an effort to make it easier for builders to construct new units and potential buyers to secure federally backed loans. [Oklahoma Watch]
Trump administration targeting states’ DHS grants to force voting changes, House Dems say: The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s guidelines to states on how to request funding under counterterrorism grant programs include potentially illegal demands related to election administration, Democrats on the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee said Thursday. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion: USPS' mission is vital to rural Oklahoma. Protect it: Six days a week, one postal carrier in Mangum drives 183 miles to reach just 277 mailboxes. It’s demanding work, but essential to ensuring that rural families receive the medications, benefit checks and time-sensitive documents that they cannot do without. That route is a reminder of what the U.S. Postal Service means to rural Oklahoma and why its mission is worth protecting. [Travis Korson / The Oklahoman]
Tribal Nations News
6 years post-McGirt ruling, Choctaw court system managing caseload expanded by 1,000%: Six years after the historic McGirt ruling, Choctaw Nation has expanded its caseload by 1,000%. Choctaw presiding district judge said the tribe is making it work. [KOSU]
Newly elected Osage Nation chief inaugurated Saturday: The Osage Nation is under new leadership. Along with seven legislators and three members of the tribe’s judiciary, Principal Chief-elect Joe Tillman and Assistant Principal Chief-elect John Shaw were inaugurated Saturday morning. [Tulsa World]
Cherokee Nation opens new W.W. Hastings Hospital to patients: The Cherokee Nation’s new W.W. Hastings Hospital is now open to patients. The $470 million facility in Tahlequah is more than double the size of the previous building, which was built around four decades ago. [KGOU]
Cherokee Nation opens 17th elder nutrition site in Tulsa: The Cherokee Nation held a grand opening for the tribe’s newest elder nutrition site. Located in Tulsa on 46th Street North, the new space will offer free or low-cost meals to Cherokee elders. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Voting and Election News
Mike Mazzei declines TV debate invite for Aug. 25 runoff: Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei has declined an invitation from NonDoc and KSWO to participate in a televised debate with opponent Gentner Drummond ahead of the Aug. 25 runoff election. [NonDoc]
- Gov. Stitt endorses Mike Mazzei for next Oklahoma governor [The Oklahoman]
What to Know About State Question 846, the Voter Identification Measure: Nothing within State Question 846, which proposes enshrining Oklahoma’s voter identification requirement into the constitution, changes the current process. Concerns that a future Legislature could eliminate the voter identification requirement, however, prompted Republican lawmakers to advance the constitutional amendment to the August runoff ballot. [Oklahoma Watch]
Oklahoma political parties must alter future reporting of expenditures to candidates: Political parties should begin adjusting how they report expenditures to Oklahoma candidates in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision removing caps on certain expenses, the head of the state ethics commission said. [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma considers new regulations for AI in political ads: The Oklahoma Ethics Commission is revisiting whether to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in campaign advertising. The commission examined how other states have addressed the use of AI in campaigns and will consider whether any concepts may be suitable in Oklahoma. [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma June primary election saw low independent turnout: June’s primary failed to draw independent voters, according to partisan participation numbers provided by the state Election Board. Despite making up about a fifth of the state’s voters, only 9% of registered independents cast a ballot in the lone race that was open to them, according to the State Election Board. [Oklahoma Voice]
Education News
What’s a professional graduate degree? Loan confusion reigns amid legal battle: Graduate-level programs such as nursing, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology are, for now, considered “professional” degrees by the U.S. Department of Education after a court order in late June halted the agency’s new “professional” definition while a legal challenge unfolds. [Oklahoma Voice]
Shoelace Learning’s gamified literacy platform aims to engage Oklahoma students: Platforms like Shoelace Learning are part of a growing effort to address a persistent challenge in Oklahoma schools: Students who fall behind in reading, particularly after early elementary grades, often struggle to catch up. [NonDoc]
#oklaed roundup: Gender marker ruling, Hamlin departure, Epic delays and EPS litigation: As students enjoy the blistering heat of summer and educators and administrators alike prepare for the upcoming school year, a key education leader has announced his departure and the legal wheels continue to spin. [NonDoc]
Health News
Do data centers impact our physical health? Studies are few and far between: Data centers fuel the ever-growing demand for social media, artificial intelligence and streaming services, allowing people to access a plethora of entertainment options and streamline everyday tasks. [Oklahoma Voice]
Some state behavioral healthcare operations to shift to private Oklahoma providers: In a bid to strengthen care, an Oklahoma agency plans to shift to a privatized model for many of its behavioral and mental health services in some areas of the state. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Family & Children's Services merges with OKC behavioral health provider [Tulsa World]
- Tulsa-based provider gets expanded role in state’s mental health plan [Tulsa World]
This program has kept thousands of Tulsa mothers and infants alive. It’s facing a funding death: A maternal wellness program credited with saving the lives of thousands of Oklahoma babies is on the federal chopping block. Of the state’s four grants, Tulsa administers two Healthy Start programs to ensure every vulnerable mother and child gets needed resources for survival. If nothing changes, Healthy Start services will be eliminated in April 2027. [The Oklahoma Eagle]
Opinion: Too many Oklahoma women face barriers to maternity care: While we have made great strides in Oklahoma to improve access to preventive care, too many families — especially in rural communities — still face significant barriers to maternity care. In more than half of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, expectant mothers lack access to prenatal services or health facilities to deliver their babies safely. That kind of uncertainty should never be part of starting a family in our state. [Sen. Avery Frix / The Oklahoman]
Justice System News
Justice in less than a minute? Oklahoma County bail hearings don’t meet constitutional standards, attorneys say: Public defenders say judges routinely fail to consider whether defendants can afford bail, leaving poor and homeless people jailed on low-level charges. Other counties have already faced civil rights lawsuits. [The Frontier and KOSU]
After long aversion, DA Behenna now seeking death penalty in two cases: Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna is seeking the death penalty in a late-2025 homicide, her second push for the penalty in just six months. [Oklahoma City Free Press]
Inmate who strangled Holdenville cellmate accused of killing again in different prison: The Oklahoma prisoner who strangled his cellmate to death over 45 minutes while guards watched has been accused of killing another cellmate. [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma County jail inmate dies after being found unresponsive: The Oklahoma County jail has had its third inmate death of 2026. Dancing Feathers Whitecrow, 33, of Oklahoma City, died Tuesday, July 7, the jail said in a news release. [The Oklahoman]
Former Oklahoma jail 'enforcer' pleads guilty to federal crimes for assaults on inmates: A former supervisor at the McCurtain County jail has admitted in guilty pleas that he assaulted two inmates and was known as "the enforcer." [The Oklahoman]
Former OK Department of Human Services leader facing lewd acts charge: A former supervisor at the Oklahoma Department of Human Services has been accused in a felony charge of sexual misconduct with a boy over two years. [The Oklahoman]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
When Landlords Don’t Pay the Bills, It’s the Tenants Who Struggle: The language of Oklahoma’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Act is vague, which leaves the law open to interpretation that often favors the landlord, said Victoria Wilson, the co-director of Oklahoma City University’s Tenant Rights Clinic. This leaves tenants with little recourse against problem property managers in situations where essential services are not provided. [Oklahoma Watch]
Economy & Business News
After years of black dust complaints, Oklahoma cites Continental Carbon for 81 alleged violations: Regulators say the Ponca City carbon black plant failed to meet pollution limits, missed required equipment testing and violated a 2015 federal agreement to improve air quality. [The Frontier]
Uncertainty creeps in for Oklahoma's agriculture industry after trade deal misses deadline: The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a deal allowing goods to move freely among the countries, just missed a key deadline. Experts say it adds more uncertainty in Oklahoma’s agriculture markets. [KOSU]
- Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore grants for underserved farmers [KOSU]
Fed economist: Tulsa is a 'pocket of real strength': Despite Oklahoma's relatively slow job growth last year, Tulsa is faring better, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said. [Tulsa World]
- BOK Financial CEO discusses economy, AI, data centers and Tulsa’s growth [Tulsa World]
Community News
A new birth, a dare and a safe place: LGBTQ+ Black Tulsans detail different paths to finding their identities: During the month of June, which is also Pride Month, Tulsa celebrated its LGBTQ+ community with several events downtown. There were plenty of dance parties, drag and even game shows. But the welcoming nature exhibited by the city wasn’t always the case, especially for its Black community. [The Oklahoma Eagle]
RestoreOKC calls joining Harvard-led initiative 'insanely humbling': Representatives of RestoreOKC will visit Harvard University for an initiative focused on helping children and families succeed through relationship-based personalized support systems. [The Oklahoman]
Local Headlines
- While city leaders cheer Tulsa’s future drone deliveries, some residents feel left in the dark [Tulsa Flyer]
- City of Norman swears in new, returning council members [KGOU]
- City of Tulsa, TU agree to revisions of Gilcrease Museum management agreement [Tulsa World]
