Oklahoma News
As data centers boom in Oklahoma, so does water demand: From Pryor to Stillwater and Muskogee, local officials say supplies are sufficient, even as Google alone used more than 1.1 billion gallons in a single year. [The Frontier]
Oklahoma wildfire risk dipping after fires char 313,000 acres: Fire risk is declining somewhat after wildfires in Oklahoma spread quickly across the state this week, causing thousands of acres of damage and sparking short evacuations. [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma Gov. Stitt expands state of emergency as wildfires spread [The Oklahoman]
- Gov. Stitt was not acting governor when he signed wildfire declaration [The Oklahoman]
State Government News
Oklahoma lawmaker criticizes state executive pay, salary hikes: A lawmaker is criticizing decisions to award hefty raises and salaries to members of Gov. Kevin Stitt's administration. A report by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for fiscal year 2025 found that while some leaders received no increases, 18 chief executive officers were given pay increases of 10% or more in fiscal year 2025. [Oklahoma Voice]
Lawyers, guns and money: OHRC questions remain despite OKBred Fund report: Amid years of confusion, concern and consternation about the Oklahoma Breeding and Development Fund, horse racing stakeholders remain unsure what to take away from a third-party report or who may ultimately offer additional answers about $1 million of accounting discrepancies. [NonDoc]
Committee Rejects Proposal to Stop Legislators from Quickly Becoming Lobbyists: A bill aimed at stopping a revolving door of legislators becoming lobbyists was soundly rejected in committee last week. House Bill 3727 by Jim Shaw, R-Chandler, proposed requiring former legislators to wait at least four years after exiting office to register as Oklahoma lobbyists. [Oklahoma Watch]
Oklahoma advances insurance reform bill amid rate oversight debate: Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready's policy package passed through its policy committee on Thursday, jumping its first major hurdle on its way to the governor's desk. [The Journal Record]
After Minnesota church protest, states move to crack down on disruptions: When Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Todd Gollihare introduced a bill last year to strengthen state law protecting places of worship from protesters, it stalled. This year, his church protest bill sailed through the legislature. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed it into law three days after Gollihare reintroduced it. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion, Capitol Insider: Lawmakers race through committee work to address thousands of bills: We are three weeks into the legislative session, and committees are hard at work discussing bills. With more than 5,000 bills and joint resolutions to address, lawmakers have to move quickly. How much work have they done in the last week [KGOU]
- Bill limiting AI access for minors advances from Senate tech committee [KOSU]
- Monday Minute: An Office Space evaluation [NonDoc]
Opinion: Thoreau must be turning over in his grave as Oklahoma punishes students for protesting ICE: Oklahoma's thin-skinned lawmakers have suddenly found their xenophobic views challenged by unlikely foes: high school students. Normally relegated to the political sidelines, the students have seen enough of Immigration and Custom Enforcement's mass deportation efforts, which has resulted in untold numbers of nonviolent immigrants getting caught up in the dragnet. [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
- Can students protest during school hours? Here's what Oklahoma law says [The Oklahoman]
Federal Government News
Trump vows new tariffs, attacks Supreme Court justices after ruling: President Donald Trump said Friday he plans to keep tariffs in place using different authorities after the Supreme Court ruled he exceeded his power under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. [Oklahoma Voice]
- US Supreme Court rules against Trump's tariffs in 6-3 opinion, dealing blow to trade agenda [Oklahoma Voice]
- D.C. Digest: Mullin downplays Supreme Court decision on tariffs [Tulsa World]
City, county roles regarding immigration enforcement haven't changed under Trump: The Trump administration has been working since the first day of the president's second term to get local police and sheriff's departments across the country more involved in enforcing federal immigration laws. [Tulsa World]
Governors say Trump told them he won't force immigration enforcement surges on states: President Donald Trump told governors Friday during a meeting at the White House he has no plans to surge federal immigration operations in states where it's not wanted. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Trump's White House meeting with governors 'turned out well,' Oklahoma Gov. Stitt says [The Oklahoman]
- Political notebook: Stitt navigates difficult week in Washington [Tulsa World]
Cigars, Bourbon and Burnt Bacon: How Two Unlikely Allies Are Getting Government Funded: Within the last year, the government entered the longest shutdown in history, and Sen. Tom Cole had characterized dealmaking in Congress as more challenging than ever in his two-decade tenure. Despite deals on the rest of the spending bills, Congress failed to reach an agreement on the bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, a stalemate that doesn't appear to have a near-term resolution. [Oklahoma Watch]
Tribal Nations News
Tulsa and Muscogee (Creek) Nation reach milestone in tribal jurisdiction settlement: The City of Tulsa has completed a series of meetings with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation as part of a 2025 settlement agreement resolving disputes over public safety authority and the handling of municipal cases involving tribal citizens. [Documenters via Tulsa Flyer]
Politics of Indian Territory land ownership subject of John Hope Franklin lecture: Historian David A. Chang will present the first John Hope Franklin Symposium lecture of 2026 during his lecture, "Land of Hope: The Promise and Politics of Native Land," set for 7 p.m. March 5 in Tulsa. [Tulsa World]
Voting and Election News
As Trump pushes voting restrictions, states have a rarely used option to push back: That's changing, as President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress try to impose a similar proof-of-citizenship voter registration requirement nationwide through a long-shot proposal called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or SAVE America Act. Blue states would have a major tool to push back. Whether they would use it is less clear. [Oklahoma Voice]
- 5 things to know: Oklahoma not surrendering private voter information to DOJ [Tulsa World]
Did Kamala Harris only win in states that do not require voter ID, as Sen. Mullin claimed?: No. Six of the 19 states Harris won in the 2024 election require voters to present identification. [Oklahoma Watch]
Candidates for Oklahoma governor fight to be seen as most conservative: As the race for Oklahoma governor heats up, leading Republican candidates are working to convince voters that they are the most aligned with President Donald Trump. [The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Oklahoma has a candidate problem: The real crisis in politics today is not policy. It's people. Voters must rescue conservatism from Republicans by demanding better leaders. [Clay Lightfoot / The Oklahoman]
Education News
Opinion: The 'Southern Surge' suggests Oklahoma's education system can bounce back: A new research report from the Oklahoma Center for Education Policy at the University of Oklahoma shows poor education rankings are the result of a tragic reversal of fortunes for the Sooner State, which used to perform much better when compared with other states in the nation and in the region. [Adam Tyner / NonDoc]
Opinion, Oklahoma State School Superintendent: If we want better schools, we must stop overloading them: Out of more than 600 bills filed, OSDE anticipates actively supporting roughly 10 to 12. Not because we lack urgency, but because we believe focus drives results. [Lindel Fields / The Oklahoman]
Health News
Surveys measure Oklahomans' health care struggles: Oklahomans probably don't need surveys to tell them health care is expensive and getting more so, but two recently released by national research groups help bring the extent of those difficulties into sharper focus. [Tulsa World]
What are health care sharing ministries, why do lawmakers want to give their members tax deductions?: Oklahoma lawmakers advanced a bill that would create an income tax deduction for members of a community-based option to cover medical expenses, called health care sharing ministries. [StateImpact Oklahoma via KGOU]
Criminal Justice News
They Killed Their Abusers. Should They Spend Their Lives in Prison?: A new Oklahoma law was supposed to help reduce the sentences of survivors of domestic violence. Most are still behind bars. [The New York Times Magazine]
$5.4M budget hole could force OK County jail to cut staff in half: The door to jail reform will slam shut and improving conditions will reverse with nearly half the staff laid off unless $5.4 million is found for the Oklahoma County jail by June 30, officials said. [The Oklahoman]
- Officials recognize 'heroic service' with awards for OK County jail staff [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma County jail may gut staff by half without more money, chairman says (video) [The Oklahoman]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
High housing costs, shortages propel movement on reform in Congress: Republicans, Democrats and the White House are methodically, calmly inching toward a common goal: agreeing on a thick package of laws that would do something quickly about slowing housing costs and boosting supply. [Oklahoma Voice]
Economy & Business News
How rising beef prices are affecting Oklahoma ranchers: There are fewer cattle in the U.S. now than at any point since 1951, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It's one of the reasons beef prices have climbed so sharply. Ground beef is up about 17% compared to a year ago. And that's put some ranchers in a difficult position. [NPR via KOSU]
Opinion: Energy HQ departures are a warning for Oklahoma: Devon Energy and Expand Energy didn't choose to move their headquarters to Texas by accident. They made a business decision based on what they believe best supports their long-term success. But their exits should finally end the popular myth that weakening worker protections somehow keeps companies rooted in Oklahoma and attracts economic growth. [Joseph C. "Joe" Biscone II / The Oklahoman]
- Leaders in Legislature get 'gut punch' from oil and gas trade association [Tulsa World]
Community News
Here are five takeaways from this year's 'State of Black Tulsa': Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols acknowledged there are some "intense headwinds" facing Black Tulsans but he believes his administration is making progress in confronting those issues. [The Oklahoma Eagle]
Black LGBTQ+ Resistance Before It Had a Name: A Powerful History of Queer Liberation and Identity: Black LGBTQ+ people and resistance have always existed in America, though we were rarely given safe spaces to fully live as ourselves. Throughout history, we have had to claim our queerness and take up space—or risk being swallowed by silence and harm. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Local Headlines
- Human remains found at OU campus construction site, officials confirm [The Oklahoman]
- From annexation to revitalization, Tulsa's historic Dawson neighborhood is looking for its second wind [Tulsa Flyer]
- Mayor David Holt emphasizes public transit goals for OKC in third term (podcast) [The Oklahoman]
