Oklahoma News Oklahoma to offer startup funding in 'child care deserts': Oklahoma will offer start-up grants to ease a shortage of child care across nearly half the state, officials said Tuesday. [Tulsa World] New statewide survey shows Oklahoma teacher shortage growing: The results of an annual back-to-school survey of Oklahoma public schools show the state's teacher shortage is growing, but there are early signs that a new incentive program to lure college students into the profession may hold promise. [Tulsa World] State Government News Oklahoma Gov. Stitt joins other GOP governors in criticizing Biden student loan forgiveness plan: More than 20 Republican governors signed a letter to the Biden administration criticizing his plan to pay off student loan debt for millions of borrowers. [KGOU] Tribal Nations News First Americans Museum celebrates first anniversary with big attendance and bigger plans: More than 130,000 people have visited the First Americans Museum almost a year after the long-awaited landmark opened near downtown Oklahoma City. After more than three decades of planning, delays and construction, the First Americans Museum opened to the public Sept. 18, 2021, with hundreds of visitors, dignitaries and cultural ambassadors, including representatives from all 39 Native American tribes based in Oklahoma, taking part in the multi-day grand opening. [The Oklahoman] Voting and Election News Oklahoma Voter Registration Guide: How to Participate in the 2022 Midterm Election: The Nov. 8 general election is fast approaching. Here's a voting guide to help you navigate upcoming deadlines and prepare to cast a ballot. [Oklahoma Watch] Criminal Justice News Despite restrictions, Oklahoma County looking at federal funds to help build a new jail: Federal guidelines forbid using American Rescue Plan funds to build correctional facilities. But some county officials believe there are options to get around the rules and shore up an estimated $40-million budget hole. [The Frontier] Missing people, buried bones at center of Oklahoma mystery: A dozen or more people who have disappeared in recent years from the wooded, unincorporated terrain outside the Oklahoma City metro area, a rural haven for drug traffickers. Some families said they're scared to call police or even to put up "missing person" signs because they suspect the involvement of violent white-supremacist prison gangs. [Washington Post] Former Ninnekah schools superintendent accused of rape: A former Ninnekah Public Schools superintendent, accused in a lawsuit of allowing a culture of sexual abuse in his school district, now faces a rape allegation. [The Oklahoman] Oklahoma looks into giving more money to people who are wrongfully convicted, incarcerated: Lawmakers heard from the Innocence Project, legislators from other states, and relatives of the wrongfully convicted Wednesday afternoon. [KOCO News 5] Education News Editorial: Some Oklahoma lawmakers piling on to harass former teacher over books: A dozen Oklahoma lawmakers are using their standing to intimidate — and possibly end the career of — a Norman teacher who resigned after a controversy over sharing a QR code for the Brooklyn Public Library. [Tulsa World] General News To see what Oklahoma could do with nuclear waste, StateImpact goes underground: A $3 million research project led by the University of Oklahoma's Institute for Public Policy Research is aiming to develop a new framework for consent-based interim siting of spent nuclear fuel. As the nation's nuclear waste storage crisis becomes increasingly more imminent, researchers hope they can craft policy that will incentivize communities to volunteer themselves as interim storage sites. [StateImpact Oklahoma] Oklahoma Local News | 
