Oklahoma News
Federal judge agrees Oklahoma is failing to implement mental health consent decree: The state of Oklahoma is making insufficient effort to fix a system that keeps people languishing in jail instead of getting mental health treatment, according to U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell. [KOSU]
Oil Tycoon and GOP Donor Harold Hamm Asked Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt for Senate Appointment: Oil and gas magnate Harold Hamm, one of the wealthiest people in America and a major Republican donor, called Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday night, asking for the appointment to Oklahoma's newly open Senate seat. [Oklahoma Watch]
- These names are floating around as Markwayne Mullin's Senate replacement [The Oklahoman]
- Who plans to run for Markwayne Mullin's Senate seat? [KFOR]
- Gov. Stitt mum on pick for US Senate but says it will be a 'great Oklahoman' who fills the seat [KOCO]
- Tulsa Sheriff Vic Regalado 'considering' 1st Congressional District campaign amid shakeup [Tulsa World]
- Weekly rewind: U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin's resignation shakes up Oklahoma politics [Tulsa World]
- Opinion: Call it the Mullin Scramble. Who will come out on top? [Former Rep. Mark McBride / The Oklahoman]
Partisanship perseveres: State Question 836 fails to hit signature threshold: A petition effort to change Oklahoma's primary system fell short of the required signature threshold to make it to a future ballot, the Oklahoma Secretary of State's Office announced Thursday. Organizers for State Question 836 turned in more than 200,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's Office, but it's unclear how many of the signatures were able to be verified. [NonDoc]
- Effort to open Oklahoma primaries falls short [Oklahoma Voice]
- Open primary state question fails; officials note invalid signatures [The Oklahoman]
- As open primaries in Oklahoma fail, a bill to codify partly closing them advances [KOSU]
Grading Oklahoma: Oklahoma has the highest insurance rates, despite lower incomes: Even though the state's median household income are among the nation's lowest, the coverage rates are three times the average. [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma riot law at the middle of years-long court dispute: Oklahoma's top criminal appeals court has ruled that a standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court about "true threats" of violence does not apply to the state's century-old law on prosecuting riots. [The Oklahoman]
Gov. Stitt signs executive order declaring a state of emergency for northeast Oklahoma: Governor Kevin Stitt signed Executive Order 2026-11 on Friday, declaring a State of Emergency in Alfalfa, Okmulgee, Grant, Major, Creek, Rogers, Tulsa, and Wagoner counties to ensure essential resources can quickly reach Oklahomans after the severe weather this week. [KFOR]
State Government News
Efforts move forward that could roll back Medicaid expansion: Despite voters already having voted in Medicaid Expansion, there is an effort that has moved forward that could allow the state to opt out of costs. This would ultimately restrict how many people could stay on Medicaid in Oklahoma. [KFOR]
Eliminating Oklahoma's medical marijuana industry would be 'death blow,' costly to state: A growing chorus of bipartisan voices, both inside and outside the industry, are pushing back against Gov. Kevin Stitt's recent calls to "shut down" Oklahoma's multi-billion dollar medical marijuana industry. [Oklahoma Voice]
Mulready Approves CompSource Conversion Plan: Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready on Thursday approved CompSource Mutual Insurance Co.'s conversion plan, which drew immediate pushback from some policyholders, who still must vote to approve the plan. [Oklahoma Watch]
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert wants primaries moved to March: Oklahoma Speaker of the House of Representatives Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, wants Oklahomans to vote earlier and, he says, more often. Whether or not it's his intention, Hilbert would also make it harder for voters to switch party affiliations ahead of elections. [Tulsa World]
Oklahoma Chronicle: Investing in Education: Oklahoma lawmakers have come up with a plan to improve child literacy scores across the state. The move comes with a hefty price tag and many are not happy about where the money will come from. [KOCO]
Legislative Roundup
- Bills filed after scathing audit would tighten financial oversight of state agencies [Tulsa World]
- Lawmakers Advance Several Voting Bills [Oklahoma Watch]
- Bills to watch: lawmakers advance key bills on elections, education, and taxes [The Journal Record]
- Here are the cost of living bills still standing as Oklahoma legislative session barrels forward [Tulsa Flyer]
- Monday Minute: Appointment decisions [NonDoc]
Opinion: SB 1450 brings clarity to those seeking to reenter the workforce: For years, fines and fees have quietly limited the ability of many Oklahomans to fully reenter the workforce. Even after completing court-ordered requirements, relief from certain costs can depend more on discretion than on clear, consistent standards. SB 1450, authored by Sen. Julie Daniels and advancing this session, addresses that gap. The bill modifies Oklahoma's waiver and ability-to-pay provisions by requiring waiver of certain court costs and fees once defined conditions are met. It also clarifies timelines for payment and establishes a substantial compliance standard. [Tiffani Shaw / Tulsa World]
Opinion: How ironic: While Oklahoma Republicans stood for America, they bowed as Trump trampled voter rights: Bowing down to Trump might seem like politics as usual in the Republican-controlled Oklahoma House. But here's where it gets delightfully ironic and raises some uncomfortable questions for Republican lawmakers about whether they actually do intend to protect American citizens living in this state. As House Republicans were standing to honor Trump, his Department of Justice was busy suing Oklahoma's election chief to try to force the release of private voter data. That's data that American citizens living in Oklahoma have made crystal clear that they don't want in anybody's hands except our state election officials. [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
Federal Government News
What's the cost of Trump's war in Iran? US House Dem asks budget agency to add it up: The top Democrat on the U.S. House Budget Committee sent a letter to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Thursday, asking its experts to determine how much the war in Iran could cost. [Oklahoma Voice]
- D.C. Digest: War cost adds to Cole's appropriations duties [Tulsa World]
Listen Frontier: Why Trump picked Markwayne Mullin for Homeland Security (podcast): On this podcast, we're talking about one of the more surprising political shakeups in Washington — the firing of Kristi Noem and the appointment of Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her. [The Frontier]
- Native Americans react to Sen. Markwayne Mullin's DHS appointment [NPR via KOSU]
- From fighter to Trump adviser, is Markwayne Mullin a good fit for DHS? [The Oklahoman]
Is the ICE budget for converting warehouses to detention facilities more than Oklahoma's total annual spending? Yes: According to a document released amid ICE's acquisition of warehouses, ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion to expand detention capacity to 92,000 beds–more than Oklahoma's 2024 expenditure of $30.7 billion. [Oklahoma Watch]
Tribal Nations News
Teeing up OK Supreme Court case, federal judge boots Stitt motion in Muscogee, Tulsa settlement: District Judge John Russell announced today he will enter an order denying Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's intervention request aimed at preventing the enforcement of a settlement agreement in the Muscogee Nation's lawsuit against the City of Tulsa. The order portends a conclusion to the federal case, but it does allow the Stitt administration to continue making some of its arguments against the agreement in state court. [NonDoc]
- Judge denies governor's request to intervene in city of Tulsa, Muscogee Nation lawsuit [Tulsa World]
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief optimistic for next Oklahoma governor, addresses Stitt on 'McGirt': Gov. Kevin Stitt, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has repeatedly called for limits to tribal sovereignty and has claimed Oklahoma's reservations were disbanded upon statehood, despite the landmark McGirt case that ruled half the state was tribal land. [KOSU]
Black Creek leaders seek federal records tied to Freedmen citizenship debate: Attorneys representing Black Creek descendants in an ongoing citizenship dispute with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation are requesting records from the federal government they say could shed light on how national policymakers are understanding the decades-long fight over Freedmen citizenship. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Education News
Essay controversy spurs OU criticism across spectrum: After the University of Oklahoma gained national notoriety last year for terminating a teaching assistant over a religious essay controversy, President Joe Harroz said he relied on OU's Faculty Senate Executive Committee throughout the process — a claim the body quickly disputed in a formal resolution. [NonDoc]
Criminal Justice News
SCOTUS considers whether plea deals block all appeals in Oklahoma: The ability to appeal or not to appeal was the question before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, as justices considered how broadly appeal waivers in plea agreements should be enforced in the case of Texas defendant Munson Hunter. [Gaylord News via The Black Wall Street Times]
OK County Commissioner Myles Davidson will not be charged over sexual accusations: Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davison will not face criminal prosecution over accusations he groped a woman last year. [The Oklahoman]
Ex-Oklahoma cop arrested after investigators say he admitted to lying: A former police officer has been arrested on accusations he lied about an arrest in a rural western Oklahoma city. [The Oklahoman]
Family of armed man fatally shot by Tulsa Police officer seek answers, transparency: The family of an armed, suicidal man fatally shot by Tulsa Police are searching for answers nearly one month later. Karmen Glunt is asking that an outside, independent oversight committee be formed to review police shootings such as the Feb. 8 shooting of her brother. [Tulsa World]
Community News
Opinion: God knows we can and must do better. The choice is ours: Our beloved country is not in a good place, and life is getting worse. The inhumanity, injustice, racism and violence happening in our country is beyond comprehension, yet true. And just think how fortunate, even blessed, our country has been for 250 years! Sure, we have had our wars, famines, depressions, controversies and other challenges along the way, but we have always come back — even prospered. We still have the freedom and ability "IF" we have the desire and determination to correct our course. [The Rev. Lee Stephens / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Jesse Jackson's words transformed my life at 10 years old: As a young Black boy attending a predominantly white school, where daily microaggressions came not only from students but sometimes from teachers, that declaration reshaped how I saw myself. The Rev. Jackson had an uncanny ability, through both word and presence, to make you feel seen and heard. [The Rev. A. Byron Coleman III / The Oklahoman]
