Oklahoma News
Opinion: What’s worse, an Oklahoma public official that spreads misinformation or one lacking compassion?: Is it worse to spread misinformation about the outcomes of our elections and threaten to imprison the very folks who are doing their best to make sure our election system functions without interference? Or is it a bigger sin to show so little empathy for the least among us and to demonstrate that you have a blind spot a mile wide about the realities of poverty that continue to grip every corner of this state? [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
State Government News
Oklahoma lawmakers reverse course on costly food truck fire requirements. But the debate remains hot: Last year, legislators passed laws to streamline permits and require fire suppression systems. It left many in the Latino food vendor community wondering how they could afford the changes. Things changed this year, after lawmakers reversed the fire suppression requirement. But the argument over effective food truck fire safety isn’t fully resolved. [La Semana & Tulsa Flyer]
Capitol Insider: Investigation continues into allegations against state representative: The State Capitol is usually rather quiet in the summer during the lull between legislative sessions. Such has been the case this summer until the last couple of days. A member of the House who is up for reelection in November is under investigation for alleged inappropriate conduct. [KGOU]
- Oklahoma state Rep. Danny Williams accused of 'improper' conduct [The Oklahoman]
- OK Republican lawmaker denies that accusations against him are sexual [KFOR]
- Political notebook: Another Oklahoma legislator under investigation [Tulsa World]
Federal Government News
Oklahoma governor, public utility join Trump pledge designed to shield ratepayers from data center costs: President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the addition of Republican governors, legislators, utility services and tech companies into his voluntary pledge aimed at keeping data center construction and operation costs off the shoulders of American consumers. [Oklahoma Voice]
Armstrong pushes pipeline permitting reform during short term in D.C.: U.S. Sen. Alan Armstrong gave his first speech on the Senate floor last week, promoting the push for energy affordability through legislation making it easier to build petroleum pipelines. [NonDoc]
Sen. Alan Armstrong Violated STOCK Act With 700 Tardy Stock Disclosures: One of the Senate’s newest members was months late disclosing 700 personal stock trades that together are worth millions of dollars, according to a NOTUS review of new congressional financial records. [NOTUS via Oklahoma Watch]
D.C. Digest: Mullin, White House may already be at odds: The shine on Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s relationship with President Donald Trump may have dimmed. NBC and others reported last week that four months after Trump persuaded Mullin to give up a safe seat in the U.S. Senate to take over the troubled agency, Mullin appears to be losing internal battles to immigration hardliners and others questioning his leadership. [Tulsa World]
Tribal Nations News
Tribe asks 10th Circuit to reconsider Osage Reservation disestablishment decision: The Osage Nation is asking the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its 2010 decision in Osage Nation v. Irby and declare that its Indian Country reservation was never disestablished. [NonDoc]
Muscogee Nation passes resolution opposing proposed Inola smelter: Citing environmental concerns and a lack of tribal consultation from the state of Oklahoma, the Muscogee Nation’s legislative branch has come out in opposition to a proposed aluminum smelter. [Tulsa World]
- Muscogee Nation to examine role of data centers, AI [Tulsa World]
Voting and Election News
Mazzei, Drummond and Munson take stage in heated Oklahoma governor race: A forum hosted by the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association in Tulsa marked the first time the three leading candidates for governor have met publicly since the June primary election. Drummond, Mazzei and Munson all said they recognized the importance of the state's agriculture industry, but disagreed on how to protect rural farmers and ranchers and their livelihoods. [The Oklahoman]
Election Roundup
- Oklahoma's U.S. Senate runoff highlights Democrats' ideological divide [Tulsa World]
- What type of leader does north Tulsa need? Here’s what District 1 candidates said. [The Oklahoma Eagle]
- Tulsa City Council District 3 candidates answer voter questions about public safety, economic development and more [Tulsa Flyer]
- Tulsa's District 5 City Council candidates to take questions at Monday night forum [Tulsa World]
Education News
‘Not excited about those numbers’: OSDE presents teacher certification data, new initiatives: Oklahoma’s number of education preparation program completions is still decreasing year-over-year, the number of first-year teachers with traditional certifications remains less than 50 percent and, for the fifth straight year, fewer than 90 percent of teachers statewide hold a traditional certification. [NonDoc]
States, including Oklahoma, move to limit classroom screen time: After school cellphone bans passed many statehouses with bipartisan support in recent legislative sessions, state lawmakers are turning to legislation governing how long students should spend looking at screens. This year, four states passed laws restricting or regulating screen time for students from childcare through fifth grade. [Oklahoma Voice]
- The 6 new laws Oklahoma parents need to know about before school starts [News 9]
Oklahoma schools are writing rules for AI in the classroom. Owasso and Broken Arrow are leading the way: Love it or hate it, artificial intelligence is likely already in your student’s classroom. In the next year, Oklahoma schools must formalize exactly how it can be used. [Tulsa Flyer]
What's the best college in Oklahoma? US News ranks these at the top: On the 2025 U.S. News & World Report list, Oklahoma had four universities ranked amongst the nation's top 430+ colleges. [The Oklahoman]
Health News
Oklahoma economist links hotter temperatures to steeper Medicaid costs: Even one extra day of hot temperatures in a given month can increase public healthcare costs, according to a new analysis co-authored by an Oklahoma economist. [KOSU]
Measles cases have reached a 35-year high: Measles cases this year have surpassed all of 2025 to become the worst since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000, with cases now in 44 states and the District of Columbia, according to a federal report released Friday. There were 2,318 confirmed cases as of July 23, compared with 2,289 in all of 2025, with 93% of cases for both years being among unvaccinated people, mostly younger than 20. [Oklahoma Voice]
Justice System News
Tulsa is shutting down its city jail after Frontier investigation into deaths: Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said Friday the city will immediately close its municipal jail. The announcement comes one day after The Frontier published a story and video showing the final hours of Justin Benner, who died at the jail in September 2025 after detention officers placed him in a full-body restraint device and left him alone in a cell. [The Frontier]
- Tulsa’s city jail doubled inmate capacity but not staffing. Then 7 people died in 3 years. [Tulsa World]
- Mayor orders closure of Tulsa's municipal lockup [Tulsa World]
- How we got here: The city opened its own jail after feud with county about costs [Tulsa World]
States end statutes of limitations for child sex abuse. Not Oklahoma: Leaders of the Republican-controlled state Senate blocked a bill from advancing this spring that would have protected child abuse victims from signing non-disclosure agreements and eliminated the statute of limitations on child sex crimes. The death of House Bill 4227 in Oklahoma stunned Clemishire and other advocates, who have vowed to try again next year. [The Oklahoman]
Official: Despite troubles, spending mostly on track at new jail site: After "striking oil" once at the Oklahoma County jail construction site − in contaminated soil and an undocumented, decades-old borehole − project leaders set money aside to cover the expense if it happened again, but it didn't. [The Oklahoman]
- County jail elevators: One down, two working again after emergency fix [The Oklahoman]
Ex-worker at Tulsa juvenile center gets 10 years for soliciting, trafficking minors: A former Tulsa Family Center for Juvenile Justice employee will serve 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday in Tulsa County District Court to charges linked to criminal behavior toward minor detainees. [Tulsa World]
Economy & Business News
Opinion: Talent is everywhere — opportunity isn’t: Every community is filled with people who have great ideas, incredible skills and the determination to build something meaningful. We need to decrease the barriers that hamper their success. [Elizabeth Frame Ellison / Tulsa World]
Community News
'Focus: Black Oklahoma': America 250, invisible disabilities, Clara Luper & more (podcast): This episode of Focus: Black Oklahoma features stories on the significance of America's 250th birthday, reflections from Clara Luper and her daughter Marilyn Luper Hildreth on Oklahoma's civil rights movement and more. [KOSU & Tri-City Collective]
Oklahoma children find common ground at interfaith camp: For four evenings, young people learned about spiritual practices, traditions and cultures different than their own. The interfaith camp culminated with a potluck dinner featuring different dishes favored by the different traditions represented. [The Oklahoman]
Why this Oklahoma group keeps 'diversity' in its name: Michael Korenblit, a Holocaust educator, activist and author, founded the Respect Diversity Foundation nonprofit 25 years ago with his wife Joan, but in recent years, the word they'd used with intentionality had fallen out of a favor with right-wing politicians and individuals in some government and corporate circles. [The Oklahoman]
Life's work for genealogist finds home at Tulsa' Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art: Jewish genealogist Miriam Weiner, 83, donated her life’s work to the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, museum officials announced this month. The massive archive of genealogical material is already in the process of relocating, and the full collection is slated to arrive at the museum next spring with help from Weiner, museum officials and professional art movers. [Tulsa World]
Millennials to Boomers: ‘We won’t take care of you’ in old age, viral Reddit thread shows: Is this the age of Millennial revenge upon Baby Boomers? A three-year-old viral thread on Reddit, which is making rounds again, hints that many members of the Millennial generation may not feel obligated to take care of their elders, particularly members of the Baby Boomer generation. [KFOR]
Local Headlines
- ‘We are all 74127’: New Tulsa program helps neighbors find solutions in their ZIP code [Tulsa Flyer]
- Partnership provides life, legal instruction to Tulsa Boys Home residents [Tulsa World]
