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In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma’s state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Some stories included here are behind paywall or require subscription. Subscribe to In The Know and see past editions.
New from OK Policy
The federal housing bill is worth celebrating. Now state leaders must act.: Congressional members rarely agree on anything, but last month they agreed on one thing: all Americans should have the opportunity to own a home. On July 11, 2026, Congress passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan housing package. The bill does a lot, but one thing it does not do is absolve the state legislature of their duty to ensure Oklahomans have safe, affordable housing. [Sabine Brown / OK Policy]
Oklahoma News
‘Go home’: Norman senator backs Stitt’s homelessness sweeps and considers making cities pay: A Norman lawmaker is considering proposing legislation that would allow the state to bill cities for the governor’s effort to clear homeless encampments from state land. [The Frontier]
- From OK Policy: Bulldozers won’t solve homelessness (Commentary)
$50 and a Bus Ticket: When someone is released from prison in Oklahoma, according to Department of Corrections policy, they’re given $50 and a bus ticket. What they aren’t given is an education on how difficult it might be to find a home. [Oklahoma Watch]
- This Tulsa group is helping women rebuild their lives after incarceration [The Oklahoma Eagle]
State Government News
Oklahoma House set to hear evidence in staff allegation of lawmaker’s ‘improper behavior’: Rep. Mike Osburn, who chairs the House Rules Committee, said lawmakers will meet behind closed doors Sept. 8 to discuss the allegations made by House staff against Republican Rep. Danny Williams, as well as the outcome of related investigations ordered by House staff. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Petition delivered to State Capitol calling for Rep. Williams to end re-election campaign [Fox 25]
Oklahoma Medicaid costs rise as aging population pressures budget: As concerns linger over Oklahoma’s potentially increased duty to fund Medicaid in the future, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority shared some statistics with legislators during an interim study on Tuesday. [The Journal Record]
- Lower numbers in those using Medicaid programs (video) [KFOR]
- Medicaid at rural hospitals: How the Trump administration is reshaping the health care system (podcast) [KGOU]
- From OK Policy: H.R. 1 could push Oklahoma’s health care system past its breaking point
Federal Government News
Trump administration throws more support behind Inola smelter in new court filings: The Trump administration has weighed in on Oklahoma’s lawsuit against the companies behind an aluminum smelter in Inola. In new court filings, the U.S. Department of Justice argues the project should be allowed to move forward. [KOSU]
- Inola residents file another lawsuit seeking to stop aluminum smelter [Tulsa World]
- Residents fight federal funding for Inola smelter in lawsuit [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma is a finalist for a $50B nuclear plant. Not everyone wants it: In January, the Stitt administration pitched the U.S. Department of Energy on making Oklahoma the site for one of three new nuclear power facilities. But the proposal has faced pushback amid the growing concern over power plants and data centers, projects that have sparked intense local debate across the state. [The Oklahoman]
Trump has widened scope of anti-immigrant policy in second term: In President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, he has employed a governmentwide approach to fulfilling his immigration agenda that includes not only the central campaign promise of mass deportations, but curtailing what few federal benefits some immigrants had. [Oklahoma Voice]
- US Justice Department challenges 4 more states over in-state tuition for immigrants [Oklahoma Voice]
- Opinion, Oklahoma State Senator: Detaining hard-working immigrants costs Oklahoma taxpayers [Sen. Michael Brooks / The Oklahoman]
Sanctuary policies are keeping prisoners in local jails away from ICE: As more states seek ways to limit immigration enforcement, a Stateline analysis shows one tactic has had an effect: making it more difficult for local law enforcement to hand over people they are holding in city or county jails to federal immigration authorities. [Oklahoma Voice]
Trump administration appeals latest order freezing rule on mail-in voting: President Donald Trump’s administration is appealing a federal judge’s temporary pause on a U.S. Postal Service regulation that places new restrictions on mail-in voting, according to a Friday court filing. [Oklahoma Voice]
Tribal Nations News
Lake Ontario name change erases Indigenous history, Wyandotte Nation leader says: After President Donald Trump issued an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America, a Wyandotte Nation leader is asking for the administration to reconsider. [KOSU]
Choctaw Nation ranks No. 5 on Forbes’ list of Oklahoma’s best employers: The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has been named one of Forbes‘ Best Employers by State for 2026, ranking No. 5 among 35 Oklahoma organizations included on the list. [The Journal Record]
Opinion: Building Career Pathways Close to Home with Rogers State University: The best investments we make in rural Oklahoma are the ones that give our people the chance to learn, work and build up their home community. Seizing those opportunities is a priority for the Hoskin-Warner Administration and at the heart of how we govern the Cherokee Nation. [Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. / Native News Online]
Voting and Election News
Oklahoma voter ID amendment approved: How it affects Nov. 3 election: State Question 846 adds a section to the state’s constitution to require proof of identity to vote in any election, and allows lawmakers to set the rules for what counts as proof. Now that it’s approved, what happens next? Will anything change ahead of the November general election? [The Oklahoman]
Mazzei’s D.C. advisers, Roger Stone absent from campaign finance reports: One day after Mike Mazzei won the Republican gubernatorial runoff, a major player in Washington, D.C., politics was applauding the result. Roger Stone is a close ally of President Donald Trump and an adviser to Mazzei’s campaign. [The Oklahoman]
Tulsa’s majority-Black District 1 challenges myth that Black people don’t vote: Tulsa’s only majority-Black City Council district appears to have recorded the second-highest estimated voting-age participation rate among the city’s six contested council districts on Aug. 25. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Catch up on Oklahoma’s 2026 midterm elections for governor, US Senate and more: Nearly every statewide elected position in Oklahoma will be on the ballot on Nov. 3, giving voters the chance to pick an entirely new cadre of state leaders to govern for the next four years. [The Oklahoman]
- Opinion, Capitol Insider: Candidates set for Oklahoma General Election races (podcast) [KGOU]
- Oklahoma Chronicle: Reacting to the results of the primary runoff elections (video) [KOCO]
Opinion: Déjà vu in governor’s race? Can Cyndi Munson go viral?: By all accounts Munson has performed well as the leader of Democrats in the House of Representatives. But she is … (here’s where you raise your fingers for an air-quote) … “a Democrat.” In Oklahoma, the label can be a barrier to election success. [William C. Wertz / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Is a win a win among Oklahoma’s divided GOP electorate? Mike Mazzei is about to find out.: In 20 years of covering elections, I have never seen the outcome of a statewide race so close. The fact that it was reveals how fractured the Republican voting base really is, and that Mazzei will have a tough time getting the deeply divided rest of the state to coalesce behind his vision for our future. [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion: Public education wasn’t on the ballot. Or was it?: Voters who braved the searing late August heat made two things crystal clear: they like their public schools and don’t want the pols at NE 23rd and Lincoln Blvd. meddling and micromanaging. Those messages were delivered via the landslide defeat of State Question 844 and the nearly 10 percentage point victory that made Dr. Robert Franklin the Republican nominee for state superintendent. [Arnold Hamilton / The Journal Record]
Education News
Oklahoma’s college educated workforce largely graduated from Oklahoma higher education, study shows: A new report shows Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of homegrown college-educated workforces. That means workers who graduated high school and college in Oklahoma. [StateImpact Oklahoma via KGOU]
Time Magazine ranks these colleges, schools as best in Oklahoma: Time Magazine’s first America’s Best Colleges list includes five schools in Oklahoma that are preparing students well for their return on investment. [The Oklahoman]
Health News
Cheaper health insurance changed their lives. Then it went away.: According to state data, enrollment in ACA plans has fallen by nearly two-thirds in just eight months. The medical and financial consequences could be dire — for individual patients and for the state. [Oklahoma Voice]
Justice System News
These Tulsa-area law enforcement agencies have agreements with ICE. Some are on patrol.: Across the Tulsa metro, dozens of law enforcement officers now have federal authority to make warrantless immigration arrests as part of the 287(g) program. The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office drew the line at certifying patrol officers, but other local law enforcement agencies aren’t following the same path. [Tulsa Flyer]
Tulsa immigrants are looking for legal help. Police say scammers are taking advantage.: Tulsa police are urging the immigrant community to be cautious when searching for legal services — warning about the potential for financial schemes. [Tulsa Flyer]
New U.S. attorney takes over with plans to reshape Tulsa prosecutions after McGirt: One of the youngest U.S. attorneys ever appointed to the Northern District, Christopher Nassar also is the third consecutive U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma to have come up from the rank-and-file of assistant U.S. attorneys in the Tulsa-based office. [Tulsa World]
Assault survivor accuses Oklahoma DA of blocking her on social media: A sexual assault victim is accusing the Oklahoma County district attorney of blocking her from interacting with the prosecutor’s official social media page because of outspoken criticism. [The Oklahoman]
Scobey objects to control over decorum in proposed jail trust bylaws: The Oklahoma County jail trust still works under a bare-bones legal framework after Trustee Rev. Derrick Scobey objected to power given to the trust chairman and top jailer − and rules of decorum − in a proposed set of bylaws. [The Oklahoman]
Sara Polston sues ODOC director over law that could return her to prison: An Oklahoma woman convicted in a 2023 drunk-driving crash is asking a federal judge to block the state from returning her to prison. A new law would make her ineligible for Electronic Monitoring Program. [Fox 25]
117 women learned their jail strip searches were recorded. Their outrage changed the law.: Survivors hope their advocacy for a bill passed in Colorado can be a model for other states after a jail official was accused of viewing strip-search videos more than 3,000 times. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Economy & Business News
Can Oklahoma’s water survive the data center boom?: Google’s recent $30 million pledge to support water resources, which includes a $2.3 million conservation grant, represents a broader but still unsettled effort in Oklahoma to match booming tech investment with the state’s water limits. [The Oklahoman]
- Opinion: ‘Suitcase Farmers’ return to Oklahoma via data centers [Travis Roach / The Oklahoman]
- Opinion: Data centers are Oklahoma’s next infrastructure story [Collin Walke and Madeline Mitchell Stacy / The Oklahoman]
Survey: 80% of workers doubt leadership puts employees ahead of profit: A new survey finds trust in workplace leadership is eroding as workers navigate financial uncertainty, layoffs and AI-driven change. The Trust Under Pressure report, released by online resume builder LiveCareer, found that 80% of workers rarely or never trust leadership to prioritize employee interests over profit when the two conflict. [The Journal Record]
Some states raise pay for home caregivers as shortage looms: By 2030, Americans over 65 will outnumber those under 18. For decades, experts have warned that the country was not prepared for this demographic wave. [Oklahoma Voice]
Canadian tariffs to further raise prices, a top concern for voters: A developing trade war with Canada could bite Republicans ahead of the upcoming midterm elections as voters worry about rising prices and industries in states with competitive races could suffer. [Oklahoma Voice]
Local Headlines
- EMSAcare enrollment opens in September for Oklahoma City [The Oklahoman]
- Warren Plunk, who was running for Oklahoma County district judge, has died [The Oklahoman]
- Hear long-term ideas for Edmond’s pending 2nd Street and Broadway Corridors Plan [The Oklahoman]
- Massive El Reno water leak traced to Bitcoin mining data center facility [KFOR]
- Claremore says data center project moving to next phase, finalizes revenue commitments [Fox 25]
- Tulsa man faces murder charges after explosion at Sand Springs business [Tulsa World]
- Tulsa City councilors weigh in on proposed massive downtown redevelopment plan [Tulsa World]
Quote of the Day
“…[A]n emergency response is different from relocating people away from the community they call home. Norman is their community, and ideally the resources and support they need should be available there.”
— Erin Goodin, president and CEO of the Oklahoma City shelter City Rescue Mission, said in response to an email she received in June from the office of State Senator Lisa Standridge asking if the shelter could absorb an additional 70 unhoused people she wished to relocate from Norman. [The Frontier]
Number of the Day
120
There are only 120 emergency shelter beds in Norman to serve the roughly 240 people experiencing homelessness. [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development]
Policy Note
Homeless Camp Sweeps Can Harm Health. Some Cities Are Trying a New Way.: Local governments across the U.S. have increasingly turned to sweeps and arrests as the number of people living on the nation’s streets exploded by nearly 60% between 2015 and 2024. But growing evidence shows that forcing people to move can harm their health. That’s prompting several cities to try a new approach in some cases, which experts on homelessness say can get rid of encampments, while also protecting the health of people living there. [Tradeoffs]
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