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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
Petition seeks constitutional amendment to guarantee every idea a vote in the Oklahoma Legislature (Capitol Update): With SQ 839, any ill-considered idea that an individual legislator wanted to make law could get a public legislative vote. The legislators who take on the responsibility of killing the bill with their public vote would be subject to the wrath of its supporters. Under current constitutional and legislative rules, the committee chairman simply sets aside the idea and proceeds to other matters. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Oklahoma News
Operation SAFE Displacements Add Barriers to Resources: Operation SAFE, Gov. Kevin Stitt’s order to remove homeless encampments from state-owned land in Tulsa, displaced hundreds of homeless Tulsans over the course of its three-week campaign. Many have moved to Springdale Park, using it as a temporary camp after losing most or all of their belongings during sweeps. [Oklahoma Watch]
- From OK Policy: Bulldozers won’t solve homelessness (Commentary)
State Government News
Oklahoma Freedom Caucus adds five lawmakers as it pushes proposals to honor Charlie Kirk: The new members bring the group’s public membership roster to nine of 149 lawmakers in the Capitol. While the group remains small, its membership is concentrated in the 48-member state Senate, meaning the group could wield some influence, particularly when Republicans disagree. [The Oklahoman]
Federal Government News
Congressional delegation warned against lapse in medical insurance subsidy: The issue that has Congress at a standstill could soon become a major issue for many and maybe most Oklahomans, a state contingent from the health care sector told congressional staffers last week. [Tulsa World]
Supreme Court will weigh expanding Trump’s power to shape agencies by overturning 90-year-old ruling: The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider expanding President Donald Trump’s power to shape independent agencies by overturning a nearly century-old decision limiting when presidents can fire board members. [AP via Public Radio Tulsa]
Oklahoma industries could feel impact as Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee takes effect: President Donald Trump’s decision to require a $100,000 fee for each new foreign worker visa application will impact Oklahoma’s tech, healthcare and education sectors the most, according to data compiled by the federal government. [The Oklahoman]
Pentagon restricts media access with non-disclosure policy: The Pentagon says it will require credentialed journalists at the military headquarters to sign a pledge to refrain from reporting information that has not been authorized for release — including unclassified information. [AP via The Journal Record]
Fewer households, businesses will get high-speed internet under revamped federal plan: In June, the Trump administration revised the rules of the BEAD program in what the U.S. Department of Commerce said was an effort to lessen regulatory burdens, reduce costs and streamline the process. The administration’s changes to the program, however, have disqualified hundreds of thousands of locations — including homes, businesses and community buildings — from receiving internet access. [Oklahoma Voice]
Tribal Nations News
Westwin Elements highlights what’s at stake for U.S.’s critical minerals pursuit, Indigenous ways of being: A Lawton nickel refinery is trying to prove the U.S. can successfully manufacture critical minerals and minimize geopolitical risk. But Indigenous people globally and in the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache community worry the industry puts their lands and, therefore, cultures at risk. [KOSU & Internews’ Earth Journalism Network]
I-35 Interchange Designated to Honor Late Chickasaw Ambassador: A portion of a major interstate highway will soon honor the late Neal McCaleb, a Chickasaw ambassador who dedicated his career to improving transportation infrastructure in the Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma and the United States. [Native News Online]
Osage Nation reacquires Sugarloaf Mound, St. Louis’ oldest Native American structure: The Osage Nation has fully reacquired Sugarloaf Mound, the oldest known Native American structure in St. Louis, after a 17-year effort. The sacred site, once part of a vast mound complex, will now be preserved by the tribe. [News 9]
Opinion: Why Erasing Native Stories From Our Parks and Public Lands Hurts All Americans: Some of the markings that tell the history of the Trail of Tears may be at risk because of Executive Order 14253, signed by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2025. Couched in language about “highlighting the beauty of the American landscape,” it’s part of the administration’s broad political attempt to sanitize U.S. history for a new generation. [Levi Rickert / Native News Online]
Education News
After Charlie Kirk’s killing, Oklahoma colleges grapple with free speech, safety: In the wake of Kirk’s killing, conversations about the balance between free speech and safety have become especially pressing for college officials across Oklahoma. [The Oklahoman]
Four Tulsa-area school districts notified of complaints about Charlie Kirk comments: Representatives from Broken Arrow, Jenks, Tulsa and Union each confirmed Monday that their district had received a request to investigate an unnamed employee regarding social media posts after Kirk was fatally shot Sept. 10. [Tulsa World]
Shawnee superintendent says district is ‘fortunate’ to land new deputy who received payout: As his first school year as Shawnee Public Schools superintendent approached, Jason James was having trouble filling an assistant superintendent position when an education acquaintance contacted him, looking for a job. [The Oklahoman]
Interactive career fair helps Oklahoma girls fly to success in aviation roles: Girls in Aviation Day is a global initiative from Women in Aviation International that seeks to expose young women to a variety of aerospace careers. In Oklahoma City, the State Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics, in partnership with the Oklahoma Aerospace Foundation, invited girls (and boys) to Will Rogers International Airport for the chance to explore pathways from space flight to engineering. [KOSU]
Health News
Local OB/GYN weighs in on Trump admin linking autism to Tylenol when taken during pregnancy: Dr. Julie Strebel with the State Medical Association practices in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She said acetaminophen is generally used for fever and pain, serving as one of the only drugs safe for women to take when treating fever and pain in early pregnancy. [KFOR]
CDC panel abandons, for now, more controversial vaccine proposals but casts doubt on safety: A key vaccine advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indefinitely postponed a controversial change to guidelines on administering hepatitis B vaccines to newborn babies, and altered long-standing recommendations around COVID-19 vaccine access for children and adults. [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma lawmakers push to halt biosolid use amid health concerns: An Oklahoma lawmaker is intensifying efforts to halt the use of biosolids, also known as humanure, as fertilizer on farmland due to health concerns linked to “forever chemicals.” [Fox 25]
Criminal Justice News
Group concerned with child custody issues calls for cameras in court: A citizens group, joined by area lawmakers, called for judicial and Department of Human Services reform during a rally Monday at the Tulsa County Courthouse. [Tulsa World]
Facing shortage of prosecutors, Oklahoma DAs weigh new recruitment tools: Prosecutors are expected to ask lawmakers next session for additional dollars to recruit and retain attorneys, specifically in rural areas. But members of the District Attorneys Council are still considering the best strategy to draw more attorneys into their offices without harming their counterparts in other parts of the state. [Oklahoma Voice]
Man dead after officer-involved shooting in Miami: A Miami, Oklahoma, man is dead after exchanging gunfire with police Sunday. An FBI spokesperson confirmed that it was investigating an officer-involved shooting in Miami due to the tribal status of at least one of the parties involved. [Tulsa World]
Economy & Business News
Oklahoma Forensic Center to expand, adding capacity, 100 new jobs: The Oklahoma Forensic Center is hiring 100 new workers in advance of a major expansion expected to open this fall. OFC provides forensic evaluations and psychiatric treatment for pretrial defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial and houses individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity. [The Journal Record]
Tulsa Tech Week Debuts in The 918’s Growing Tech Economy: Tai Nehisi grew up in Brooklyn, New York, but today she is at the heart of a movement unfolding in Tulsa — leading the city’s first ever Tulsa Tech Week, a six-day celebration of tech, culture, and people helping to build Tulsa’s emerging tech identity. [The Black Wall Street Times]
- Tulsa Tech Week launches with about 100 events to educate Tulsans [The Oklahoma Eagle]
Google faces antitrust déjà vu over digital advertising monopoly: After deflecting the U.S. Justice Department’s attack on its illegal monopoly in online search, Google is facing another attempt to dismantle its internet empire in a trial focused on its abusive tactics in digital advertising. [AP via The Journal Record]
Community News
OKC unveils sculpture commemorating Clara Luper’s historic sit-in: On Monday, the daughter of Clara Luper, Marilyn Luper Hildreth, who was among the original “sit-inners,” was among a different kind of assembly at the very location of the original Katz lunch counter. The gathering celebrated the installation of a five-ton bronze sculpture memorializing the spot that became Oklahoma City’s first integrated lunch counter. [The Journal Record]
- OKC gets first look at historic sit-in statue as it’s installed downtown [The Oklahoman]
- Watch crew install massive bronze sculpture in OKC’s Clara Luper plaza [The Oklahoman]
Former state representative, ‘Your Vote Counts’ panelist Richard Morrissette dies at 69: Richard Morrissette, a former Democratic State Representative from Southside Oklahoma City, died Sunday morning after fighting cancer in his bile duct. He was 69. [KOSU]
- Former Oklahoma Rep. Richard Morrissette, who served as a legislator in two states, dies [The Oklahoman]
Sterlin Harjo Returns With ‘The Lowdown,’ a Tulsa Noir: “The Lowdown,” Harjo’s follow-up to the acclaimed “Reservation Dogs,” is a Tulsa noir steeped in corruption and myth. “I’m trying to put onscreen my ideas of what my home is,” he said. [The New York Times]
- 11 things about ‘The Lowdown’ premiering tonight that Tulsans will recognize [Tulsa World]
- Opinion: ‘The Lowdown’ creator Sterlin Harjo said this about truth. Please don’t forget it [Jason Collington / Tulsa World]
Local Headlines
- OKC hotel tax increase drives major boost in revenue and tourism, report says [News 9]
- Edmond demands jury trial over denied Walmart Neighborhood Market development [The Oklahoman]
- The City of Minco sees dozens of earthquakes in the span of one week [KFOR]
Quote of the Day
“It’s the middle-income families who could really feel this the most. It’s farmers. It’s self-employed. It’s early retirees (not old enough for Medicare) who are going to feel this and who this will affect.”
– Julie McKone, executive director of Oklahoma Families for Affordable Healthcare, urging Oklahoma’s Republican congressional delegation to extend or make permanent the enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace plans enacted during the Biden administration. The matter has locked up the current Republican-led Congress, with Senate Democrats refusing to allow a GOP continuing resolution to advance without action on the expiring tax credits. [Tulsa World]
Number of the Day
23
The number of rural hospitals in Oklahoma at immediate risk of closing, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. In total, 47 rural hospitals statewide are considered at risk. Facilities in immediate danger have faced multi-year financial losses without adequate support, while others survive only through limited funding that offsets some losses. [Oklahoma Watch]
Policy Note
A Closer Look at the $50 Billion Rural Health Fund in the New Reconciliation Law: The new reconciliation law creates a five-year, $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program intended to help states stabilize rural hospitals and providers as Medicaid funding is reduced. Half of the funding will be distributed equally among participating states, while the rest will be based on rural population size, number of facilities, and hospitals serving low-income patients. While the program offers flexibility and short-term relief, it is temporary and narrower in scope than the long-term Medicaid cuts it is meant to offset, raising concerns that many rural communities will still face significant gaps once the funds expire. In addition, CMS retains broad discretion over criteria and distribution, and the law lacks strong transparency requirements, leaving uncertainty about how much support states and providers will ultimately receive. [KFF]
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