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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
SQ 847 Explained (video): Oklahoma voters will go to the polls on Nov. 3 to decide State Question 847 that would lower Oklahoma’s assessment caps for property taxes beginning in 2027. In this explainer video, OK Policy’s Aanahita Irani Ervin breaks down what it means for property taxes and local services in Oklahoma. [Aanahita Irani Irvin / YouTube]
Now Hiring, Southeast Regional Organizer: Our Regional Organizers support OK Policy in the development and implementation of community-based advocacy actions that further policy goals identified by OK Policy. This position works as part of OK Policy’s grassroots advocacy arm Together Oklahoma (TOK) to engage communities and affinity groups. The Regional Organizer works under the leadership and guidance of, and reports directly to, the Outreach Director. The Southeast Regional Organizer must live and work in the Southeast Region, consisting of the following counties: McCurtain, Choctaw, Pushmataha, LeFlore, Haskell, Latimer, Pittsburgh, Hughes, Cole, Atoka, Bryan, Marshall, Love, Carter, Johnston, Murray, Garvin, Pontotoc, McClain. A full job description and online application are available at OKPolicy.org/jobs. The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m., Sunday, October 18.
Oklahoma News
ICE Raids in Beef Country Raise Fears of Higher Prices: Cattle industry groups in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas and two Republican senators said the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions were hurting operations. [New York Times]
- Oklahoma cattle group says ICE activity ripples through supply chain [KOSU]
- Ranchers claim ICE operations are disrupting the cattle industry [KFOR]
What we know about Trump’s upcoming visit to Oklahoma: President Trump is coming to Durant for a rally Thursday. The rally will be held in the heart of the Choctaw reservation at the Choctaw Nation’s event center. The stop is part of a tour of deep-red states friendly to the president. Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei said he will be in Durant at the president’s event. Trump’s endorsement of Mazzei was critical in his emergence from a crowded GOP primary field. [KOSU]
- Trump set to rally GOP voters, hold midterm election event in Oklahoma [Oklahoma Voice]
‘David against an army of Goliaths’: The fight over a proposed data center in Sand Springs (podcast): Frontier Executive Editor Dylan Goforth spoke with Michael Patton, executive director of Land Legacy, a nonprofit that works to conserve natural areas across Oklahoma. Land Legacy is at the center of a legal fight over a proposed Google data center in Sand Springs. The organization holds a conservation easement from a family that previously owned ranch land that is part of the site that it believes restricts industrial development. [The Frontier]
State Government News
Severance agreements with Oklahoma regulatory agency top $300k: The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has agreed to pay over $310,000 in severance to three former employees who parted with the agency in the last 18 months, according to copies of their severance agreements. [Oklahoma Voice]
Realtors, Developers and Lawmakers Say Land Banks Are a Start Toward Housing Fix: Land banks are back in the conversation at the state Capitol. After a bill Sen. Julia Kirt proposed on the subject failed to leave committee this past legislative session, the Senate minority leader held an interim study on September 15 to analyze how Oklahoma could use land banks to address vacant and abandoned properties across the state and increase the state’s affordable, available housing. [Oklahoma Watch]
Oklahoma leaders weigh new ways to curb youth shootings: Search warrants and arrest affidavits filed in court shed light on what officials have been hesitant to discuss publicly. Gun violence among children is pervasive and increasing, in part because of the embrace of gun culture in the United States. Finding the root causes of gun violence among young people also frustrates experts, especially in states like Oklahoma where gun rights are venerated. [The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Fatal abnormalities are a harsh reality of pregnancy. Why does Oklahoma abortion law ignore it?: It’s appalling that Oklahoma’s Legislature continues to treat pregnancy and related abortion policies as a black-and-white issue with no room for deviation. That’s despite the reality that anyone who has ever carried a child knows maternal medicine is nuanced. But that ignorance explains why Oklahoma taxpayers will again waste public money defending our Legislature’s callous version of how pregnancy should happen versus the unvarnished, uncomfortable reality. [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
Federal Government News
Millions of dollars of waste found in Trump administration push for immigration detention: Government investigators Thursday released a report that found the Department of Homeland Security wasted more than $20 million in federal funding in its rapid expansion of immigration detention, including warehouse purchases strongly opposed in numerous U.S. communities. [Oklahoma Voice]
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to permit quick third-country deportations: The Trump administration Thursday made an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow for rapid third-country deportations of noncitizens to continue, after an appeals court blocked the policy last week. Oklahoma Voice]
Voting and Election News
Capitol Insider: Student perspectives on the upcoming Oklahoma general election: The statewide general election is just over six weeks away. Oklahoma is at or near the bottom of all states in the percentage of eligible voters who vote. Are younger voters showing interest in this year’s elections? [KGOU]
Election Roundup
- Previewing Oklahoma’s Insurance Commissioner Race [Oklahoma Watch]
- Tulsa County Election Board adds early in-person voting sites for Nov. 3 [Tulsa World]
- Don’t click on the bait: ‘Voter profile’ texts are a phishing scam [The Oklahoman]
Education News
Judge grants preliminary injunction in Jewish charter school case, SCOTUS challenge possible: A federal judge has granted a proposed Jewish charter school‘s request for a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of the nonsectarian requirement of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act. [NonDoc]
With school librarians in short supply, the Oklahoma education board begrudgingly grants 56 waivers: The State Board of Education approved requests Thursday from 56 districts to reduce library hours or replace supervision with a library aide instead of a certified librarian. [KGOU]
School closures could reshape Tulsa Public Schools. Many want to know what comes next: With possible school closure votes coming in less than a month, Tulsa Public Schools’ parents, students, employees and school board members are parsing through data, emotions and options moving forward. [Tulsa World]
- Tulsa’s Central High School may become a career and virtual school hub. Details are still in the works. [Tulsa Flyer]
Will a Pennsylvania junior military college move to Oklahoma? It might have to.: Leaders of one of the nation’s only junior military colleges say they are under legal “siege” at their Pennsylvania campus. The threat is existential, so a state Senator has offered Oklahoma as a new home to save the school and held a study to discuss. [KOSU]
Health News
She traveled out of Oklahoma for an abortion. Now, she’s suing to change the law.: Two women have joined a Sept. 16 lawsuit filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights in the Oklahoma County District Court. Two Oklahoma OBGYNs have also joined the lawsuit challenging the state’s total abortion ban and 22-week ban in regards to pregnancies with fatal fetal diagnoses. [The Oklahoma Eagle]
- 5 things to know about abortion-rights lawsuit against Oklahoma [Tulsa World]
CDC’s latest youth behavior report offers a narrower look at teen health: The 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey report focuses on five areas — diet, physical activity, sleep, digital behavior, and mental health and suicide risk — while largely leaving out national findings on substance use, sexual behavior, violence and disparities among student groups that were prominent in previous reports. [Oklahoma Voice]
Tulsa Period Pantry has delivered free period products to 63K girls. It wants the model to expand across Oklahoma.: Tulsa Period Pantry began in Cassie Celestain’s home closet, delivering free period products to two partner schools. Five years later, the nonprofit supplies period pantries in 100 Tulsa-area schools, giving over 63,000 girls access to essential products supporting their hygiene, confidence and school attendance. [Tulsa Flyer]
Justice System News
Petition seeks grand jury investigation of Tulsa County DA Steve Kunzweiler: The petition seeks a grand jury investigation into Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler and his office over the handling of several cases, public records and other office practices. [News on 6]
Economy & Business News
Diesel costs weigh heavily on Oklahoma ag producers: Citing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the American Farm Bureau reported this month that net farm income in 2026 is expected to decline by 2.6% in comparison to 2025 and by 5.5% after inflation is considered. The production expense forecast has deteriorated significantly just since February. Overall fuel and oil expenses, projected to be around $22 billion nationally, will be up by nearly 29% year over year. Fertilizer costs are projected to jump by more than 15%. [Tulsa World]
Oklahoma reckons with environmental costs of marijuana industry: When Oklahoma lawmakers finally gave Sheriff Jim Mullett the go-ahead, he began reining in Garvin County’s marijuana businesses and shutting down the illegal ones. But soon he uncovered another problem in his central Oklahoma county. What happens to all the stuff left behind — including the land, chemicals and agricultural equipment? [The Oklahoman]
Data center planned for MidAmerica Industrial Park getting no financial incentives: A 375-megawatt data center is planned for a 329-acre site near Chouteau in the MidAmerica Industrial Park, officials have confirmed. MAIP Chief Executive Officer Dave Stewart said California-based Lambda is paying full market price for the site and is receiving no incentives. [Tulsa World]
At The CBC Conference, Black Women Sound The Alarm On Jobs And Economic Security: As Black women continue to face job loss, financial instability and rising costs, lawmakers and advocates confront a growing economic crisis from Capitol Hill to communities across the country. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Community News
Oaklawn Cemetery search for race massacre burials to resume: Archeological work related to Tulsa’s 1921 Race Massacre will resume next week in the southwest corner of Oaklawn Cemetery, the City of Tulsa said Friday. The work is part of a years-long attempt to locate and identify unmarked burials from the massacre. The first excavations were in July 2020, with at least one a year since. [Tulsa World]
New project shares memories from bygone Black communities around Oklahoma City: Starting before statehood, Oklahoma has been home to more than 50 all-Black towns and settlements. Around a dozen still remain, but many have faded due to urbanization, redlining and Jim Crow laws. A new project shares firsthand accounts from residents of these lost Black neighborhoods in the OKC metro. [KOSU]
Faith network’s youth tour highlights nonprofit’s longevity in Oklahoma: As part of an inter-faith tour, young Christians visited a mosque, a Jewish synagogue and a Buddhist temple for the first time, while their youth group leader watched them take it all in. It’s the opportunity for middle and high school students to learn about religions other than their own. [The Oklahoman]
Local Headlines
- After a $140.9M transformation, Gilcrease Museum is ready to open its doors in March [Tulsa Flyer]
- Gilcrease Museum announces March reopening after five-year closure [Tulsa World]
- OKC transit system ranked worst in US, but change is underway, city says [The Oklahoman]
- Nearly 100 graves believed to be marked in nearly-forgotten cemetery in Choctaw [KFOR]
- Edmond jaywalking arrest highlights homeless count, body camera questions [NonDoc]
Quote of the Day
“Affordability is really number one. Access to health care is another huge one. It is interesting, I think, for folks to hear that college students, at least in these parts, are not necessarily concerned about some of the more ‘woke’ issues or the DSA-touted policy issues that a lot of folks would think about. My students are trying to carry on day to day. And so those kitchen table issues are really what they’re interested in.”
-Dr. Emily Stacey, political science professor and program coordinator for political science at Rose State College, speaking about what issues that her college students are focused on in the current election cycle. [KGOU]
Number of the Day
25.5%
Among voter-eligible citizens aged 18-29 nationwide, only about 1 in 4 (25.5%) voted in the 2022 midterm elections. Voter turnout rates increase with age, with voters over 60 having the highest turnout rate at 63.5% in that election. [UF Election Lab]
Policy Note
Five False Election Rumors to Watch For: With the midterm elections approaching, political leaders will almost certainly use false information to try to influence voter behavior. The good news is that those seeking to undermine elections with false conspiracy theories tend to return to the same set of tropes. Voters can prepare now by familiarizing themselves with recurring themes in false election information and learning the facts. [Brennan Center for Justice]
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