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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.
Oklahoma News
‘We see these coming’: How Oklahoma communities are prepping for data centers: Communities across Oklahoma and the rest of the country are grappling with how to take advantage of the economic benefits data centers offer while protecting their residents from concerns that include resource depletion, pollution and aesthetic concerns. [KOSU]
- Coweta data center meeting postponed at developer’s request [Tulsa Flyer]
- Oklahoma embraces data centers, but not everyone is OK with it | Cartoon [The Oklahoman]
Most states don’t disclose which companies get data center incentives, report finds: At least 36 states have crafted subsidies specifically for data center projects, according to Good Jobs First, a nonprofit watchdog group that tracks economic development incentives. Oklahoma was one of 24 states that don’t disclose recipients of data center subsidies. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Archive: In Oklahoma, details about data centers are often shrouded in secrecy [The Frontier]
- Read the report from Good Jobs First: Cloudy Data, Costly Deals: How Poorly States Disclose Data Center Subsidies
State Government News
State official salary hike votes may have been invalid: Several votes affecting salaries for Oklahoma legislators and statewide elected officials may have been invalid owing to a registered lobbyist being appointed to a state compensation board in violation of law. [NonDoc]
- Oklahoma panels that hiked pay to meet again after ineligible member voted [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma utility regulators deny OG&E’s request to hike up customer rates to fund construction: The utility company was granted preapproval to construct natural gas combustion turbines, but customers won’t be billed for them right away. [KGOU]
Agency again distributing full food stamp benefits to Oklahomans: The Oklahoma Department of Human Services is issuing full food stamp benefits for November following the end of the federal government shutdown. The agency had previously begun issuing partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. [Oklahoma Voice]
OKPOP surpasses $18 million fundraising goal for museum build-out: An $18 million fundraising effort for the long-anticipated Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture has reached its goal by its deadline, meaning an additional $18 million from the Legislature can now be accessed toward the project’s completion. [Tulsa World]
Opinion: What looked like a scam turned out to be bad customer service over Oklahoma tolls: State agencies should be required to do the right thing by consumers before going nuclear and sending them to collections. And if they won’t do it voluntarily, then lawmakers need to step in and mandate it. [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
Federal Government News
Is another shutdown coming? Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole reflects on past month, what’s next: Oklahoma’s senior Congressman Tom Cole says the biggest lesson he’s learned from the nation’s record-breaking 43-day shutdown is that closing the federal government is an inappropriate tool that never works. [The Oklahoman]
- As health costs spike, a sour and divided Congress escapes one shutdown to face another [Oklahoma Voice]
- OK family sees doubled health insurance rate with enhanced tax credits ending Dec. 31 [KFOR]
- Oklahoma legislator says he’ll donate his shutdown backpay to these 10 organizations [The Oklahoman]
Tribal Nations News
Drummond warns wildlife officials not to charge Indigenous hunters on reservations without license: Attorney General Gentner Drummond is warning the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation its policy to cite Indigenous hunters hunting on tribal land is unlawful. Drummond said the department’s currently enforced policy against tribal citizens hunting and fishing in Indian Country is misguided and unlawful. He notes it causes significant harm to the five tribes’ government-to-government relationship with the state. [KOSU]
- Stitt reloads in jurisdiction fight, appoints special prosecutor for tribal hunting cases [NonDoc]
- Stitt, Drummond again battling over Native American hunting rights [The Oklahoman]
Muscogee Nation sounds alarm to prioritize language revitalization efforts, declares state of emergency: The Muscogee Nation is sounding the alarm over the need to revitalize two Indigenous languages. Principal Chief David Hill recently issued an executive order outlining actions to safeguard the Muscogee and Euchee languages. [KOSU]
Tulsa Community College students honor alum Wes Studi for elevating Indigenous voices in film, beyond: Four decades after launching his acting career in Tulsa, Oscar winner Wes Studi returned Thursday to be honored by Tulsa Community College students for his groundbreaking career that has elevated Indigenous voices in film and beyond. [KOSU]
Ken Burns says Cherokee Nation helped him ‘finally tell the Native American story’: Anew documentary series about the origins of the United States will debut this weekend with an assist from the Cherokee Nation’s film office. [Tulsa World]
Voting and Election News
Oklahoma Supreme Court Will Weigh Initiative Petition Bill: The Oklahoma Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of Senate Bill 1027, the legislation that added geographic restrictions and other hurdles to the state’s initiative petition process, tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. [Oklahoma Watch]
- From OK Policy: The Future of Democracy Rests in the Oklahoma Supreme Court (SB 1027) and see how SB 1027 would impact your county with our interactive map
Oklahoma election preview: Voters in 26 counties to decide on assortment of local questions: Oklahoma voters in 26 counties head to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots on a variety of local measures. [KOSU]
- Cheat sheet: Coleman, Edwards, Grant vie for vacated Millwood Public Schools seat [NonDoc]
- To find your polling location and hours, visit the Oklahoma Voter Portal
Education News
Saying ‘outcomes will outlive us,” new education secretary aims to work to effect change: University of Oklahoma professor Dan Hamlin knows he’s a short-timer in his new role as the state’s secretary of education, but he believes that even with only 15 months to effect change within the state’s beleaguered public education system, he and others working alongside him can make a difference. [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma won’t adopt social studies textbooks with academic standards on hold: Oklahoma public schools won’t be able to adopt new social studies textbooks next year with academic standards for the subject still in flux. [Oklahoma Voice]
Summer Boismier wants to teach. But can she regain her license after Ryan Walters took it?: After some time in New York, Summer Boismier has moved back home to Oklahoma and she’d like to return to teaching, especially now that former state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters no longer runs the Oklahoma State Department of Education. But there’s a major roadblock — Boismier had her teaching license revoked by the Oklahoma State Board of Education at the behest of Walters, even though an administrative law judge ruled she’d broken no law and should keep her license. [The Oklahoman]
Health News
Lawmakers in Oklahoma plan to strengthen regulations on pharmacy benefit managers: Third-party administrative managers of prescription drug benefits will face continued state-federal enforcement action from Oklahoma officials next year. And it’s likely to ramp up. [The Oklahoman]
Advocacy organization unveils legislative goals for children in 2026 session: Advocates noted 22 areas where the state can improve to help Oklahoma children. Annie E. Casey’s KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks the state 46th in the nation for overall child well-being. [The Oklahoman]
- From OK Policy: Oklahoma ranks 46th in 2025 KIDS COUNT Data Book, highlighting lawmakers’ misplaced priorities
Criminal Justice News
Policy makers strive for better conditions at state detention center for boys: Policy makers are scrambling to implement fixes at Oklahoma’s lone detention center for children after word spread of dangerous conditions for kids and staff members. [The Oklahoman]
- Opinion: Oklahoma has a chance to build a youth justice system rooted in hope [Jill Mencke and Polina Rozhkova / The Oklahoman]
- From OK Policy: Reimagining Youth Justice in Oklahoma: A Landscape Report of the Youth Justice System and Recommendations for Reform
‘What people are saying’: Constant criticism, odd episodes keep defining Oklahoma County jail trust: Public meetings rarely rank atop most people’s list of exciting times, but those who follow the travails of the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority are sometimes rewarded with moments worth paying for, even if admission to the meetings is free. [NonDoc]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
New analysis shows more US consumers are falling behind on their utility bills: More people are falling behind on paying their bills to keep on the lights and heat their homes, according to a new analysis of consumer data — a warning sign for the U.S. economy and another political headache for President Donald Trump. [Associated Press]
- Trump’s Republican Party insists there’s no affordability crisis and dismisses election losses [Associated Press]
Community News
Leading role: Mixed reactions pour in as Oklahoma archbishop takes on influential leadership role: A secular news outlet described an Oklahoma City archbishop as a “conservative culture warrior,” while a religious magazine said he is “far from an extremist.” Reactions to the Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley’s election to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ presidency have come as onlookers seek to define what his rise to the top of the nation’s primary arm of the Roman Catholic Church says about the American Catholic hierarchy’s relationship with Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S-born pope. [The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Jesus’ teachings prioritized on-the-ground change to save folks from hell on Earth: If we are able to save the nation from oppression, injustice and evil, then it will mean that we ourselves have been saved from selfishness, greed and apathy. [The Rev. Lori Allen Walke / The Oklahoman]
Local Headlines
- Weatherford ammonia gas leak results in 75+ injuries, no deaths at this time, officials say [The Oklahoman]
- Tulsa’s proposed city sales tax vote is a no-go. Now what? [Tulsa World]
- These east Tulsans spent two months identifying neighborhood problems. They’re ready to share solutions [Tulsa Flyer]
- Tulsa’s Promenade Mall is expected to change hands soon [Tulsa Flyer]
- Wagoner County breaks ground on $1.5M broadband project [The Journal Record]
- Feds charge Okfuskee County official in assault on detainee [Tulsa World]
Quote of the Day
“It’s hard when you feel like dollar signs are waved in front of really desperate cities, townships, counties, particularly in this kind of economy.”
-Juliane Davis of Porter, speaking about the financial promises that are being presented to municipalities in exchange for supporting data center construction. [KOSU]
Number of the Day
36
The number of data centers operating in Oklahoma. [Fox 23]
Policy Note
Investigating the Ecological Impacts of Data Centers: As generative AI grows, it needs a lot more electricity to run. Better AI models require bigger and more powerful computer systems, which means data centers have to use more energy to keep up. This is putting pressure on the data centers we already have — and it’s also pushing companies, especially major AI developers, to build even more of them. [MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium]
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