News

Coronavirus is hurting Oklahoma Panhandle ranchers

June 4, 2020 Donald Stotts

STILLWATER – Meat plant closings, market disruptions and the slow recovery in cattle prices this spring – largely attributable to the coronavirus pandemic – have hit beef producers hard, with those in the Oklahoma Panhandle being among the most significantly affected. Their possible responses are limited. Industry experts said livestock owners need to take on…

Band gives a colorblind member color-enhancing glasses

June 4, 2020

A colorblind Oklahoma State University marching band member is seeing the world differently these days, thanks to a touching gift from his bandmates — EnChroma glasses. The collective Valentine’s Day gift from 35 bandmates had master student and clarinetist Isaiah DeHoyos overcome with emotion. The glasses allowed him to see color accurately for the first…

Most Oklahomans recover

May 28, 2020

Spike in the Panhandle is traced to processing plant Most of the people in Oklahoma who get the coronavirus – more than 77% – have recovered while about 5% die from the disease. The number of people recovering is outpacing the number of infections. As of May 25, there were 6,090 confirmed positive cases of…

Republican-led Legislature over-rides Gov. Stitt’s vetoes

May 28, 2020

Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed 19 bills in this session and the Legislature voted to override 10 of those vetoes. Senate Bill 1002, Senate Bill 4018, House Bill 2749, House Bill 2750, Senate Bill 1805, House Bill 3663, House Bill 3819, House Bill 3824, House Bill 4018 and House Bill 4049 were vetoed. HB2760 would have…

Anti-red flag bill signed

May 28, 2020

The nation’s first anti-red flag gun law is on the books in Oklahoma to strengthen and protect citizens’ Second Amendment rights. Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, authored the measure, which was signed into law by the governor Senate Bill 1081, also known as the Anti-Red Flag Act, prohibits the state or any city, county or…

AP courses at high schools

May 28, 2020

Legislation requiring all Oklahoma public high schools to offer at least four Advanced Placement (AP) courses to students beginning in the 2024-25 school year was signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt. House Bill 3400, authored by State Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, and State Sen. Gary Stanislawski, R-Tulsa, allows schools to choose the type of…

TSET funds to Medicaid

May 28, 2020

A plan to help pay for Medicaid in Oklahoma passed off the Senate. Senate Joint Resolution 27, by Senate Majority Floor Leader Kim David, R-Porter, refers to Oklahoma voters a constitutional amendment to allow a larger portion of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund (TSET) annual settlement payments to go towards paying for either the…

Tobacco age up to 21

May 28, 2020

Legislation raising the minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21 has been signed into law. Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada, is principal author of Senate Bill 1423. Oklahoma’s statutes align with the federal Tobacco-Free Youth Act, which was signed by President Donald Trump last December. That law prohibited the sale of cigarettes, e-cigarettes,…

Midwife licensing bill

May 28, 2020

Legislation creating a system for licensing midwives has been signed into law. Senate Bill 1823, creating Shepherd’s Law, was signed into law by Gov. Stitt. Certified Professional Midwives are already regulated in 34 other states. Under SB1823, a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) or Certified Midwife (CM) would be required to be licensed. All midwives would…

Help for school districts

May 28, 2020

A bill that grants a one-year exemption from penalties for school districts that have excess carryover dollars due to the COVID-19 pandemic was passed by the House of Representatives. Without this change, some Oklahoma school districts would have been subject to fines for having too large of a carryover balance. House Bill 3964, by State…