The Oklahoman
‘THERE ARE PEOPLE DYING’
Oklahoma lawmakers are weighing a crackdown on potentially dangerous kratom products that health officials worry are being marketed and made easily accessible to young teens at gas stations and vape shops. Kratom products, particularly those made with...
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‘DIRECT IMPACT’
Jean Alabi has never seen lines this long at her northwest Tulsa food pantry. h More than 12,000 senior citizens, parents and children, teachers and even business professionals have visited Restore Hope Ministries in the first nine months of 2026, an...
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Ready to deliver
Veteran Kenrich Williams will be more than just an off-the-court contributor for the Thunder this season.
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Sheriff: Robbers target cannabis grow sites
Several armed individuals robbed a Cleveland County cannabis grow facility, beating some of the workers with firearms and robbing them of thousands of dollars worth of marijuana, law enforcement officials announced. Cleveland County Sheriff Darrell...
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FAIR WARNING
Smack in the heart of the State Fair of Texas midway, in the shadow of the Cotton Bowl, there’s a ride called The Beast. It’s a green and purple Hulkthemed contraption with a swinging pendulum that whooshes thrill-seekers back and forth, dangling them...
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DETENTION DILEMMA TO GO BEFORE VOTERS
Oklahoma County voters will decide whether to keep the old jail downtown or finance a national “showcase” criminal justice campus, at 1901 E Grand in the county sales tax election on Nov. 3. Tricia Everest, state secretary of public safety, used...
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NEW HEIGHTS
Tinker Air Force Base plays a major role in the state’s aerospace and defense economy. A report says the base employs nearly 28,000 and is credited with 12,194 indirect jobs, while spurring the employment of 28,797 at area businesses frequented by base...
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NO TALL TALE
Drew Mestemaker has tried to keep things in his life as normal as possible. • When the Oklahoma State quarterback is in football mode, he sticks to the same routine as much as he can. Same meetings. Same practices. Same schedules. Same habits. • When...
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‘COMMUNITY AND BEYOND’
John Rex Charter Schools is set to add a high school, giving it a pre-K through 12th grade educational pipeline in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City. h The move marks a complete return of educational choices to downtown, which saw its main high...
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Modern Methodists
Following years of escalating tensions and a mass disaffiliation process, in May 2024, the United Methodist Church lifted its ban on gay clergy and same-sex marriage. Two years after the historic move, Oklahoma clergy are reflecting on the change. For...
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RED RALLY
DURANT – In a rare visit to Oklahoma, President Donald Trump told thousands of his supporters to vote for Republicans in November because his presidency was in peril. “Pretend I’m running,” Trump said Thursday, Oct. 1, from the Choctaw Event Center in...
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SOONER STATE SUPPORT
DURANT – Pouring rain did little to dampen the sense of anticipation among hundreds of people waiting to see President Donald Trump at his first appearance in Oklahoma since 2020. The Republican president selected the Sooner State for his first stop...
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Oklahoma Republicans await visit from Trump
President Donald Trump is appearing in Oklahoma during a widely anticipated rally with Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei as the GOP struggles in polling ahead of the midterm election. The Thursday, Oct. 1, rally in Durant will be held on...
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BUC-ING THE TREND?
Oklahoma City is moving forward with plans to rebuild the Interstate 40 and Cimarron Road interchange to lure a Buc-ee’s, despite warnings from one council member that the development will lead to costly housing sprawl and other commercial...
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Mullin defends ICE at meeting in Edmond
U.S. Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin defended his agency’s immigration enforcement tactics in a shouting match that escalated at an Edmond event after a former mayor questioned whether the actions of ICE aligned with the teachings of...
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‘RIGHT DIRECTION’
Oklahoma City’s public transportation system was ranked the worst among the nation’s 50 largest cities in a new study, a finding city leaders say underscores both the city’s longstanding challenges and the urgency behind a series of major transit...
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back to basics
Not all that long ago, families knew their local farmers and ranchers, frequented their local butcher shop and were well acquainted with the people responsible for producing the food on their tables. h But as the industrialized agriculture market took...
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NEW LEASH ON LIFE?
Oklahoma City’s indoor-outdoor dog park, bar and restaurant, Bar K, closed abruptly in 2025, but dog lovers may have new hope if conversations between an Iowa-based company and property owners pan out. The property, located at 901 SE Fifth St. in the...
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POWER SHIFT
Momentum can be many things in football. Empowering and amazing. Overpowering and frustrating. But as much as anything, momentum is elusive. It is often as fleeting as the brilliant colors of an Oklahoma sunrise. On the gridiron, momentum can come as...
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CLOSING IN?
National Democrats plan to make a late push in Oklahoma’s 5th District, directing funding and field staff to back Jena Nelson’s congressional campaign after an internal poll showed a tight race against U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice, a Republican. While...
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HEALTHY INVESTMENT
Oilman Harold Hamm announced Tuesday, Sept. 22, that he is donating $150 million to the University of Oklahoma, the largest gift in OU’s history, to boost health education, research and discovery. • The donation follows two straight years (2023 and...
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‘PIVOTAL MOMENT’
INOLA – Mike Mazzei removed his sport coat and rolled up his sleeves as the late-afternoon sun pushed another Oklahoma day past 100 degrees. After walking about 50 yards along a white gravel road, the Tulsa businessman looked across a parcel of rolling...
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DOWN THE ROAD
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is set to seek bids totaling $73.6 million over the next six months as construction proceeds on the future Toby Keith Expressway. The toll road, once completed, will begin at Interstate 44 and State Highway 37, cross...
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LEGENDARY LABELS
Oklahoma, located at the crossroads of America, has a history of spawning some of the country’s iconic corporate brands, some of which still are shaping consumer spending, while others have faded into distant memories. h Some, like Hobby Lobby, Love’s...
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FAIR FLAIR
The 2026 Oklahoma State Fair heads into its first weekend. The fair’s theme “The Midway of the Mother Road” is steering this year’s festivities into the yearlong Route 66 centennial celebration. Plus, several attractions are commemorating America’s...
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FIRST-GLASS EXPERIENCE
When Oklahoma City resident Kelly Pan arrived at the 2026 Oklahoma State Fair on opening day, she was ready to cross an item off her bucket list. In a corner of the Modern Living Building, she stood over a flame at one of the four stations inside the...
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‘Obligation to act’
A week after Magon Hoffman drove from Oklahoma to New Mexico for an abortion, she stood paralyzed by anxiety when a delivery man knocked on her door. He was delivering the ashes of her daughter, Lottie. Lottie had a condition that would have caused her...
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LOFTY LIVING
A veteran south Oklahoma City homebuilder is taking his first dip into downtown development after buying the long-vacant 20-story Dowell Center. Paul Odom III, an upscale neighborhood and retail developer, is joining with his son David to convert the...
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BRIDGING THE GAP
Construction is starting on a $408 million bridge over Lake Texoma that will replace an 80-year-old span that was closed last year for $5.5 million in emergency repairs after being damaged by flooding. The damages prompted the Oklahoma Department of...
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Police chase-policy warnings ignored
For seven years, Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Chris Swanson warned his bosses that the department’s high-speed chase policy was unnecessarily dangerous. Multiple memos and statistics-filled reports went ignored. “Every time I tried, it was pretty much...
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The New Marijuana Industry
The legal pot industry in Oklahoma is undergoing a massive downsizing, leaving in its wake hundreds of abandoned grow sites and dispensaries.
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Nation marks 25 years
As the United States marked 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Americans across the country gathered to honor the nearly 3,000 people who perished and to reflect on the day that forever changed the nation. Loved ones of those...
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PLAYING IT FORWARD
NORMAN – Memories from the free football camp that Danny Okoye offered kids back home in Tulsa this past summer are a bit of a blur to him. You can understand: There were a ton of youngsters and a lot of things for him to do, plus it was scorching...
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U.S., Iran trade attacks on tankers
CAIRO – Iran said on Sept. 9 it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the United States sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old...
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‘WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN’
Wellston firefighter Joe Flake died on duty after helping battle a 250-plusacre fire in Lincoln County. Officials with Lincoln County Emergency Management shared that while responding to the Monday, Sept. 7, fire, a firefighter experienced a medical...
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TRADE QUESTIONS
An escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada threatens to disrupt Oklahoma’s largest international export market and a primary source of foreign business investment, with potential fallout hitting local industries, consumer prices and even...
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A BATTLE ZONE
EDMOND – Massage therapists in Edmond are fighting new rules and red tape they say pass unnecessary burden onto them. Yiqiong Zhang was the first therapist to apply for a special permit from the city in order to operate a massage parlor — one of the...
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REMEMBRANCE & RESILIENCE
Jeffrey Coniglio is dressed in white down to his shoes, his daughter Giada in a flowing pale green gown. They are twirling across the dance floor to music from “The Greatest Showman” when, suddenly, Giada flips head over heels and then swings out into...
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BOAT TRIBUTE SCARRED
Community leaders in Oklahoma City’s Asian District are searching for answers after a landmark commemorating Vietnamese refugees’ journey to the city was severely damaged in a fire. According to Thuan Nguyen, founder of the Asian District Cultural...
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FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHT?
NORMAN – Roger Denny has already made lots of big decisions in his short time as the OU athletic director. None was quite like moving OU football’s season opener to a Friday night. “More than really any decision I made in my first six months,” Denny...
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ECONOMIC BASE
At the annual State of the Region, professionals from the transit, transportation, military and defense sectors gathered to discuss the trajectory of central Oklahoma’s growth and what is needed to sustainably maintain it, while specifically...
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SOLD DOME?
The Gold Dome in Oklahoma City may have a surprise new owner following a sheriff’s auction in which the man who was trying to buy it was not among those submitting bids. Caleb Hill, who teamed up with Nick Preftakes in redeveloping the Donnay Building...
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CATTLE BATTLE?
President Donald Trump's plan to temporarily increase imports and waive tariffs on ground beef in an effort to bring down grocery prices has drawn mixed reactions from Oklahoma cattle producers and prompted the governor to create a council with...
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P WER STRUGGLE
President Donald Trump wanted an “American nuclear renaissance,” and he wanted it fast. Just a few months after returning to office, the president signed a flurry of executive orders and instructed his staff to write new rules designed to quadruple...
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GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY?
A music venue operator is just one vote away from getting $3 million for redevelopment of the iconic Gold Dome in Oklahoma City just as it is set for a sheriff ’s auction on behalf of Chickasaw Community Bank. The bank, owned by the Chickasaw Nation,...
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POWER SHIFT?
Oklahomans will narrow down candidates during the Aug. 25 primary runoff elections for seats in House and Senate districts across the state. Ten elections feature two Republicans vying to become their party’s nominee for the November general election....
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FLOCK FURY
Oklahoma City councilmembers voted to approve renewing an amended contract with Flock Safety amid nationwide backlash against the controversial company’s automated license platereading cameras working with law enforcement agencies. Atlanta-based Flock...
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FLATIRON FUTURE
Nestled onto a triangular, once-overlooked parcel of land carved by old trolley lines, the Berry Rock Building rises as a uniquely-angled, flatiron-inspired gateway to downtown Oklahoma City. The 60,000-square-foot, geothermal-powered office tower at...
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THE BUSINESS OF POLITICS
Gentner Drummond and Mike Mazzei have spent most of their careers navigating between the private sector and public office. The Republican prospects for governor have both built significant business portfolios that have shaped their campaign platforms...
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A STUDY IN CON-TRASTS
Oklahoma’s state superintendent office has been under a national spotlight for the past three years after Ryan Walters tried to infuse extreme right-wing politics into public education and turned teachers against the state department meant to guide...
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SCHOOLS SHOWDOWN
Oklahoma Republicans will choose between two vastly different candidates for state superintendent in less than two weeks, and both career educators have spent their final days before the crucial primary runoff election confronting some of their most...
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HOSPITALS HURTING
A new study warns 45 rural hospitals are at risk of closing in Oklahoma, a predicament only topped by Texas and Kansas, in a national crisis driven by cuts in federal health spending and insurance reimbursements. And of those 45 rural hospitals at...
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0 REGRETS
Russell Westbrook skipped down the blue carpet, slapping hands and smiling wide. As happy as he looked that August afternoon a decade ago, the thousands of Thunder fans who stood in the sweltering Oklahoma heat were way more ecstatic – Westbrook was...
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OK murderer backed for parole but won’t go free
Admitted murderer Verna Stafford has been recommended for parole despite an outcry from the families of victims, prosecutors and legislators. Stafford, 73, is serving a life sentence for the 1978 massacre at the Sirloin Stockade steakhouse in Oklahoma...
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‘A LITTLE BIT THROWN OFF’
Oklahoma City planners’ proposed long-term vision for downtown, including plans for the site of the Oklahoma County jail, rattled courthouse officials when revealed by The Oklahoman on Monday, Aug. 10. The master plan includes redevelopment of land...
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DOWNTOWN DRAFT
Citizen input is being sought for a proposed new downtown Oklahoma City master plan that envisions a pedestrian greenway and conversion of the land that is now home to the Oklahoma County Jail into the start of a film studio and related...
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LOCKED IN ON LEARNING
Oklahoma’s classroom cell phone ban has reduced distractions, improved student engagement and decreased behavioral issues across the state. h But one year later, as students prepare to go back to school, many educators and lawmakers say a broader...
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HOUSING HURDLES
Funding and regulatory issues are making it more difficult for tribal nations to expand housing in Oklahoma, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner said after meeting with tribal leaders from across the...
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SNAP CHANGES ARE ADDING TO STRUGGLES
Robyn Bergman was determined to be first in line at the Oklahoma Human Services office. The Edmond mother of four had spent the past five weeks trying to apply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal program known as SNAP that...
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VALLEY VOID
Just a few months after celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley is closing its doors at the end of August. Kevin Stark, the museum’s founder, curator and executive director, announced on Tuesday, Aug. 4, that...
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CLASH COURSE
Attorney General Gentner Drummond and President Donald Trumpendorsed Mike Mazzei faced off in a heated debate ahead of the Republican primary runoff for governor. Both candidates traded insults while trying to sway voters. The event on Monday, Aug. 3,...
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BEATING THE HEAT
There weren’t many options for football coach Brad Ballard as he planned his first week of practices at Tuttle. The forecast included one triple-digit temperature day after another. Some schools have indoor facilities they can utilize, but many...
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ONE FINAL CRUISE
A cavalcade of classic cars lined along the parking lot entrance of St. James the Greater Catholic Church in southwest Oklahoma City. Vintage red and pink Chevrolet Impalas flanked a blue 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. It had been Adolfo Lopez’s Monte...
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AI: Predicting, and influencing, how you think
A Republican running for governor hugs Hillary Clinton. Another Republican candidate reads a pink diary decorated with a Biden-Harris sticker. While political attack ads driven by artificial intelligence have turned heads this primary election season,...
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CONFRONTING AI
Gov. Kevin Stitt kicked off his last conference as chairman of the National Governors Association, ending his term by harking back to his continued message of bipartisanship amid an increasingly hostile political landscape rife with the use of...
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Redefining home office
Plans to redevelop Landmark Towers, three identical 10-story buildings in northwest Oklahoma City, into a multifamily development are moving forward. Landmark Towers, 3545 NW 58th St., has served as office space since the towers’ construction in the...
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POWER AID
The U.S. Department of Energy issued an emergency order this week to help keep the power on in 17 states, including Oklahoma, as the ongoing heat wave places added strain on power grids. Southwest Power Pool Inc., which serves 20 million people from...
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ROOMS FOR RECOVERY
A nonprofit that was once a haven for the homeless hopes to relocate to a former hotel to operate a sober living facility. The Jesus House recently purchased the former Sleep Inn & Suites building at 5200 Classen Circle, where the faith-based agency...
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