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Despite Stitt’s hardline rhetoric, the state plans to fund housing for those swept by Operation SAFE in Oklahoma City State officials are negotiating a deal to cover the cost of rent and other services for people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City, a move that contrasts sharply with the approach taken in Tuls...

State officials are negotiating a deal to cover the cost of rent and other services for people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City, a move that contrasts sharply with the approach taken in Tulsa.

Watonga confronts economic need and ethical unease over housing ICE detainees The reopening of a private prison in a small Oklahoma town will bring hundreds of jobs, even as CoreCivic faces national scrutiny for alleged mistreatment and isolation of immigration detainees.

CoreCivic, a private company that owns five other facilities in Oklahoma, announced in early October that it was awarded a new five-year contract with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement and the state Department of Corrections to resume operations at its 2,160-bed facility in Watonga.

Tomorrow’s your chance to attend for free a panel discussion exploring how energy industry practices impact our groundwater.

Come early, grab a snack, hear what the reporters uncovered—and bring a friend. Because when we stay informed together, we’re stronger.

www.eventbrite.com/e/overpressu...

Watonga confronts economic need and ethical unease over housing ICE detainees The reopening of a private prison will bring hundreds of jobs to the shrinking town, even as CoreCivic faces national scrutiny for alleged mistreatment and isolation of immigration detainees.

The reopening of a private prison in a small Oklahoma town will bring hundreds of jobs, even as CoreCivic faces national scrutiny for alleged mistreatment and isolation of immigration detainees.

Oklahoma spares Tremane Wood from execution with minutes to spare It’s the second time Gov. Kevin Stitt has commuted a death row prisoner’s sentence to life in prison without parole.

It’s the second time Gov. Kevin Stitt has commuted a death row prisoner’s sentence to life in prison without parole.

He thinks the trooper he killed is still alive — Oklahoma can’t execute him unless he understands his crime A new law requires continued treatment for death row prisoners too mentally ill to execute, even those who have been persistently psychotic for decades.

He thinks the trooper he killed is still alive — Oklahoma can’t execute him unless he understands his crime.

Tulsa’s surveillance gamble Police credit Flock cameras with reducing violent crime. But after millions spent, the data tells a murkier story — and the system may violate the law.

Police credit Flock cameras with reducing violent crime. But after millions spent, the data tells a murkier story — and the system may violate the law.

Oklahoma tribes step in to feed citizens as federal shutdown threatens food aid Tribal nations, including the Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole are deploying funds to ensure their citizens don’t go hungry — and urging state leaders to do the same.

Tribal nations, including the Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole are deploying funds to ensure their citizens don’t go hungry — and urging state leaders to do the same.

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It smelled like a ‘buried body.’ A small town was overwhelmed by fumes from an oil waste disposal facility Residents near Enid say the smell of an oilfield waste disposal site made them feel sick. State officials weren’t sure who was in charge of enforcement.

At one point, a local resident sent state regulators photos of animals that the resident said had wandered onto his land, covered in oil.

But the smell from the out-of-state waste was “above and beyond anything that was imaginable,” he said.

Overpressured and Underregulated: a Frontier and ProPublica event Join nonprofit newsrooms The Frontier and ProPublica to discuss how oil and gas extraction is contaminating Oklahoma’s groundwater.

Join nonprofit newsrooms The Frontier and ProPublica to discuss how oil and gas extraction is contaminating Oklahoma’s groundwater. The event is free - sign up at the link below.

Toxic wastewater from oil fields keeps pouring out of the ground. Oklahoma regulators failed to stop it. Salt water laced with cancer-causing chemicals, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling, is spewing from old wells. Experts warn of a pollution crisis spreading underground and threatening Oklahoma’s drin...

Salt water laced with cancer-causing chemicals, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling, is spewing from old wells. Experts warn of a pollution crisis spreading underground and threatening Oklahoma’s drinking water.

Toxic Wastewater From Oil Fields Keeps Pouring Out of the Ground. Oklahoma Regulators Failed to Stop It. Salt water laced with cancer-causing chemicals, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling, is spewing from old wells. Experts warn of a pollution crisis spreading underground and threatening Oklahoma’s drin...

“A handshake instead of a hammer.” Toxic Wastewater From Oil Fields Keeps Pouring Out of the Ground. Oklahoma Regulators Failed to Stop It.
@nickbowlin.bsky.social @readfrontier.bsky.social

Less help for Oklahoma homeless youth unless they’re sleeping in a shelter or outside Most youth who lack permanent housing in the state don’t fit the federal housing department’s definitions of homelessness and often don’t qualify for services.

Most youth who lack permanent housing in the state don’t fit the federal housing department’s definitions of homelessness and often don’t qualify for services.

Despite tribal citizenship, traffic tickets for Freedmen descendants to remain in city court A deal between the City of Tulsa and the Muscogee Nation doesn’t apply to Freedmen descendants who don't have documentation of a degree of Indian blood.

A deal between the City of Tulsa and the Muscogee Nation doesn’t apply to Freedmen descendants who don’t have documentation of a degree of Indian blood. @cliftonhowze.bsky.social and Allison Herrera find out why.
www.readfrontier.org/stories/desp...

Oklahoma lawmakers consider adding state oversight for homeless shelters Two legislators behind a controversial bill that would have limited the locations of homeless shelters will hold a hearing at the Oklahoma Capitol on creating new regulations.

Two legislators behind a controversial bill that would have limited the locations of homeless shelters will hold a hearing at the Oklahoma Capitol on creating new regulations.

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Oklahoma rethinks employment options for people with disabilities A federal policy allows employers to pay workers with disabilities below minimum wage. Some states have already moved away from the practice.

New story from Kayla Branch:

A federal policy allows employers to pay workers with disabilities below minimum wage. Some states have already moved away from the practice.

Meet the new group in charge of millions in state money to help pregnant women after Oklahoma banned abortion There’s no competitive bidding process through the state for pregnancy resource centers, faith-based groups and other nonprofits to get public money if they go through an organization like the Oklahom...

There’s no competitive bidding process through the state for pregnancy resource centers, faith-based groups and other nonprofits to get public money if they go through an organization like the Oklahoma Life Foundation.

Oklahoma is asking a federal judge to fine big poultry companies millions for polluting the Illinois River The state is asking the court to cap the application of bird waste, penalize poultry companies for violating the state’s anti-pollution law and order them to pay for cleanup.

The state is asking the court to cap the application of bird waste, penalize poultry companies for violating the state’s anti-pollution law and order them to pay for cleanup.

Five things to know about a new group in charge of millions in state money to help pregnant women The nonprofits that get funding through the Oklahoma Life Foundation aren’t required to apply in a competitive process through the State Department of Health like groups the state funds directly.

The nonprofits that get funding through the Oklahoma Life Foundation aren’t required to apply in a competitive process through the State Department of Health like groups the state funds directly.

An effort to expand access to a state scholarship to more Tulsa Race Massacre descendants stalls For decades, funding for a state scholarship program memorializing the 1921 burning of Black Wall Street was limited, and students related to massacre victims weren’t prioritized in the selection proc...

For decades, funding for a state scholarship program memorializing the 1921 burning of Black Wall Street was limited, and students related to massacre victims weren’t prioritized in the selection process.

The Frontier will participate in a year-long reporting project on oil and gas with ProPublica Reporter Nick Bowlin will join The Frontier as part of ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network’s 50 State Initiative

Reporter Nick Bowlin will join The Frontier as part of ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network’s 50 State Initiative

Few Shareholders Support Oklahoma Treasurer’s Anti-DEI Push - Oklahoma Watch Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ failed to gain support for shareholder proposals targeting “ideological activism” at major companies. Backed by conservative groups, his resolutions drew less than 1% of t...

ICYMI:
"Russ’ involvement with the shareholder resolutions marks a new front in an effort by conservative groups to ally with GOP elected officials to pressure public companies over their corporate policies."
oklahomawatch.org/2025/06/20/f... (via @oklahomawatch.bsky.social) #okgov #okleg #DEI #ESG

A Tulsa political operative used his grandmother’s name to set up political action committees The grandmother was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by a candidate who was criticized in campaign mailers from one of the groups during the Democratic primary for Tulsa County Commissioner in ...

A Tulsa political operative used his grandmother’s name to set up political action committees

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A Tulsa political operative used his grandmother’s name to set up political action committees The grandmother was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by a candidate who was criticized in campaign mailers from one of the groups during the Democratic primary for Tulsa County Commissioner in ...

The grandmother was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by a candidate who was criticized in campaign mailers from one of the groups during the Democratic primary for Tulsa County Commissioner in 2024. Her name surfaced in campaign filings for a shadowy network of political groups.

The Frontier takes top honors at the Oklahoma Press Association awards Awards recognized our reporting on Oklahoma’s marijuana industry, deaths at a private prison and the collapse of a sports media startup.

Awards recognized our reporting on Oklahoma’s marijuana industry, deaths at a private prison and the collapse of a sports media startup.

Congrats to @cliftonhowze.bsky.social and Garrett Yalch!