By Janelle Stecklein | Editor
“OU sticks its nose in a lot of places it doesn’t belong.” - Trey Kirby of the University of Oklahoma’s president weighing in on proposed turnpike interchanges in Norman
Voters mark their ballots in the Oklahoma County Election Board on June 11 in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Courtney Bell/Oklahoma Voice)
By Nuria Martinez-Keel
A nonpartisan state question appearing on Aug. 25 runoff ballots, which has vocal support from the state Capitol, has raised concerns that it could come at a cost to public schools.
State Question 844 would give the Oklahoma Legislature the authority to recalculate how much it should pay to local government entities, including school districts and counties, in reimbursements for a manufacturing tax incentive.
The incentive offers a five-year property tax exemption to manufacturers who set up new operations in the state. Under the law, the state must reimburse local entities for the property tax revenue a company is exempted from paying.
University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz, Jr., speaks Tuesday to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority as OTA Executive Director Joe Echelle, standing right, looks on. (Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.)
By Barbara Hoberock
The University of Oklahoma’s president on Tuesday said he supports adding two interchanges along a planned turnpike route despite environmental concerns and local opposition.
Chad Warmington, president and CEO of the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce, speaks at a press conference on Aug. 4, 2026 in Oklahoma City announcing the launch of a privately-funded literacy coach program. Jake Yunker, executive director of the State Chamber Research Foundation, stands to the left and Mica Byrum, the program director of the initiative, is to the right. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)
By Emma Murphy
About $1.5 million in private donations are being used to train literacy coaches in 10 locations across Oklahoma as part of an effort to improve students’ reading proficiency, officials announced Tuesday.
A new report found that in the past two years, more than half the states expanded care for children and services for older adults and disabled people. But they will be hard-pressed to maintain funding in the face of federal cuts. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
By Kevin Hardy
Many states have made marked progress over the past two years in extending crucial care and benefits to children, workers and aging adults. But they will be hard-pressed to fill the void left by impending federal cuts to social services, according to a new analysis.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., amid fog on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
By Jacob Fischler
The U.S. Senate voted Monday to advance a bipartisan measure to keep the federal government funded through Dec. 11 and pause the Trump administration’s effort to add controversial new criteria for federal grants.
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