By Janelle Stecklein | Editor
“This is a six-figure payout of taxpayer money to a public official upon his departure from the agency. The public has a right to know what those terms are. This is a success for public transparency and open government, and we’re very happy with the result.” - Leslie Briggs of a judge finding a severance agreement is a public record
The Oklahoma County Courthouse in downtown Oklahoma City, pictured Aug. 15, 2024. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
By Courtney Bell
An Oklahoma County judge Wednesday ruled the state’s wildlife commission wrongly withheld a severance agreement involving the departure of its former director and must make it available to the public.
Oklahoma County District Court Judge Don Andrews ordered the state’s Wildlife Conservation Commission to release the severance agreement it entered into with former Director J.D. Strong to Oklahoma Voice. Strong received $169,341 in severance when he resigned.
Andrews ruled the agreement is a public record and must be released under the state’s open records law. The record had not been released as of Thursday afternoon.
Friends and family members hold posters of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Duluth, Minn., in February. A new report found American Indian and Alaska Native survivors of violence say reductions in federal funding have led to over 1,000 unmet requests for help. (Photo by Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner)
By Nada Hassanein
Organizations serving American Indian and Alaska Native survivors of violence say reductions in federal funding have led to over 1,000 unmet requests for help, according to a new report.
The plains spotted skunk is pictured. (U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service photo)
By Chloe Bennett-Steele, StateImpact Oklahoma
Hidden in southeastern Oklahoma are small, secretive skunks with bendy reputations. The plains spotted skunk is about the size of a squirrel and has more tricks than its larger striped relative. To ward off predators, the spotted skunk mimics a handstand.
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
By Shauneen Miranda
A major legislative package that would put into law President Donald Trump’s push to greatly reduce the responsibilities of the U.S. Department of Education advanced out of a U.S. House panel on Wednesday.
A potential Republican budget reconciliation package would provide up to $60 billion for the Department of Defense. Shown is an aerial view of the Pentagon. (Photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brittany A. Chase/Department of Defense)
By Jennifer Shutt
Republicans on the U.S. House Budget Committee approved their budget resolution Thursday, marking one small step forward in the complicated process that could allow the party to enact a third party-line bill.
ICYMI
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