OKLAHOMA CITY — Oct. 24, 2026 (The Oklahoma Post)
Oklahoma news from across the state for the week of Saturday, Oct. 17, through Friday, Oct. 23, summarized and linked to the outlet that reported it.
From The Oklahoma Post
USA Rare Earth’s Federal Billions Ran Through a Familiar Circle
STILLWATER, Okla. — Oct. 23, 2026 (The Oklahoma Post) Federal commitments tied to USA Rare Earth passed $3 billion this year, and securities filings and Pentagon releases show the deals ran through financiers with shared histories at Cantor Fitzgerald and Cerberus Capital Management. The story sets Stillwater’s $7 million incentive to the company beside Mayor Will Joyce’s case against the property tax cap in State Question 847.
A Nevada Mother Warned Everyone About Invega Withdrawal. No One Stopped What Came Next.
ELKO, Nev. — Oct. 23, 2026 (The Oklahoma Post) Carina Pedersen says she spent months warning Elko County deputies, a hospital and the sheriff that her husband was coming off the antipsychotic Invega and losing his hold on reality, and that no one acted. David Pedersen is charged with attempted murder in an August hammer attack that left her blind in one eye; he has not been convicted, and she blames the drug and the sheriff’s office.
Statewide
Tulsa School Board Votes to Close 17 Schools
Tulsa Public Schools’ board voted 6-1 Monday night to close 17 schools, 14 of them elementaries, to cover a $12 million budget shortfall the district blames on falling enrollment, KGOU reports. Superintendent Ebony Johnson said consolidation will put full-time art and music teachers in front of more children, while parents and staff fear larger classes, longer bus rides and lost jobs.
Source: KGOU
State Downgrades 59 School Districts Over Test Scores
A new accreditation rule cost 59 school districts, including the state’s three largest, their standing over poor reading and math scores, Oklahoma Voice reports. NonDoc’s count runs to 67 districts, and Tulsa Public Schools, already closing 17 campuses, is among those downgraded, Tulsa World reports.
Source: Oklahoma Voice
Education Department Asks for $4.4 Billion
The Oklahoma State Department of Education is requesting a $4.4 billion budget, including $123.3 million in new money driven by a new literacy law and rising insurance costs, Oklahoma Voice reports. A bipartisan group of legislators said Monday it is forming a caucus to oversee how schools carry out that reading law, Tulsa World reports.
Source: Oklahoma Voice
Medical Marijuana Chief Adria Berry Resigns
Adria Berry has resigned as head of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority after five years in which it became a standalone agency and built a seed-to-sale tracking system, The Oklahoman reports. She leaves as the industry contracts and after saying the authority is being cast as the agency to blame for cleaning up abandoned grow sites.
Source: The Oklahoman
Warr Acres Signs Enforcement Agreement With ICE
Warr Acres has signed an immigration enforcement agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Oklahoma City Free Press reports. Law enforcement agencies in several counties ringing the Oklahoma City metro have signed similar agreements in recent weeks.
Source: Oklahoma City Free Press
Low Turnout Sinks Kiowa Tribe’s Special Election
The Kiowa Tribe’s Oct. 17 special election failed because too few voters turned out, KOSU reports. The ballot would have amended the tribe’s enrollment requirements and eliminated its voting thresholds.
Source: KOSU
Politics
Drummond Opinion Bars Third Vote on Jewish Charter School
Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a binding legal opinion Thursday that bars the Statewide Charter School Board from voting a third time on the twice-rejected Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School application, Oklahoma Watch reports. The board had scheduled the uncommon revote a day after the school’s founder threatened to take it back to court.
Source: Oklahoma Watch
Mazzei’s $11 Million in Personal Loans Draws Scrutiny
Most of Republican governor nominee Mike Mazzei’s campaign spending has been carried by $11 million in personal loans, and he has declined to give details about them, The Oklahoman reports. His campaign says opponents are pulling false alarms as he heads into the Nov. 3 race against Democrat Cyndi Munson.
Source: The Oklahoman
Democratic Governors Pledge Half a Million Dollars for Munson
The Democratic Governors Association has pledged half a million dollars to help Democrat Cyndi Munson in the governor’s race, KOSU reports. National money is now moving on both sides, with a Republican group also set to spend millions on the race, according to The Oklahoman.
Source: KOSU
SQ 847 Would Tighten the Cap on Property Tax Growth
State Question 847 would lower the yearly cap on how fast property taxes can grow, KOSU reports. It is one of two measures on every Oklahoma ballot Nov. 3, alongside State Question 845, which would change the rules for who can serve on the Judicial Nominating Commission.
Source: KOSU
Lawmakers Weigh Ban on Kratom-Derived Products
Lawmakers heard personal accounts of harm from dangerous kratom-derived products and may be poised to ban them, Tulsa World reports. The products have been widely sold over the counter.
Source: Tulsa World
Courts
Swadley Avoids Prison as Drummond Calls for Judge to Resign
An Oklahoma County judge on Thursday gave restaurateur Brent Swadley a six-year deferred sentence and ordered $1.2 million in restitution, passing over the 10-year prison term the jury recommended when it convicted him in May, KGOU reports. Attorney General Gentner Drummond said District Judge Cindy Truong should resign; her office did not immediately respond.
Source: KGOU
Second Judge Steps Off Kunzweiler Grand Jury Petition
A second judge assigned to the petition seeking a grand jury investigation of Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler and his office has recused without giving a reason, Tulsa World reports. Oklahoma Watch’s “Long Story Short” podcast this week examined parallels between the petition’s claims and a GOP challenger’s campaign against him.
Source: Tulsa World
Report Counts 222 Pregnancy-Related Prosecutions
Oklahoma has brought at least 222 criminal cases tied to women’s pregnancies or births since the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that let the state end abortion access, according to data a nonprofit advocacy group for pregnant women released Tuesday, Oklahoma Voice reports. StateImpact Oklahoma reported the same findings Wednesday.
Source: Oklahoma Voice
Advocates Push to End License Suspensions for Court Debt
Reform advocates told lawmakers at an Oct. 13 interim study that Oklahoma should stop suspending driver’s licenses over unpaid court fines and fees, Oklahoma Watch reports. A House Public Safety Committee study the same week looked at ways to cut unnecessary pretrial detention, according to OK Policy.
Source: Oklahoma Watch
Tulsa Police Lay Out Flock Camera Use at Public Forum
Tulsa Police leaders explained at a Monday night forum how the department uses Flock Safety license plate cameras, including how many it runs and how many agencies nationwide can reach the data, The Oklahoma Eagle reports. Residents had to submit questions in advance through an online form, Public Radio Tulsa reported.
Source: The Oklahoma Eagle
Judge Rejects Edmond Mother’s Speedy-Trial Motion
A judge rejected a motion by Brittany Gordon, an Edmond mother charged with driving under the influence and child endangerment, arguing her right to a speedy trial was violated, NonDoc reports. Her long-delayed preliminary hearing was set for Friday, more than two years after her 2024 arrest.
Source: NonDoc
Business
INTEGRIS Health to Join Kaiser-Backed Risant Health
INTEGRIS Health, the state’s largest nonprofit health system with 13,000 employees, signed a definitive agreement Monday to join Risant Health, a Washington-based nonprofit backed by Kaiser Permanente, KGOU reports. INTEGRIS keeps its name, medical staff and leadership, and Risant expects the deal to close around the end of the first quarter of 2027, pending regulatory approval.
Source: KGOU
Half of Oklahoma’s Tech Graduates Leave the State, Study Finds
Half of Oklahoma college students with technology degrees move to other states, according to a study the Oklahoma Technology Alliance released Monday, The Oklahoman reports. The finding cuts against the state’s continuing push to grow tech jobs.
Source: The Oklahoman
Federal $8 Billion Relief Plan Reaches Oklahoma Farmers
Farmers nationwide, including in Oklahoma, will share $8 billion in federal aid aimed at high costs, drought and a tough summer harvest, KOCO reports. Oklahoma producers have also been squeezed by high diesel prices.
Source: KOCO
Sand Springs Data Center Opponents Drop a Lawsuit
Opponents of a proposed Sand Springs data center have dropped one of their three lawsuits challenging the project, Tulsa World reports. The other two challenges remain.
Source: Tulsa World
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