State Supt. Ryan Walters has a pretty busy life. State Sen. Mark Mann wants to help. Mann, an Oklahoma City Democrat, recently filed Senate Bill 374, which moves oversight of the Accreditation Standards Division away from the state Department of Education. It would also take teacher certificate duties away from the agency. “Ryan Walters has […]
Chicken-Fried News
Chicken-Fried News
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Traffic stop
State Sen. Regina Goodwin, a Tulsa Democrat, drew attention last month after a traffic stop in which she accused the officer of “making things up.” A Tulsa County sheriff’s deputy said Goodwin had failed to completely stop at two stop signs. Goodwin initially refused to provide her driver’s license and was handcuffed. When the deputy […]
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Toll hikes
Sweeping down the plains along the Turner Turnpike (and other toll roads across the state) just got more expensive as Oklahoma Turnpike Authority recently imposed a rate increase. The trip from OKC to Tulsa was raised by 90 cents starting Jan. 1. State officials quickly pointed out that Oklahoma’s toll rates are lower than most […]
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Educational precedent
In 2023, an Oklahoma board approved the nation’s first religious charter school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. As a charter school, St. Isidore would have been entitled to public funding, but the state Supreme Court later called it unconstitutional. You know, the whole separation of church and state thing. Now, this church/school is […]
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Government waste
The Oklahoma House has created a new website where residents are asked to submit complaints about government waste. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said the website is modeled after efforts by President Donald Trump to create a more efficient government. That makes sense because the president’s first term was simply a model of efficiency and competence. […]
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Airspace hazard
A developer’s quest to build the nation’s tallest building in Oklahoma City is receiving pushback from the city’s airport agency, which claims it might be too tall for approaching airplanes to navigate. At 1,907 feet, the proposed Legends Tower would be twice as tall as any building in the city and serve as a monument […]
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Virtually dropkicked
Have you ever wanted something as badly as Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters wanted to be Donald Trump’s education secretary? Sadly, Walters’ dream of moving from making videos from the front seat of his Camry to tweeting in the back of a limo with the president-elect won’t come to be. Trump chose Linda McMahon, the […]
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Model voting?
It was another good election for Oklahoma Republicans, who didn’t have to stay up late on Election Day last month to learn they would remain in power. Not only was that outcome expected, but the state’s election results typically get posted within a few hours of the polls closing. In recent years, as some swing […]
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Red herrings
It’s the most wonderful time of year: crazy bill filing season! As another legislative session approaches, many of Oklahoma’s nuttiest lawmakers will start filing bills with no chance of passage in the hopes of drumming up headlines, which many news outlets will happily oblige. These crazy bills give some lawmakers a chance to go back […]
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Seeing the light?
Earlier this month, State Superintendent Ryan Walters said he was demanding the federal government send a $474.9 million check to Oklahoma to reimburse the state for educating the children of undocumented immigrants. While many viewed it as another attention-seeking tantrum, the silver lining is that Walters is finally admitting money matters in public schools. Last […]