Run. Hide. Fight. Those were the words that ended the first of several text updates from OU’s emergency alert system on the night of April 7. The Norman Police Department had received calls that appeared to be coming from OU’s campus. The caller told police there was a shooting at the Bizzell Memorial Library and that one of the caller’s friends had been shot. And in secondary calls to Norman dispatch, gunshots can be heard. But as it turns out, it was a swatting incident — that is, a big hoax....
Apr 27, 2023•5 min•Ep. 275
The state ranks 46th in the nation for nurses per capita, and of course, the pandemic has only made that worse. But all along, one of the major contributing factors to that shortage has been nursing school. There are a finite number of slots offered, and Oklahoma hasn’t had enough. Why? It’s complicated.
Apr 19, 2023•4 min•Ep. 274
Even though funding measures advocated for by 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout participants were stymied largely by Republican lawmakers, Oklahoma’s GOP is now authoring record-level education funding measures that include teacher raises, along with a slew of labor rights bills for educators. But the funding bills are far from a done deal — in fact, due to a disagreement in how those bills should operate, there could be no deal at all.
Apr 06, 2023•5 min•Ep. 273
Oklahoma offers pregnant residents special Medicaid coverage. That coverage used to last only 60 days after delivery, but under a new policy, that coverage will run for a full year instead. StateImpact’s Logan Layden and Catherine Sweeney discuss how the policy will affect thousands of new parents in Oklahoma.
Mar 30, 2023•4 min•Ep. 272
House Bill 2177 is making its way through the statehouse. It purports to ban gender-affirming care for children and teens in Oklahoma. Supporters say children and teens aren’t equipped to make life-altering health decisions for themselves. One provision says no health facility receiving state funds can administer gender-affirming care to anyone of any age. Another provision would ban insurance companies from covering gender-affirming care, again, for all Oklahomans, no matter how old they are....
Mar 23, 2023•4 min•Ep. 271
Recent pushes from the Oklahoma legislature to target queer issues in schools and medicine have mobilized some Oklahomans to fight back. The Transgender Action Choir is one group lifting their voices to speak up.
Mar 16, 2023•4 min•Ep. 270
Biomarker testing is a tool that doctors use to get a clearer picture of a medical problem — often cancer. Providers and patients say it can be difficult to get insurance companies to cover it. Oklahoma lawmakers are working to change that.
Mar 08, 2023•4 min•Ep. 269
Voters are just days away from deciding whether Oklahoma will legalize recreational marijuana. But results of similar ballot initiatives in Arkansas and Missouri could help predict the fate of State Question 820. KOSU's Xcaret Nuñez reports for StateImpact Oklahoma.
Mar 02, 2023•5 min•Ep. 268
At the end of January, Oklahoma's new Attorney General, Gentner Drummond, announced he would change course on a high profile debacle involving Secretary of Education and now State Superintendent Ryan Walters — and lots of federal money. Due to the state’s handling of its previous round of funding, Oklahoma now has nearly $18 million of federal education funding sitting untouched — and time is running out to spend it. StateImpact’s Beth Wallis sat down with Oklahoma Watch education reporter Jenni...
Feb 23, 2023•5 min•Ep. 267
During the pandemic, the federal government started giving extra help to families who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — often called SNAP or food stamps. Officials were trying to make sure families could still put food on the table during the sudden economic downturn. But when Congress passed its big omnibus bill in December , they nixed the extra help, putting a sudden expiration date on three years of emergency payments. The roughly 700,000 Oklahomans who have benefitted from...
Feb 16, 2023•4 min•Ep. 266
Karli Myers is a first-time parent and an English teacher at Sapulpa High School. And without any sick leave left to take, Myers had to return to her classroom the previous day, cutting short her time at home with Luke. That’s because public schools in Oklahoma aren’t mandated by the state to offer paid maternity leave to school faculty and staff — even though three out of four teachers in Oklahoma are women. In a push to combat the state’s record teacher shortage by attracting and retaining mor...
Feb 09, 2023•4 min•Ep. 265
Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, SoonerCare, is on its way to profound change. StateImpact’s Catherine Sweeney talked with its director, Secretary of Health Kevin Corbett, this week about the transition to managed care.
Feb 02, 2023•5 min•Ep. 264
As more news emerges about embezzlement schemes at Epic Charter Schools, it might be difficult to keep up with the saga. That’s why StateImpact’s Beth Wallis asked Oklahoman newspaper reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel to get us up-to-speed on the last decade of Epic’s scandals. Martinez-Keel covers education at The Oklahoman and has been with the publication for four years.
Jan 26, 2023•5 min•Ep. 263
In 2013, Tulsans accounted for only about 13 percent of the state’s methamphetamine treatment admissions. In 2020, that figure climbed to one-third of the state’s admissions . That year, local nonprofits, treatment centers, law enforcement and government officials announced a collaborative, community-based initiative to help Tulsans find access to recovery services....
Jan 19, 2023•4 min•Ep. 262
Oklahoma’s teacher shortage led to a record-breaking 3,780 emergency teaching certifications issued in 2022. From 2001-2018, Oklahoma’s enrollment in university education programs dropped by 80%. As the state's schools struggle to fill classrooms with teachers holding standard teaching certificates, provisionally certified teachers have had to step in to fill the gap. But do students lose out when hiring traditionally certified teachers becomes a luxury this teacher-strapped state can’t afford?...
Jan 12, 2023•5 min•Ep. 261
State data released this year showed half of the teens who participated in an annual survey checked yes on the traditional depression symptom of feeling so sad or hopeless for two weeks in a row that they lost interest in usual activities. It found that in 2021, nearly one in four respondents had contemplated suicide in the past year. Among girls, that rate was closer to one in three.
Dec 22, 2022•4 min•Ep. 260
Billion-dollar lawsuits and prestige television shows have made the opioid epidemic impossible to overlook. But it is far from the only drug epidemic the country — and Oklahoma — are facing. Overdose deaths from opioids, including prescription drugs as well as illicit forms of fentanyl, have increased over the past few years, likely because of struggles amid the pandemic. But one drug in particular is killing Oklahomans at an even higher rate: methamphetamine.
Dec 15, 2022•4 min•Ep. 259
Heavy rains in May 2019 revealed major disparities in flood protections across Oklahoma. While residents in Tulsa benefitted from decades of flood preparations, smaller communities lack the infrastructure and resources to keep the waters at bay. In the second of a two-part series with OPMX’s Graycen Wheeler, StateImpact’s Beth Wallis reports on how one riverside community came together to take care of each other.
Dec 09, 2022•5 min•Ep. 258
As climate change continues to raise the stakes of severe flooding events, some Oklahoma communities are prepared to weather the storm, and some aren’t. During the extreme flooding of May 2019, communities were put to the test. In the first of a two-part series in partnership with StateImpact’s Beth Wallis, OPMX’s Graycen Wheeler reports on how two neighboring cities responded to disaster.
Dec 08, 2022•4 min•Ep. 257
Nathalie Valero and Elodie Musungayi are Tulsa teenagers who spoke about how social media is amplifying youth voices and how it impacts mental health for them and their peers. KOSU reporter Kateleigh Mills went to Tulsa to speak with them.
Dec 01, 2022•5 min•Ep. 256
Leading up to the midterms, throngs of teachers and education advocates rallied around democratic candidates for governor and superintendent. But after the ticket went to Gov. Kevin Stitt and Education Secretary Ryan Walters, some of those teachers are thinking about leaving the state altogether. Jami Jackson-Cole is a fifth grade teacher at Duncan Public Schools and manages the Oklahoma Edvocates Facebook page, which is a community of thousands of teachers and parents around the state. StateImp...
Nov 17, 2022•4 min•Ep. 255
Unlike some other states, Oklahoma’s midterm election results are in the books. The results have big implications for education, health, and the environment in our state. Managing editor Logan Layden discussed what the outcome means with the StateImpact Oklahoma reporters.
Nov 10, 2022•4 min•Ep. 254
Workforce problems, federal regulations and an increase in demand are creating a shortage of ADD and ADHD medications. Local medical providers started seeing an issue this summer. There are ways around the shortage, but they involve jumping through hoops.
Nov 02, 2022•4 min•Ep. 253
Four day school weeks have become more common across Oklahoma over the last decade. Lawmakers have tried to limit the practice. But as StateImpact’s Robby Korth reports, the rural districts that use them are fighting to keep them.
Oct 27, 2022•4 min•Ep. 252
The governor's race has had plenty of hyper-partisan debates, but one major issue falls away from party politics. Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to fundamentally alter the state's Medicaid program. His plan would bring in private-sector insurance companies to manage the no-cost health insurance that covers 1.3 million Oklahomans. The gubernatorial election will determine whether he gets to. Democratic challenger Joy Hofmeister argues that Stitt's plan to partially privatize SoonerCare simply funnels mon...
Oct 20, 2022•5 min•Ep. 251
In June 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to list the Lesser Prairie-Chicken on the Endangered Species List — a move that would’ve triggered significant federal protections for the imperiled grouse. However, the Service has yet to finalize its proposal to do so, despite its June 2022 deadline. If the bird does get listed, industries will be required to mitigate their development impacts through conservation measures. But if the delay continues or the bird is never listed, advocat...
Oct 13, 2022•5 min•Ep. 250
A group of alumni from the former Northeast High School in Oklahoma City returned to their alma mater this weekend to remember their old school and activism many engaged in more than 50 years ago. StateImpact’s Robby Korth tagged along. Listen to his story below.
Oct 10, 2022•3 min•Ep. 249
As Governor Kevin Stitt gears up for his challenge from State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister in November, StateImpact’s Robby Korth reports on what effects education policy could have on the race.
Oct 06, 2022•4 min•Ep. 248
Over the past year, pandemic relief efforts have been winding down. One of the first to go: universal free lunch for public school students. For more than two years during the pandemic, the waivers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture meant all kids qualified for free breakfasts and lunches. It saved families with one child hundreds of dollars per year, and for families with multiple kids, it saved thousands. It meant families who might qualify for free or reduced lunches didn’t have to handl...
Sep 29, 2022•4 min•Ep. 247
More than 2,000 feet underground in Carlsbad, New Mexico, sits the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). WIPP is the country’s only deep geological repository for nuclear waste of any kind — the U.S. doesn’t have a permanent repository for high level waste like spent nuclear fuel . But its other claim to fame is it’s also a case study in “consent-based siting,” which is the practice of getting community buy-in for nuclear storage sites. Now, a $3 million research project led by the University of O...
Sep 15, 2022•5 min•Ep. 246
