This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the State Senate failing by one vote to override Governor Stitt's veto of a tribal tobacco compact and an audit showing the state misspent millions of dollars on pandemic funds. The trio also discusses Governor Stitt signing controversial new rules from State Superintendent Ryan Walters despite no approval from lawmakers and a study showing Oklahom...
Jun 29, 2023•32 min•Ep. 210
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about a State of Emergency signed by Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat one hour after discovering he was in charge of the state because of the absence of Governor Stitt and Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell and the U.S. Supreme Court letting the Indian Child Welfare Act stand. The trio also discusses questions from lawmakers to officials with the Land O...
Jun 22, 2023•30 min•Ep. 209
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Governor Stitt's endorsement of presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, the State House overriding Stitt's veto of tribal license compacts as well as extending the time for the special session and Stitt's veto of a bill to extend the operations of the Board of Chiropractic Examiners. The trio also discusses Governor Stitt's veto of an omnibus medical ma...
Jun 15, 2023•36 min•Ep. 208
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the Statewide Virtual Charter School moving forward with approving the nation's first religious charter school and the fiscal year 2024 budget becoming law without the governor's signature. The trio also discusses Governor Stitt promising to send National Guard members to the U.S. southern border at the request of the Texas governor and Stitt vetoi...
Jun 08, 2023•32 min•Ep. 207
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the state Supreme Court tossing out two Oklahoma laws banning abortion in the state and at least three former Department of Education employees suing Superintendent Ryan Walters. The trio also discusses the 2023 legislative session and more than a dozen vetoes overridden by lawmakers.
Jun 01, 2023•35 min•Ep. 206
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the nearly $13B budget approved by legislative leaders and Attorney General Gentner Drummond promising to not enforce a new law banning gender-affirming care for minors. The trio also discusses another veto by the governor, this time on a bill to allow House and Senate leadership to appoint members of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and controversy...
May 25, 2023•34 min•Ep. 205
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about state lawmakers calling for a special session to run concurrently with the regular session and Governor Stitt along with legislative leaders celebrating an education funding plan. The trio also talks about a former Department of Education employee saying State Superintendent Ryan Walters lied to lawmakers about current and future grants and Governo...
May 18, 2023•35 min•Ep. 204
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the U.S. Supreme Court staying the execution of death row inmate Richard Glossip, the stalemate over education funding with two weeks left in the regular legislative session and the stack of Governor Stitt's vetoes still waiting for a vote in the House and Senate. The trio also discusses the ACLU of Oklahoma lawsuit over a new state law banning med...
May 11, 2023•31 min•Ep. 203
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about State Superintendent Ryan Walters finally testifying before lawmakers during a House Appropriations & Budget Committee and the House passing a tax credit voucher bill for private and home school families while rejecting a teacher pay raise. The trio also discusses Governor Stitt's veto of a bill to continue operations for Oklahoma's public tele...
May 04, 2023•31 min•Ep. 202
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about death row inmate Richard Glossip failing to get clemency from the Pardon and Parole Board despite pleas from Attorney General Gentner Drummond along with several state officials and Governor Stitt searching for all "legal avenues" to remove McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy after Clardy was caught on tape with other county officials in making r...
Apr 27, 2023•30 min•Ep. 201
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the scandal in McCurtain County where several officials were recorded making racist and hateful statements, the State Senate overriding the governor's veto on a $600M appropriation of funds to the Health Care Authority and Panasonic inking a deal to build an electric vehicle plant in Pryor, but only is the state makes more than $245M in infrastruct...
Apr 20, 2023•37 min•Ep. 200
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the Statewide Virtual Charter School declining an application for the Catholic Church to set up the nation's first ever tax payer funded religious school, the governor removing State Superintendent Ryan Walters as his Secretary of Education and Walters threatening to sue the Biden Administration over a proposed rule barring outright bans on transge...
Apr 13, 2023•31 min•Ep. 199
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Attorney General Gentner Drummond releasing a binding opinion canceling controversial new rules from the State Board of Education on library books and sex education and Superintendent Ryan Walters choosing to not appear before lawmakers. The trio also discusses dueling education bills causing a stir between the State House and Senate and the Touris...
Apr 06, 2023•35 min•Ep. 198
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the censure of Representative Dean Davis after the Broken Arrow Republican was arrested on charges of public intoxication and the State Senate amending and passing education bills from the House causing a stalemate between the chambers. The trio also discusses the legislature at the half way point in the 2023 session and controversial new rules pas...
Mar 30, 2023•29 min•Ep. 197
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Politics Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about a decision by the State Supreme Court allowing women the "limited right" to an abortion to save their life, the Environmental Protection Agency telling Governor Stitt he can't legally refuse shipment of toxic waste from a train derailment in Ohio and an advisory opinion from Attorney General Gentner Drummond over State Superintendent Ryan Walter's m...
Mar 23, 2023•32 min•Ep. 196
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Volkswagen choosing Canada over Oklahoma for its electric vehicle battery plant despite a $700M incentive package, Governor Stitt declining to accept a shipment of toxic waste from the train derailment in Ohio and Oklahoma banks are working to reassure customers and shareholders after two high profile bank closures over the weekend. The trio also d...
Mar 16, 2023•32 min•Ep. 195
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Right Attorney Ryan Kiesel about State Question 820 to legalize recreational marijuana in the state failing to get enough votes for passage, a new poll showing Oklahomans are virtually split on the legalization of sports betting and House Republicans censure the state's openly non-binary lawmaker, Oklahoma City Democratic Representative Mauree Turner. The trio also discusses a vira...
Mar 09, 2023•28 min•Ep. 194
Thanks for subscribing to This Week in Oklahoma Politics podcast. Today, we’re bringing you a Bonus episode of The KOSU Daily podcast. The KOSU Daily is our daily news roundup, where you can get caught up with Oklahoma news in 7 or 8 minutes every weekday morning. It's a great, quick way to stay in touch with what's happening in Oklahoma. Today's episode features reports on the failed vote on recreational marijuana, the GOP-led state legislature censuring Democratic Rep. Mauree Turner, the passi...
Mar 08, 2023•9 min
State Question 820 will be the only issue on the ballot on Tuesday, March 7. If approved, it would legalize recreational marijuana for adult use in Oklahoma and create a pathway for expungement of some marijuana offenses. In this bonus episode of the podcast, we bring you two stories about State Question 820 from KOSU reporters Kateleigh Mills and Xcaret Nuñez. The first story concerns how approval of SQ820 could change existing marijuana businesses in Oklahoma, and the second story looks at how...
Mar 06, 2023•10 min
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the vote this Tuesday on State Question 820 to legalize recreational marijuana in Oklahoma and the State House passing legislation to all but ban gender affirming care in the state. The trio also discusses a poll finding a majority of Oklahomans support a moratorium on the death penalty and State Superintendent Ryan Walters coming under fire for di...
Mar 02, 2023•28 min•Ep. 193
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about a bill to require legislative oversight of State Superintendent Ryan Walters if he attempts to downgrade a schools accreditation, Walters removing the pictures of Education Hall of Fame members and the State Equalization Board approving an extra $2B for lawmakers to spend in the 2024 fiscal year budget. The trio also discusses the State House leade...
Feb 23, 2023•37 min•Ep. 192
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about questions arising over a state lawmaker selling her house to the Turnpike Authority at more than $100K above the appraisal for the agency's expansion in Norman, Attorney General Gentner Drummond taking over a criminal case against a state lawmaker and Drummond dropping a lawsuit designed to challenge tribal sovereignty in the state. The trio also d...
Feb 16, 2023•29 min•Ep. 191
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the governor's State of the State address to open the 2023 legislative sesion. The trip also discusses new opposition to State Question 820 to legalize recreational marijuana facing a vote on March Seventh and Attorney General Gentner Drummond planning to investigate new appointments by the governor to the Oklahoma Veterans' Commission....
Feb 09, 2023•31 min•Ep. 190
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt kicked off his new term with the annual State of the State address on Monday. The Governor laid out his policy priorities for the session: which includes expanding school choice, eliminating the state grocery tax of 4.5% and reducing the personal income tax and corporate tax rates. He also called for a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. His priorities and those of state lawmakers don’t always align, but Stitt’s speech gives us a glimpse into what the GOP-led legis...
Feb 06, 2023•34 min
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and civil rights attorney Ryan Kiesel about an investigation over misspent COVID-19 education funds and a budget hearing for State Superintendent Ryan Walters before lawmakers. The trio also discusses the firing of a Department of Education attorney who had supported LGBTQ rights and the new pressure for the Department of Veterans Affairs director from the Stitt-appointed Veterans' Commissio...
Feb 02, 2023•29 min•Ep. 189
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about State Superintendent Ryan Walters going before lawmakers calling for merit-based pay for teachers, AG Gentner Drummond taking up the case of Oklahoma's sweetheart deal with Swadley's Bar-B-Q to run restaurants at state parks and an 18-year-old lawsuit over poultry pollution coming to an end in favor of the state. The trio also discusses the more th...
Jan 26, 2023•28 min•Ep. 188
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Attorney General Gentner Drummond requesting a delay in the next executions and Governor Stitt replacing four members of the Veteran Commission. The trio also discusses the new power for Oklahoma's Congressional delegation in the Republican controlled U.S. House and the new leader of the Tourism Department giving a frank assessment of the "toxic cu...
Jan 19, 2023•29 min•Ep. 187
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and civil rights attorney Ryan Kiesel about the Governor's second inaugural speech to kick off a new term in office and Stitt abruptly replacing two-thirds of the State Board of Education on only his second day. The trio also discusses new State Superintendent Ryan Walters resigning as CEO for an organization advocating for private schools and new Attorney General Gentner Drummond taking the...
Jan 12, 2023•31 min•Ep. 186
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority moving forward with its $5B ACCESS Oklahoma extension and incoming Attorney General Gentner Drummond promising a probe into the state's pandemic funds spending. The trio also discusses Republican selecting leadership in the state House and Senate, but failure to do so in the U.S. House and the legacy of Jim Inhofe wh...
Jan 05, 2023•30 min•Ep. 185
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Right Attorney Ryan Kiesel about supporters of abortion access dropping the initiative petition on the day they were supposed to start gathering signatures, a judge ruling against Oklahoma in the transfer of a federal inmate for the state to execute and a multitude of changes at Oklahoma City's Western Heights school. The trio also discusses the ban of TikTok on state-issued device...
Dec 15, 2022•26 min•Ep. 184
