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. 

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.

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.

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 money into insurance companies' profits, and that the state should instead invest in health infrastructure directly.

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, advocates say this rare, dancing bird is running out of time.

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.

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.

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 handle paperwork, and no students had to navigate lunch debt.

But Congress decided to let the program lapse. Across Oklahoma, schools are figuring out how to help families weather the change.

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 Oklahoma’s Institute for Public Policy Research is aiming to develop a new framework for consent-based interim siting of spent nuclear fuel. As the nation’s nuclear waste storage crisis becomes increasingly more imminent, researchers hope they can craft policy that will incentivize communities to volunteer themselves as interim storage sites. 

Three Oklahoma students are suing the state over its law that bars transgender students from using the bathroom corresponding with their gender identity.

Andy Bridge is the lead plaintiff. The suit argues Senate Bill 615 is unconstitutional and should be overturned.

Bridge and his parents, Aysha Prather and Eli Bridge, sat down with StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Robby Korth to share why they think it was an important step to take.