And they say the pandemic has made it worse. One national survey of nurses found 44 percent of them experienced physical abuse at work in early 2020.

StateImpact is on a listening tour with Oklahoma’s youth. And we’ve brought along our microphones. Two recent high school graduates from Oklahoma City - Aspen Harrod and Ahmari Sango - talk about their comfort levels in the classroom, how they fit in society and representation.  StateImpact’s Robby Korth talked with them in late May.

On the afternoon of June 1, a man walked into a local gun store and bought an AR-style rifle. A few hours later, he used that rifle and a handgun he’d purchased two days before to kill four people at a Tulsa medical center before turning the gun on himself.

This came just a week after an 18-year-old bought an AR-style rifle and days later massacred 19 children and 2 teachers in Uvalde, Texas. 

And that came a little over a week after an 18-year-old, who had previously threatened a murder-suicide at his high school, purchased a semiautomatic rifle and killed 10 people in Buffalo.

As mass shootings continue to make headlines around the country, advocates for gun reform in Oklahoma have a long and uncertain road ahead.

Under the state's new abortion bans, are Oklahomans allowed to donate to abortion funds? Are they allowed to advise patients on their options in other states? The slew of contradictory bills passed this year weren't explicit. Vague laws leave residents wondering what’s legal and what isn’t. Opponents argue that is by design.

Governor Kevin Stitt on Wednesday signed a bill to bar transgender students from using the bathroom corresponding with their identity. StateImpact's Robby Korth and KOSU's Kateleigh Mills went to Tulsa the day the bill was sent to the governor for a conversation with three trans high schoolers. The teenagers talked about identity and how political conversations surrounding the bathrooms they use affect them.

Earlier this year a teacher shortage in Oklahoma forced hundreds of school districts to close their doors because of a lack of substitutes to fill in for educators out with the coronavirus. But StateImpact’s Robby Korth reports even though it’s no longer in the headlines, the substitute teacher shortage persists.

On February 22, Governor Kevin Stitt announced plans for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to embark on a $5 billion, 15-year project to expand Oklahoma’s turnpike network. Two families facing displacement from the turnpike project told their stories to StateImpact’s Beth Wallis.

In Part 2, you’ll hear the story of Darla and Cedric LeBlanc, a Norman family whose home and horticulture business sits in the path of the proposed South Extension route. Beth Wallis visited the family’s home, where they were hosting an Easter egg hunt.

On February 22, Governor Kevin Stitt announced plans for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to embark on a $5 billion, 15-year project to expand Oklahoma’s turnpike network. The effort to expand the turnpike loop around Oklahoma City south and west, through the Moore and Norman areas is raising concerns about water quality, the preservation of wildlife, property rights and even the rare rose rock. But for some, it’s personal. 

In Part 1 of this 2-part piece, you’ll hear the story of Lisa Meyer, a Norman resident whose home sits by the path of the proposed South Extension route. The home was built by her husband Paul to accommodate their late son Clinton, who lived with disabilities until his death in 2008. Lisa is also active in the newly formed turnpike opposition group, Pike Off OTA.

The newest round of CDC numbers sound bad. No. 11 for chlamydia. No. 5 for gonorrhea. No. 4 for syphilis. these high rates — revealed in the CDC’s STI data for 2020 — aren’t new for Oklahoma. But local experts believe the pandemic worsened STI rates in much the same way that it worsened other health outcomes.

A joint investigation by nonprofit news outlets Oklahoma Watch and The Frontier found that Governor Kevin Stitt and his now-Secretary of Education Ryan Walters pushed $18 million to a Florida company called Class Wallet to distribute CARES Act funds. StateImpact’s Robby Korth spoke with one of the authors of that article, Clifton Adcock, about his work on the story.

Read the full story here: https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/stitt-gave-families-8-million-for-school-supplies-in-the-pandemic-they-bought-christmas-trees-gaming-consoles-and-tvs/