Shows / StateImpact Oklahoma
StateImpact Oklahoma
StateImpact Oklahoma reports on education, health, environment, and the intersection of government and everyday Oklahomans. StateImpact Oklahoma is a collaboration of KGOU, KOSU, KWGS and KCCU.
Episodes
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma paraprofessionals provide critical student services — but many are barely making ends meet
School support staff received a statewide pay raise after the 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout, but while teacher pay remains a major legislative priority…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Watchdog agency failed to perform required inspections at elite Oklahoma high school plagued by culture of harassment
An Oklahoma Watch investigation last year revealed a pervasive culture of harassment at an elite Oklahoma high school. StateImpact’s Beth Wallis spoke with…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
What to expect from Oklahoma lawmakers on healthcare in 2024
Abortion restrictions, the ongoing opioid crisis and access to mental healthcare are in focus this legislative session. Jillian Taylor is StateImpact…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
What to expect from Oklahoma lawmakers on education in 2024
The state legislature is back in session, and there’s no hotter topic than education policy. StateImpact education reporter Beth Wallis talked with StateImpact…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s Education Department awarded teachers life-changing bonuses — and created a nightmare for some by demanding them back
The Department of Education overpaid at least $290,000 in teacher bonuses and is working to claw back the money mere months after it was distributed. Nine…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Shawnee enacts no sit, no lie ordinance as future for homeless residents is uncertain
At least 150 of Shawnee's 30,000 residents are homeless. And because of an ordinance enacted this month, life might be getting a little more difficult for some…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
The road ahead for Tulsa Public Schools: five months into Walters’ mandated improvement plan
No district in Oklahoma is under the State Board of Education’s microscope quite like Tulsa Public Schools. StateImpact’s Beth Wallis and OPMX’s Max Bryan have…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
StateImpact Oklahoma on the year that was and what's next
2023 is coming to a close, and it’s been an eventful year for StateImpact Oklahoma’s reporters. Managing editor Logan Layden talks with the team about…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
How Oklahomans are navigating the ‘chaos’ of SoonerCare unwinding
Over 300-thousand Oklahomans have lost SoonerCare coverage as state agencies remove ineligible people after a pandemic pause. StateImpact’s Jillian Taylor has…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Tulsans regrow urban tree canopy after summer’s severe weather
Severe weather damaged thousands of trees in the Tulsa area earlier this year. A million cubic yards of green waste was collected, and many trees were bent or…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
'This is their story': Why a teacher in Osage County wants to teach Killers of the Flower Moon
The new Killers of the Flower Moon movie is sparking a conversation about Oklahoma’s difficult history. But those conversations in schools are complicated by…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma schools turning to the new, old way of teaching students to read
The science of reading is returning to the limelight, and Oklahoma schools and universities are using those techniques to teach literacy to the next generation.
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma doesn’t mandate sex ed, some churches are trying to fill the gaps
Some Oklahoma churches are providing comprehensive sex ed to fill gaps in a state that doesn’t require it in schools.
- StateImpact Oklahoma
An Oklahoma non-profit uses Hip-Hop to increase mental health awareness
A local non-profit is hosting rap battles and other events to advocate for mental health awareness in Oklahoma. The organization called SoulBody Cyphers is…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
What Oklahomans need to know about student loan repayment
This month, millions of Americans will have to make student loan payments after a three-year pandemic era pause. But since 2020, there have been some big…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
How is the first commercial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines going in Oklahoma?
After its recent FDA approval, the CDC recommended everyone six months and older get an updated COVID vaccine. But getting it hasn’t been easy for some…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Butterflies are on the move, and Oklahomans are keeping track of them in monarch conservation effort
Monarch butterflies, like many insects and birds, migrate twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, before…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
What does it mean for Oklahoma to partner with PragerU?
Earlier this month, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced a partnership with conservative nonprofit media group, PragerU. Existing PragerU Kids content…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma trans youth, providers face uncertainty in gender-affirming care access
A bill in Oklahoma banning all forms of gender-affirming care for trans youth was paused by Oklahoma’s attorney general amid litigation from the ACLU of…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
OKC community comes together to collect data on impact of urban heat islands
More than 250 volunteers collected temperature and air quality data around Oklahoma City through a community science project in August to study urban heat…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma schools adapt recreational activities to sweltering summer heat
Faced with the dangers of excessive heat, educators around the state are getting creative to keep kids safe and cool while still providing recreational…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
StateImpact Oklahoma welcomes health reporter Jillian Taylor
StateImpact Oklahoma’s health coverage informed listeners through the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s voter-mandated expansion of Medicaid, and the opioid…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
'I’m talking about what’s best for the Greenwood area': What the removal of a highway could do for Black Wall Street
Tulsa’s North Peoria Church of Christ used to call Greenwood home. That was before I-244 displaced it and cut through historic Black Wall Street. StateImpact’s…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
What you need to know as Oklahoma’s state board of education weighs Tulsa Public Schools’ accreditation
Next Thursday, the State Board of Education will consider changing the accreditation status of the state’s largest school district, Tulsa Public Schools. This…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Private landowners in Oklahoma are stepping up to preserve habitat for prairie chickens
Rebecca Jim owns a mile and a half acreage just north of Vinita, Oklahoma, at the northern edge of the Cherokee Nation. She inherited this land from her family…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Big Bonuses, Bigger Risks: Oklahoma’s New Teacher Sign-On Bonus Program Raises Concern
Signing bonuses of as much as $50,000 are what Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said is needed to attract new and retired teachers to the…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
StateImpact breaks down Oklahoma's 2023 education budget
StateImpact’s Logan Layden sat down with education reporter Beth Wallis for a breakdown of what education measures Oklahomans are going to get for their money…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
‘We will strive to survive the Ryan Walters time’: Oklahoma superintendents respond to Walters’ claims, rhetoric
Walters repeatedly emphasized his focus on open communication with superintendents around the state. But when StateImpact sent out a survey to those…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
The battle for Oklahoma education funding
The Oklahoma legislature has been deadlocked for weeks as it hashes out a plan for education funding. StateImpact’s Beth Wallis sat down with Oklahoman…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Health secretary's ouster gives a look into "frustration" between the Senate and Gov. Stitt
The governor and the Legislature have been at odds over the state’s Medicaid agency, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. That fight came to a head last week…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
OU’s swatting event was a hoax, but the trauma it caused was real
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma nursing schools ramp up admissions amid worker shortage
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Five years after the Oklahoma Teacher Walkout, the stakes are higher than ever
Even though funding measures advocated for by 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout participants were stymied largely by Republican lawmakers, Oklahoma’s GOP is now…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
StateImpact Oklahoma discusses the state's newly extended postpartum Medicaid benefits
Oklahoma offers pregnant residents special Medicaid coverage. That coverage used to last only 60 days after delivery, but under a new policy, that coverage…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
A proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors would affect Oklahoma adults too
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Trans Oklahomans find community through music amid heightened anti-queer rhetoric in legislature
Recent pushes from the Oklahoma legislature to target queer issues in schools and medicine have mobilized some Oklahomans to fight back. The Transgender Action…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma legislation would require insurance companies to cover high-tech medical screenings called biomarker tests
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Will Oklahomans vote to be the 22nd state to legalize recreational marijuana?
Voters are just days away from deciding whether Oklahoma will legalize recreational marijuana. But results of similar ballot initiatives in Arkansas and…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
How Oklahoma's mismanagement of federal education funds could leave $18 million on the table
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Another pandemic relief policy is ending, making groceries even more expensive for low-income Oklahomans
During the pandemic, the federal government started giving extra help to families who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — often called SNAP or…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
‘Never took a sick day in seven years’: Oklahoma teacher moms and the realities of no paid maternity leave
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
StateImpact talks with Secretary of Health Kevin Corbett about Oklahoma's pivot to managed Medicaid
Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, SoonerCare, is on its way to profound change. StateImpact’s Catherine Sweeney talked with its director, Secretary of Health Kevin…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
A decade of scandal at Epic Charter Schools
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Methamphetamine is killing more Oklahomans than any illicit drug. A collaborative in Tulsa models how the communities can fight the epidemic.
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
'A learner of learners': Staving off the "deprofessionalization' of Oklahoma's teachers
Oklahoma’s teacher shortage led to a record-breaking 3,780 emergency teaching certifications issued in 2022. From 2001-2018, Oklahoma’s enrollment in…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
State data paints a dire picture of Oklahoma teenagers' mental health
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Methamphetamine may not be the center of attention, but it's killing more Oklahomans than any other drug.
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Pt. 2: ‘Disasters that define us’: Examining Northeast Oklahoma’s patchwork of flood protections
Heavy rains in May 2019 revealed major disparities in flood protections across Oklahoma. While residents in Tulsa benefitted from decades of flood…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Pt. 1: ‘Disasters that define us’: Examining Northeast Oklahoma’s patchwork of flood protections
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
How social media affects the ways two Tulsa teenagers get their news
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
'It had to be more than just teachers and their families voting': Oklahoma educator responds to election outcome
Leading up to the midterms, throngs of teachers and education advocates rallied around democratic candidates for governor and superintendent. But after the…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
StateImpact Oklahoma reporters react to midterm election results
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
The Adderall shortage has made its way to Oklahoma.
Workforce problems, federal regulations and an increase in demand are creating a shortage of ADD and ADHD medications. Local medical providers started seeing…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma lawmakers tried to limit four day school weeks, but they’re hanging on in rural communities
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
When Oklahoma voters choose a governor in November, they'll be voting on the future of SoonerCare.
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
What more can be done to save the Lesser Prairie-Chicken?
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Alumni gather at Oklahoma City's old Northeast High School to honor 1970 student activism
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
How important is education in Oklahoma’s race for governor?
As Governor Kevin Stitt gears up for his challenge from State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister in November, StateImpact’s Robby Korth reports on what effects…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
As pandemic response wanes, Oklahoma schools adapt to the end of universal free lunch
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…
- StateImpact Oklahoma
Where should we put our country's nuclear waste? StateImpact Oklahoma goes underground to find out
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…