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Needle exchange programs can link people to critical treatment and prevent the spread of infectious disease, but they’re often associated with large coastal or European cities. Conservative Oklahoma is opening up to the idea. 

The 21st annual deadCenter Film Festival runs through Sunday, June 20 in Oklahoma City, featuring a record breaking 180 films. Organizers worked this year to make the state’s largest film festival more diverse and accessible. 

A Green Country Christian summer camp is on hold and changing its public health protocols following a COVID-19 outbreak.

Oklahoma City Public Schools is offering a $3,000 stipend for teachers who speak the most common second languages in its classrooms.

With summer approaching, Oklahoma is quickly moving toward resumption of pre-COVID life. In late May, Governor Kevin Stitt issued an executive order rescinding mask mandates in state buildings. The order also prohibits state agencies from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for admission to state facilities. Previously, Stitt had ordered that schools, colleges and universities could not require vaccinations or masks. With the expiration of his state emergency order, Oklahoma is also returning to in-person meetings to comply with the Open Meeting Act. KGOU's Dick Pryor and eCapitol's Shawn Ashley discuss how the state is resuming "normal" operations in this week's Capitol Insider.

Oklahoma continues to rank top three in the nation for Hepatitis C deaths, but health officials are hopeful recent policy changes will help reverse the trend.

The City of Anadarko was without water Wednesday after a major line break. City officials say the repair could take weeks.

The Oklahoma City Council approved more than $227 million for the city’s police budget on Tuesday. The total is a $1.3 million increase over the last fiscal year. The budget approval comes one year after some residents demanded funds be taken away from police and invested in community resources.

This is the Manager’s Minute. 

NPR is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and KGOU is celebrating, too. We’re now in our fiftieth year and will celebrate 51 years on the air in September.  

Rain and abnormal cloud coverage leading to unfavorable drying conditions is delaying the wheat harvest in some parts of Oklahoma.

Governor Kevin Stitt wanted to use a managed care approach to handle Oklahoma's Medicaid program, SoonerCare, with expansion of Medicaid mandated by a vote of the people in 2020. Legislators were skeptical and placed limits on the approach through passage of Senate Bill 131. Now, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has weighed in and invalidated the managed care approach altogether in litigation brought by the Oklahoma State Medical Association, Oklahoma Dental Association, Oklahoma Osteopathic Association, Oklahoma Society of Anesthesiologists and the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. KGOU's Dick Pryor and Shawn Ashley discuss what happened and what's likely to result in this week's Capitol Insider.