Juan Vassallo

While a new state law partly limits data center groundwater use, in reality, data centers avoid water permits entirely by buying water from utilities. Residents are demanding answers in communities like Luther and Yukon.

Candidates for Oklahoma governor are spotlighting foreign farmland ownership as a top voter concern, but conflicting claims, carve-outs in state law and gaps in federal data complicate the issue.

Despite China’s low ownership of land, fear and skepticism about Chinese influence continue to drive legislation in Oklahoma and across the country.

While Tyson says its growers obtain water from ‘lawfully acquired sources,’ the state’s permitting system allows poultry operations to pump water without permits.