Lionel Ramos
State Government ReporterLionel Ramos covers state government for a consortium of Oklahoma’s public radio stations.
Previously, Ramos has reported for investigative news site Oklahoma Watch covering race and equity, reporting on the rising political capital of Latinos in Oklahoma, the resettlement of Afghan refugees, the stakes for Indigenous Oklahomans in the Supreme Court's 2023 Brackeen v. Haaland decision, unemployment, housing, and veterans’ issues.
Born into the circus, Ramos traveled across the country in an RV with his family for the first half of his life. He eventually landed in San Antonio, Texas, where he attended high school and community college before transferring to Texas State University in San Marcos. He holds a bachelor's degree in English with a focus on creative writing. While a student at Texas State, he covered local and student government for the college newspaper, The University Star.
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Google announced Wednesday it's making a new $9 billion dollar investment in Oklahoma within the next two years. The money will create state and academic and workforce incentives around cloud tech, artificial intelligence and data center expansions. -
Oklahoma lawmakers are trying to figure out what to do about unoccupied and dilapidated private properties across the state. About a dozen representatives of small towns visited the State Capitol on Tuesday to make the case for a swift solution. -
Beto O'Rourke stops in Oklahoma to rally people against Trump, request donations for Texas lawmakersFormer Democratic presidential candidate from Texas Beto O'Rourke made a stop in Oklahoma City on Wednesday as part of a tour of the Midwest. He called for attendees to jump on the political offensive against the Trump Administration. -
The U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security are suing Oklahoma with the help of Attorney General Gentner Drummond. Court filings show Drummond hopes to end in-state college tuition for Oklahomans in the country without a legal immigration status. -
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is the new chair of the National Governors Association, a bipartisan nonprofit acting as a policy advocacy and research aid for state leaders across the nation. -
Experts call diabetes a public health epidemic in Oklahoma. Special barriers for Latinos around accessing basic preventative health care and education mean they are among the most harmed by the disease in the state. -
As some of Oklahoma's older privately owned prisons are eyed as opportunities for expanding federal immigration detention capacity, one Oklahoma think tank aims to remind residents why more privatized incarceration is a bad deal for them and the state. -
State Public Safety Commissioner Tim Timpton says the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has been spread thin for years. He says now is the time to shift OHP resources to areas of greater need. -
While local law enforcement agencies ramp up immigration enforcement in Oklahoma, federal authorities have already started deporting unauthorized immigrants across the state. -
As an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling looms on whether voters will have the chance to open state primary elections to all, the state Republican Party is working to convince its members that State Question 836 is a bad deal. But political rhetoric differs from the argument in court.
