Oklahoma Watch
Oklahoma Watch is a non-profit organization that produces in-depth and investigative journalism on important public-policy issues facing the state. Oklahoma Watch is non-partisan and strives to be balanced, fair, accurate and comprehensive. The reporting project collaborates on occasion with other news outlets. Topics of particular interest include poverty, education, health care, the young and the old, and the disadvantaged.
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Oklahoma Watch, May 27, 2026 -
The Let Kids Play Act, introduced recently by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., aims to shut down predatory practices such as multi-year player contracts, junk fees and stay-to-play requirements. -
State Farm whistleblower and Oklahoma native Ina DeLong left a binder of damning documents with Oklahoma City attorney Charles Weddle — then she disappeared. -
Oklahoma's tenant protection bills failed this legislative session, leaving renters without new legal remedies against problem landlords. -
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Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ steered a $2 billion investment consulting contract to a Christian firm whose principals were deeply intertwined with his own advisors and anti-ESG allies during the bidding process, even as the incumbent firm was delivering record returns. The process raises serious questions about whether the bid was competitive. -
As the legislature prepares to adjourn for the year, some of the most consequential changes coming to public schools include reading reforms and longer school calendars. -
Oklahoma Watch, May 13, 2026 -
Oklahoma lawmakers are celebrating record education funding, but the state still ranks 49th in per-pupil spending nationally and last among surrounding states. Despite recent increases, Oklahoma remains roughly $1 billion short of the regional average spending level, and teacher pay continues to lag behind neighboring states by thousands of dollars annually. -
Oklahoma soybean farmers are navigating a cascade of financial pressures: trade war fallout that cut China's soybean purchases by 78%, fertilizer prices driven up by tariffs and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, and fuel costs up more than 50%. Government assistance has helped, but margins remain deeply negative.
