OPMX

Oklahoma's first case of bird flu for 2026 has been detected in a Wagoner County backyard flock, and state agriculture officials are encouraging biosecurity measures.

The Muscogee Nation filed a federal lawsuit arguing its authority to regulate hunting and fishing activity of its tribal citizens in its reservation, free from state interference. The tribe is suing Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Director Wade Free and special prosecutor Russell Cochran.

Oklahoma's rate of food insecurity has slightly increased, according to the latest federal Household Food Security in the United States report. The U.S. Department of Agriculture officials say it will end the hunger survey after this year's publication.

Oklahomans who meet certain income requirements can now apply for assistance paying their utility bills. It's part of a program that aims to keep the heat on during the winter's coldest months.

Cherokee Nation leaders are proposing tribal legislation that would create a $30 million nursing school campus in Tahlequah, created in partnership with the University of Oklahoma.

Simpson's case will be considered a final time by the state's Pardon and Parole Board this month. The board has the power to recommend that Simpson be spared, and instead spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Backpacks filled with bug nets, nature journals and other activities are available across Oklahoma as part of the Rural Library Backpack Program.

On Friday, a federal judge ordered poultry companies to pay cleanup costs for the Illinois River Watershed in the latest ruling in the State of Oklahoma's decades-long poultry lawsuit. The order also tells the companies to pay penalties to the state and immediately limits the amount of poultry litter used as fertilizer in the area.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond says tribal wildlife plans in Oklahoma supersede the state's on their reservations.

Lawton Economic Development Authority officials voted to approve a joint resolution between their agency, the City of Lawton and Comanche County Industrial Development Authority (CCIDA), acknowledging Westwin Elements' decision not to move forward with a large-scale commercial refinery in Lawton at this time.