The International Olympic Committee voted Friday that Oklahoman Jim Thorpe will be the sole winner of his medals from the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm Sweden.
Thorpe was the first Native American to win a gold medal in the decathlon and pentathlon. But, when the Olympic committee found out he played minor league baseball two years before the events, he was stripped of the medals because the Olympics are supposed to be for amateur athletes.
Nearly 30 years after his death, the medals were reinstated, and Thorpe was listed as the co-champion. But Friday, the committee fully reinstated the medals, and he is listed as the sole winner of the 1912 Olympic medals for the decathlon and pentathlon.
Thorpe whose name was Bright Path was a citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation and grew up in north central Oklahoma. He was an extraordinary athlete and played football at Carlisle Indian boarding school before playing Major League Baseball and in the National Football League.
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, public schools have received a windfall of federal funding. But they’ve only spent a fraction of what they’ve been given.
Federal COVID relief funds have come in three waves worth $ 2.1 billion dollars total for Oklahoma schools.
But only about half has been spent so far.
The reasons are numerous per the Oklahoma State Department of Education: supply chain issues and construction delays have delayed spending, which is given to districts through reimbursements.
The uneven spending of funds is reflected across the country, according to a national analysis put together by Georgetown University.
Besides, the deadline for spending federal money isn’t for two years: Schools districts must spend down their federal COVID relief funds by September 2024.
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s plans to build three new turnpike routes in central Oklahoma were met with litigation in May from the opposition group Pike Off OTA. The OTA tried to get the suits thrown out, but opponents are firing back.
In a new court filing, Pike Off says the OTA is relying on outdated law and court cases in its attempt to get its suit dismissed. The OTA argues the Cleveland County District Court shouldn’t hear the case. And that regardless, the state Supreme Court will decide on the agency’s authority when it separately rules on whether to validate bonds to pay for the project.
The lawsuit calls into question the agency’s authority to build three highly controversial routes in the Norman and Oklahoma City areas. The OTA wants to circumvent the litigation by fast-tracking the question of its authority straight to the state Supreme Court instead.
Opponents of the ACCESS Oklahoma turnpike plan say more than 650 families will be displaced if the project goes through.
Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed tribal and federal jurisdiction over most crimes committed on Indian land. Then it backtracked with the recent decision in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, which gives the state more authority — partially reversing the court’s ruling in McGirt. OU College of Law professor Taiawagi Helton spoke with KGOU about how the conservative majority is fundamentally changing the relationship between the state and the tribes.
"Under Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, the Supreme Court threw out almost two centuries of jurisprudence in order to come to the conclusion that federal jurisdiction is not exclusive of the states here, but rather the state has concurrent jurisdiction with the feds," said Helton.
Hear the full interview on this week’s edition of Capitol Insider and on the Capitol Insider Podcast. New episodes drop on Friday afternoons.
Stillwater High School shortstop Jackson Holliday was selected by the Baltimore Orioles as the top pick in the Major League Baseball draft on Sunday.
The son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday had been committed to play for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, which are coached by his uncle Josh Holliday. Instead, the 18-year-old will opt to begin his professional career in the minor leagues.
OU pitcher and former Norman High standout Cade Horton was taken seventh by the Chicago Cubs, while OSU pitcher Justin Campbell was taken by the Cleveland Guardians at pick 37.
Two more Sooners were drafted in the second round, with pitcher and former Bixby ace Jake Bennett going to the Washington Nationals and shortstop Peyton Graham selected by the Detroit Tigers.
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