United Indian Nations of Oklahoma Voter Registration Event
The United Indian Nations of Oklahoma is launching a statewide initiative to increase Native voter registration.
Funded by a grant from the National Congress of American Indians, the UINO is launching the “Warrior Up To Vote” campaign.
Visiting tribal nations, complexes and headquarters across Oklahoma, the group’s goal is to provide voter registration and candidate information.
The tour will culminate into mass registration drives in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The initiative’s highlight event will be a tribal sovereignty symposium and candidate forum at Muscogee Nation’s Riverwind Spirit Casino in Tulsa.
Event organizers say the tour is a bi-partisan effort meant to inform Indigenous communities about Native policies and legislation and increase the number of Native American voters across the state.
The event kicks off September twenty-third and ends October fifth.
Rural Roads And Bridges Report
A new report shows Oklahoma’s rural roads and bridges have a high fatality rate, and nearly a third of them are in less-than-stellar condition.
Eight percent of Oklahoma's rural roads and bridges are in poor or structurally deficient condition and another 20% of rural roads are in mediocre condition, according to a report from TRIP, a National Transportation Research Nonprofit.
Rocky Moretti, the nonprofit’s research and policy director, said Oklahoma’s traffic fatality rate on non-interstate rural roads is nearly twice as high as on other roads in the state.
“So clearly, significant additional work needs to occur to keep people safer on Oklahoma's rural roads, largely on two lane rural roads,” Moretti said
Moretti said rural roadways are vital and funding efforts like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act have been critical to improve them, but challenges like aging infrastructure and inflation pose problems.
Rising Threats Against Oklahoma Schools
Oklahoma schools are seeing an uptick in threats of violence.
The state’s largest traditional public school district is implementing new safety measures to keep students safe.
Across the state, dozens of schools are receiving threats of violence, causing in some instances cancellations of classes or lockdowns. The Oklahoma City Police Department said 65 threats have been made in the metro area since the school year began, and it has submitted felony charges against suspects.
A spokesperson for Tulsa Public Schools told StateImpact threats have been received at a majority of secondary sites. Beginning after fall break, TPS said it will implement bag checks, wanding and walk-through detectors every day at middle and high schools. Tulsa Police Chief Dennis Larson said individuals making threats can expect consequences
.
"We will act on it. We will investigate it. And we will prosecute," Larson said.
You can report suspicious activity on the ProtectOK app or by texting “OKS Threat” to 226787.
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