Oklahoma City to Host Canoe Slalom, Softball Competitions for 2028 Olympics
Oklahoma City is set to host two sports for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt announced Friday that host city Los Angeles has approved its final venue plan.
"I can now stand before you and announce that this is no longer a proposal. It is now official. Two sports from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, softball and canoe slalom, will be staged in their entirety in America's 20th largest city. This is really happening. The Olympics are coming to OKC," Holt said during a press conference.
The International Olympic Committee's executive board is scheduled to confirm Los Angeles' final plan on April 9.
The OKC City Council is expected to vote on a resolution next month outlining the city's plans and naming the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber as the local host organization.
780 Bills Advance as Legislative Deadline Passes, While 200 Stall in Committees
Another legislative deadline has come and gone. And with it, around 780 bills passed their chamber of origin as of last week.
That number breaks down to about 450 measures in the House and 330 in the Senate.
The bills passed regulate everything from Insulin prices to invasive plants, to immigration and criminal justice.
More than 200 other measures got through committee meetings but were never considered on the floor.
Moving forward, each chamber will consider the other's bills in relevant committees and vote on whether to hear them together again in about a month. In the meantime, bills could be amended, completely rewritten to something unrelated or simply passed – or dropped – untouched.
The legislative session is scheduled to end in May.
Oklahoma Lawmakers Push to Expand Eastern Redcedar Removal Amid Wildfire Concerns
As Oklahoma recovers from devastating wildfires and copes with springtime allergies, the state legislature has turned its attention to eastern redcedars.
The state enacted a program to remove eastern redcedars and other “harmful woody species” from parts of northwestern Oklahoma back in 2023. House bill 2162 would expand that program to other parts of the state.
Redcedars are native to Oklahoma but have spread wildly beyond their established ecosystem niches, slurping water and providing fire fuel in the driest parts of the state.
In light of recent wildland fires, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert says getting that bill across the finish line is now one of his top priorities.
"In the rural parts, it's just a tinderbox of those eastern red cedars, which, once those light up, it's hard to get control over it. And so we're going to continue to push that legislation, which, again, we've already passed," Hilbert said.
The Senate passed a similar bill last week. Both measures have a ways to go before reaching the governor’s desk.
Oklahoma Senate Advances Bill to Allow Limited Mountain Lion Hunting
A proposed bill would allow select people to hunt mountain lions in Oklahoma.
Senate Bill 1073 filed by Oklahoma Senator Casey Murdock is now headed to the House after passing through the senate.
Murdock’s bill allows the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission to give out five special permits for mountain lion hunting through a lottery system.
The author of the bill told KOCO-TV this gives Oklahoma tourism opportunities. But wildlife advocacy groups are speaking out.
Wildcare Oklahoma took to social media saying mountain lions are not a threat to livestock and people and there is no need to control the population.
The advocacy group says mountain lion hunting has been illegal in Oklahoma since 1957.
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