The race for governor
Oklahoma’s Gubernatorial race is pitting two former allies against each other in a race that’s become surprisingly close.
Governor Kevin Stitt is facing off against moderate Republican-turned-Democrat Joy Hofmeister, the state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. Conventional wisdom would say Stitt would breeze to victory against Hofmeister. A Democrat hasn’t won statewide office in Oklahoma since 2006. But a series of independent, nonpartisan polls are painting the picture of a tight race. Hofmeister and Stitt are within the margin of error of each other in several. The pair have plenty of policy differences. Disagreeing on education, tribal sovereignty and healthcare issues. But how much enthusiasm voters have for both candidates will be determined at the ballot box.
Leading up to early voting KGOU is highlighting the races on the November 8th general election ballot. You can learn more about these races on our online voter guide at KGOU.org.
Race Massacre Excavation
Archaeologists are set to begin another round of excavations at the Oaklawn Cemetery in search of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre starting this week. Excavation crews will pick back up on Wednesday in an area southwest of where several sets of human remains were found last year. Those remains were moved to an on-site lab where scientists determined 14 of them were viable for further analysis. Intermountain Forensics will again be taking over the genealogy analysis in the investigation and will be on site to collect DNA samples from potential victims of the race massacre. City officials say the entire cemetery will be closed to the public during excavations that could last at least until November 18th. It’s estimated as many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed by white mobs during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, with a majority of those victims' remains not yet found.
Large wildfires
Wildfires burned thousands of acres over the weekend in parts of northern Oklahoma. According to officials, more than 3-thousand acres burned Saturday and Sunday in Pawnee and Noble counties after a piece of farm machinery caught on fire in a Pawnee County hay field. The fire was located north of the Cimarron Turnpike, about 21 miles south of Ponca City. A portion of Highway 15 was closed Saturday night. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze once it reached Sooner Lake. No homes were destroyed, and no major injuries were reported.
For more local news from KGOU, visit kgou.org and follow us on social media. We also invite you to subscribe to the AM Newsbrief with host nyk daniels.
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For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU AM NewsBrief with host Nyk Daniels.