Broken Arrow Approves New Amphitheater Project
The Broken Arrow City Council approved a proposal to build an amphitheater in the city.
The council approved a public/private partnership between the city and Sunset at Broken Arrow LLC.
The outdoor venue is set to hold 12,500 people on 13 acres of land near Events Park.
The city has agreed to fund $20 million in public infrastructure improvements to the park.
This includes more than 2,000 parking spaces and improvements to storm water facilities, roads and water lines.
The construction will likely begin in 2024 and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2025.
The estimated annual economic impact is $211 million.
OSU Receives Grant To Research Indigenous Health Disparities
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $10 million over five years to OSU’s Center for Health Sciences to address Indigenous health disparities and advance equity.
OSU and the University of Hawai’i were awarded the grant, and they work as partners under the department’s Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity.
The grant will help both universities continue evaluating culturally appropriate approaches through local partnerships to reduce and eliminate Indigenous health disparities.
Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, OSU’s Center for Indigenous Health Research and Policy director, says the award will help them improve these disparities.
“It typically is most effective this kind of intervention science, when the communities are involved at every level," said Jernigan.
Oklahoma Indigenous populations experience significant health disparities with higher cardiovascular disease risks, rates of obesity and hypertension, and limited access to healthy food sources.
TallChief Sisters Honored
The famed Tallchief sisters are being honored in Tulsa.
Marjorie Tallchief’s statue is coming back.
Last year, the bronze statue of Marjorie Tallchief was stolen from the Five Moons sculpture garden in front of the Tulsa Historical Society. It was eventually found in a nearby scrapyard but was in pieces.
The community and the original sculptors Monte England and Gary Henson rallied and a new one was created.
“The Maria Tallchief Quarter” depicts Maria in one of her break-out roles, “The Firebird,” in a spot lit ballet pose and includes her Osage name etched on the coin.
All this attention is getting noticed in Tulsa and on Sunday, Oct. 29, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum will declare that day ‘Maria and Marjorie Tallchief Day.’
McAlester Teen Wins National 4-H Award
The 4-H organization has awarded a McAlester teenager one of its highest honors.
The 4-H Youth in Action program is a premiere community of 4-H’ers who showcase how 4-H has impacted their lives and bettered their communities.
This year, 18-year-old Reed Marcum was named one of four 4-H Youth in Action Award winners across the country.
Marcum’s community-centered projects have raised more than $3.5 million in funds and donated items.
That included collecting tens of thousands of book bags for kids in his community, raising money for a pediatric cancer support foundation named in honor of his former classmate and more than 50,000 toys for students in need.
He will receive a $5,000 scholarship. And he will be one of the four official 4-H youth spokespeople for 2024.
4-H is America’s largest youth development organization, with almost six million young people, focused on preparing the leaders of tomorrow.
In Oklahoma, it’s operated by OSU’s Cooperative Extension.
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