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PM NewsBrief: Nov. 1, 2023

This is the KGOU PM NewsBrief for Wednesday, November 1, 2023.

Technology Upgrades Coming For 911 System

A new law updating Oklahoma’s 911 system took effect today.

It will pay for technology upgrades allowing for dispatchers to get a better sense of where someone is calling from in an emergency.

The state’s system has not been updated since 1975.

The upgrades are intended to speed up emergency response times in rural communities... where it can take twice as long for first responders to arrive compared to some urban areas.

The law also mandates CPR training for emergency telecommunicators and places a flat fee for the service across the state.

Kasey Alert Goes Into Effect

A new law goes into effect Wednesday aimed at helping Indigenous families find their missing loved ones.

It is a new alert system for adults who go missing under suspicious circumstances.

It's coming in the wake of Kasey's Act -- named for Cherokee Nation citizen Kasey Russell.

The 29-year-old went missing in 2016 while walking near his home.

Law enforcement didn't start their investigation into his disappearance for weeks.

A Kasey Alert will require law enforcement to investigate reports of people over the age of 18 that go missing -- much like a silver alert for the elderly -- if there are suspicious circumstances.

The bill was signed into law last spring. Representative Ken Luttrell, a Cherokee citizen who lives in Ponca City, sponsored the legislation.

Poultry Companies File A Motion To Dismiss Court Ruling

Tyson and other Arkansas poultry companies have filed a motion to dismiss a court ruling that says they’re responsible for cleaning up pollution in Oklahoma’s Illinois River Watershed.

When Oklahoma filed this case against the poultry companies in 2005, Pluto was still a planet. Judge Gregory K. Frizzell heard arguments in court in 2010.

Frizzell’s ruling didn’t come until earlier this year, when he ordered the poultry companies to remediate the Illinois River Watershed at their own expense.

After months of back-and-forth over that clean-up plan, the poultry companies have filed a motion to dismiss the ruling.

They say it’s based on evidence that’s no longer valid — pollution management practices and water quality in the Illinois River have changed since 2010.

Oklahoma has until November 10th to respond.

 Bat Migration Study

Scientists at the University of Oklahoma are studying the state's official flying mammal, the Mexican free-tailed bat, and plan to track the species.

Out of the 20 species of bat found in Oklahoma, the Mexican free-tailed bat is the state’s favorite, named the state flying mammal in 2006.

They migrate with the changing season.

Oklahoma has four maternity caves that are perfect for free-tailed bats to give birth to their pups.

They migrate north from south Texas and central Mexico in the spring and summer to do so.

And in the winter, they migrate back south to follow their favorite food source, flying insects. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma are studying their migration patterns.

Daniel Becker is an assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences.

He said tracking the bats will answer questions about their migration patterns.

“We’re interested in trying to understand the individual differences in when bats leave, how fast they migrate, where they migrate to, whether that's affected by things like what parasites they're carrying at the time,” Becker said.

Becker said 40 Mexican free-tailed bats have trackers on them that weigh less than a gram.

The trackers are able to pick up when they leave their cave and when they cross state borders.
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