Safety Concerns Raised Over Record High Tower To Be Built In Oklahoma City
Plans for the tallest skyscraper in the nation are facing strong opposition from the Oklahoma City Airport Trust.
Airport officials warn the proposed nearly 2,000 ft. Legends Tower would endanger flight safety for Will Rogers International, Wiley Post and Tinker Air Force Base.
Letters obtained by The Oklahoman newspaper show concerns over altered flight patterns and increased circling times for pilots.
Another letter highlights risks to Max Westheimer Airport in Norman, citing tighter approaches as more dangerous.
The developer had hoped to begin construction this year, but now expects delays until 2025 while awaiting feedback from the FAA.
Historic Stocker And Feeder Cattle Market In Oklahoma City Up For Sale
The Oklahoma National Stockyards are up for sale.
This is the largest stocker and feeder cattle market in the world.
Livestock became Oklahoma City’s first major industry when the stockyards and meat packing plants opened in 1910.
Now, more than a century later, the Oklahoma National Stockyards are on the market for $27 million.
The 102-acre property near downtown includes unincorporated land.
Brad Rice is the vice president of investments sales with real estate company Newmark Robinson Park. He said the stockyards have been Oklahoma-owned since its founding and management would like that to continue.
“We are getting tons of interest, and most of our efforts are really talking to people in Oklahoma, which is where we want new ownership to land,” Rice said.
Since its founding, millions of cattle have gone through the stockyards and businesses have sprouted up in nearby Stockyards City.
But the market has been rough recently as drought has been hard on the country’s cattle.
Funding Secured To Continue Oklahoma County Indigent Pharmacy
Some services that ended with the closure of Oklahoma County’s Social Services Department will now continue.
A trio of funding sources will keep Oklahoma County’s indigent care pharmacy up and running.
Totaling more than $130,000, the funds are pieced together from various COVID-19 recovery programs.
Thanks to the new money, the pharmacy can continue providing prescriptions and assistance to some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.
Those responsibilities were once housed by the Social Services Department but disappeared with its dissolution at the end of October.
The federal funds keeping the pharmacy open will expire Dec. 31, 2026. Then, the county will have to find a new way to support it.
Nonprofit Heartland Forward Teams Up With Libraries To Expand Telehealth Access
Policy think tank Heartland Forward is partnering with Oklahoma libraries to expand telehealth access.
The initiative was first launched in Arkansas in October. It’s kicking off its effort in Oklahoma today through an event at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, where it will teach librarians how they can prepare people for their online visits.
The nonprofit will use the Telehealth DigitalLearn module, which is a 39-minute course developed with the Public Library Association that’s free to Oklahomans. It’s part of Heartland Forward’s Connecting the Heartland initiative, which seeks to “boost internet availability, affordability and adoption rates for participation in online services that are key to economic opportunity.”
The training package provides education on what telehealth is, how to navigate patient portals and devices, and how to prepare for a telehealth visit. The goal is to increase comfort levels with telehealth, which the nonprofit notes is especially important for seniors, people with chronic conditions, disabilities and people in rural communities.
Oklahoma has 188 primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas, which are regions with a shortage of health care providers. Most of them are nonmetro areas, including over 1.4 million Oklahomans. Nearly 20% of Oklahomans also lack access to high-speed internet at home.
Heartland Forward Executive Vice President Angie Cooper said the training will help prepare librarians to host classes or engage their community in learning how to use telehealth.
“Community members in Oklahoma still are lacking that internet access, so they're going to the library, and again, as librarians are trusted resources in our communities, we feel like this is a great spot for librarians to help people go deeper if they need additional assistance,” Cooper said.
She said Heartland Forward plans to help expand telehealth access in the 20 states it refers to as the heartland. It will also track data related to the module, including who is taking it, its benefits and if the nonprofit is helping improve health care access.
“(At) Heartland Forward, we focus on, ‘How do we accelerate economic growth in the heartland?’ And, to do that, you have to have healthy communities, and because we know not everyone has access to the internet or easy access to a quick drive to their doctor, we believe that the telehealth module will make a true impact,” Cooper said.
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