KFOR Wins Legal Case Against State Department of Education
Oklahoma's oldest television station has won its legal battle with State Department of Education leaders.
KFOR TV in Oklahoma City reports a federal court approved an agreement Wednesday upholding the station's First Amendment rights.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters and his Press Secretary Dan Isett have agreed to allow KFOR journalists into all of the education department's news conferences and meetings.
The leaders have also agreed to pay attorney fees and damages of $17.91.... a symbolic amount as 1791 was the year the First Amendment to the U-S Constitution was ratified.
KFOR TV and The Institute For Free Speech took legal action in September.
The station said for months, its journalists were refused access to public State Board of Education meetings and excluded from Walters' news conferences.
House Launches Portal for Oklahomans to Suggest Government Efficiency Improvements
House Speaker-elect Kyle Hilbert wants input from Oklahomans on how their state government could be more efficient. A new online portal launched by the House Tuesday is the avenue for them to share.
Hilbert said his chamber’s new Government Efficiency Portal piggybacks on the incoming Trump administration's new Department of Government Efficiency, abbreviated to DOGE – like the popular meme.
Run by Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, DOGE is not an actual government agency but an advisory board meant to guide the incoming president on how and where to cut federal spending.
Hilbert is asking Oklahomans how their state government can do the same.
According to a news release, answers should be submitted by Oklahomans with "first-hand experience with duplicative and wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars."
Examples of that waste will be submitted to House fiscal leaders for review in connection with next year’s budget allocations.
Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, Hilbert's counterpart across the rotunda, has also expressed interest in improving government efficiency.
Bird Flu Detected in Second Northeast Oklahoma Poultry Flock
A second commercial poultry flock in northeast Oklahoma is positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Food and Forestry officials said more than 40,000 birds were culled after the virus was detected on Sunday.
This comes after a different flock of more than 60,000 chickens were euthanized to contain the virus in the same county last month.
Agriculture experts said detections of the virus are typically higher as wild birds migrate.
Lee Benson, a department spokesperson, says because wild water fowl can carry the virus, the department is communicating with producers.
“So, it's a situation where we do our best to stay in contact with as many poultry producers as we can, and not just poultry producers, but other livestock producers and USDA and really stress biosecurity," Benson said.
Benson said the state has established a so-called control zone in Adair and Delaware County. In the area, poultry movement is restricted to limit the flu’s spread.
Next Chapter Begins For University of Tulsa Football
The University of Tulsa welcomed its new head football coach Tuesday.
TU President Brad Carson and members of the athletic staff introduced Tre Lamb to the Golden Hurricane team at a news conference.
Lamb previously coached at East Tennessee State and Gardner-Webb. He was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 2020.
TU’s football program has been plagued by a string of losing seasons since 2016.
Lamb said he thinks the team’s record can be turned around quickly.
“I firmly believe we can come in here year one and make it to a bowl game. That’s the expectation. And in today’s world of college football, we’re being given the resource we’ve been given… there’s no reason this should take three years like it used to,” Lamb said.
Lamb takes over the job following Kevin Wilson’s firing after two seasons.
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