EV Maker Canoo Shuts Down Oklahoma Factory, Furloughs Employees
Electric vehicle maker Canoo said it furloughed 82 of its employees and stopped production at its Oklahoma factory.
The company announced it is in talks to raise more money.
Canoo was founded in 2017 and brought a manufacturing plant and battery facility to Oklahoma in 2023.
The company has since faced financial difficulties and lawsuits from vendors, resulting in pausing its operation and temporarily suspending employees without pay.
“We regret having to furlough our employees, especially during the holidays, but we have no choice at this point,” a news release states. “We are hopeful that we will be able to bring them back to work soon.”
Canoo lost about $800 million between 2022 and 2024, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Reporting from nonprofit news outlet The Frontier shows the company may have to repay the state $1 million for failing to meet its requirements to keep the cash.
The money was from the state’s Quick Action Closing Fund, which incentivizes companies to relocate or expand in Oklahoma.
The company is also facing lawsuits from vendors in Oklahoma, California and Michigan over unpaid bills, The Frontier found.
Canoo manufactures electric cargo and fleet vehicles and is headquartered in Justin, Texas. In 2023, Oklahoma state agencies spent $119,850 on three of the vehicles, a move lauded by Gov. Kevin Stitt.
“As we find new efficiencies within the fleet, Canoo’s new Oklahoma-made electric vehicles align perfectly with our fleet modernization goals, and I couldn’t be more excited to see them on the roads,” he said in a December 2023 news release.
Canoo’s Chief Executive Officer Tony Aquila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Judge Orders Wind Farm Removal on Osage Land
After a 10-year court battle, a federal judge has ordered an energy company to remove a wind farm on Osage Land and pay more than $4 million in damages and legal fees.
The company, Enel, leased land in 2010 to build 84 wind turbines. The lease covered 84,000 acres of surface area in Osage County, not the earth and minerals underneath.
But the company blasted explosives to dig huge holes at the base of each turbine and used some of the excavated rocks as backfill.
In 2013, the Osage Minerals Council sued, alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They said the excavation counts as mining, which requires a permit from the Osage Nation that the wind farm never applied for.
This week, a judge ordered Enel to pay more than $250,000 in damages, plus $4 million in legal fees and costs for the decade-long case.
In addition, Enel must remove the wind farm and return the land to how it was “pre-tresspass” by Dec. 1, 2025. Enel estimates removal will cost more than a quarter-billion dollars.
Content on Christianity Balloons in New Proposed Oklahoma Social Studies Standards
The Oklahoma State Department of Education released its new social studies standards Thursday.
The guidelines feature a significant increase in content on Christianity and patriotism.
According to a news release from State Superintendent Ryan Walters, the new standards up the mentions of the Bible from two to more than 40. If they are adopted, students as young as first grade would be taught stories such as David and Goliath, and Moses and the Ten Commandments.
Walters said at Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting the new standards strengthen his administration’s argument for Bibles in school classrooms.
"I am proud that Oklahoma is taking the lead in putting President Trump’s agenda into practice," Walters said. "We are presenting a successful model that should be emulated by every state in the country on how to restore public education and eradicate radical woke influences in our schools."
The draft is now up for public comment until Jan. 21 on the state department’s website.
The board will vote on the standards at its Feb. 27 meeting, then submit them to the legislature for approval.
Miami Tribe Plans To Open Market In January
One northeastern Oklahoma tribal nation is doing its part to increase food security and support local businesses.
The Miami Tribe of Indians is preparing for the grand opening of its Prairie Sky Market in January.
The market along Old Route 66 will feature tribally and locally grown produce, a hot and cold deli and pre-packaged meals.
Second Chief of the Miami Tribe Dustin Olds said the facility will not only feed tribal citizens, but lower the cost burden too.
“We're trying to create opportunities for local growers to put healthy, local, grown products in front of our families and the public and to reduce their grocery expenditures as much as we can,” Olds said.
He said the idea for the market blossomed after the tribe identified gaps in the food supply chain. It will help create food independence.
Note: The next episode of the PM NewsBrief will be on Thursday, Jan. 2.
From all of us at KGOU, have a safe and happy holiday season!
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