TRANSCRIPT
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Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider - taking you inside politics, policy, and government in Oklahoma. I'm Dick Pryor with Quorum Call publisher, Shawn Ashley. Shawn, the discovery of screwworms in Texas has led to growing concerns about their effects on the agriculture industry and the U.S. economy. Experts predict that the spread of screwworms is inevitable, and states and the federal government are trying to figure out what to do about it. What is the state of Oklahoma's response to the threat?
Shawn Ashley: State Veterinarian Rod Hall outlined the state's current plan Wednesday at a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture. It focuses on surveillance and education, tracking the spread of screwworm infections in Texas and other states, and educating ranchers to be vigilant and caring for their animals. Screwworm flies lay their eggs in wounds of warm-blooded animals, particularly cattle and other farm animals. But unlike other forms of flies, the larvae do not just consume dead flesh, but instead continue to burrow into their host, making them difficult to find and treat, and can cause death. A number of states, particularly California, will not allow imports of farm animals from states with screwworm infestations. And that is a big concern going forward because of the size of the cattle industry in Oklahoma.
Dick Pryor: Absolutely. And it turns out the Oklahoma legislature was ahead of the curve on this issue.
Shawn Ashley: They were. The Senate and House Agriculture Committees held a joint meeting in May of 2025, more than a year ago, to discuss how the Agriculture Department planned to respond to screwworms if they made their way back into the United States. At that time, they were 500 miles south of the Texas border, and now they're in Texas. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Casey Murdock, a Republican from Felt, and a cattleman, said committee members felt it was wise for legislators to be informed about the issue and to learn what, if anything, the legislature might need to do.
Dick Pryor: Interest in the potential increase of screwworm cases is even showing up in prediction markets. Now you're going to have to explain this.
Shawn Ashley: Well, prediction markets permit participants to take a financial position that a certain event will or will not happen. The screwworm market focuses on the number of human infections by year's end. A majority of market participants believe there will be more than one human case in the United States by the end of the year. The last human case was reported in 2025. A Maryland resident who was infected during a visit to El Salvador, they were treated and fully recovered.
Dick Pryor: You've uncovered an unusual Oklahoma connection to prediction markets, and it involves Governor Kevin Stitt.
Shawn Ashley: There was a prediction market for certain words Governor Stitt might or might not use in his February State of the State speech. It totaled more than six hundred and fifty-two thousand dollars. Some of the words one could take a position in that he used included common sense and marijuana, weed, or cannabis. Words that he did not use that one could have taken a position in were affordability, farmer, and ICE or National Guard. Tevis Hillis, Stitt's press secretary, told me in an email, Governor Stitt and his staff were not aware of this online gambling pool on his State of the State remarks. She took issue and umbrage when I asked whether anyone in the governor's office participated in the market. The entire suggestion she said that anyone in the governor office had a hand in this is absurd, irresponsible, and beneath consideration.
Dick Pryor: Has the Oklahoma legislature done anything to regulate prediction markets?
Shawn Ashley: No, at least not yet. Some states’ governors have issued executive orders that prohibit state employees from using insider information to trade on prediction markets. And according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 15 states considered prediction market related legislation during the 2026 session. In May, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed the nation's first law banning prediction markets from operating within their state.
Dick Pryor: We're not going to make any predictions about the Oklahoma primary election, but it's coming up on Tuesday.
Shawn Ashley: That's right. So, if listeners did not send in a mail-in absentee ballot or vote early, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. And everybody - Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and Independents - get to vote on State Question 832, which implements a plan for increasing the minimum wage in Oklahoma. And there are numerous statewide and legislative primary contests on Tuesday's ballot.
Dick Pryor: Thank you, Shawn.
Shawn Ashley: You're very welcome.
Dick Pryor: And until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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