When Gov. Kevin Stitt announced in October 2020 that his administration would relocate the state’s Public Health Laboratory from Oklahoma City to Stillwater, lawmakers and health care groups raised concerns the move would compromise testing capabilities during the coronavirus pandemic.

The highly contagious Omicron variant has arrived in Oklahoma, causing COVID-19 case numbers to surge and renewing concerns that hospitals will become overwhelmed. 

OKLAHOMA CITY — Weeks after he abruptly refused to renew the state’s hunting and fishing compacts with two of its largest tribes, Oklahoma’s governor has accused the Choctaw and Cherokee nations of costing taxpayers millions of dollars by reneging on past agreements.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s top health official said Wednesday the state is struggling to get access to monoclonal antibody and anti-viral treatments that are considered the most effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalization and death against the raging omicron variant.

OKLAHOMA CITY — In a bid to keep schools open, Oklahoma’s governor Tuesday touted an “outside the box” plan that would encourage state employees to spend time each month substitute teaching for no additional compensation.

Desperate and pleading for help, administrators of the four main health systems in the Oklahoma City metro urged Oklahomans Tuesday to practice mitigation efforts against COVID-19 as their hospitals are “at a breaking point.”

With the filibuster at the focal point of both parties in the Senate, Oklahoma’s junior Sen. James Lankford has sought to preserve it, even as Democrats say keeping it intact could lead to the end of democracy.

Sen. Tom Dugger (R-Stillwater) introduced two bills ahead of the 2022 legislative session that could affect how Oklahomans get records through the Oklahoma Open Records Act, including doubling the cost of paper copies and limiting who can make requests.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is again seeking a major overhaul to hunting and fishing license fees. The agency wants to control the fee-setting structures itself, rather than going through the legislature.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Some lawmakers Thursday questioned the wisdom of having an educator advocacy day at the Capitol as growing numbers of schools closed because of staffing shortages and COVID-19 case numbers soared.

ENID, Okla. — The number of active COVID-19 cases in Garfield County rose to 524 over the past week, according to Oklahoma State Department of Health on Wednesday.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s top education appointee is facing backlash after critics said he made a “insulting” and divisive social media post that accused educators of acting out of fear, not necessity, when deciding to close schools.

OKLAHOMA CITY — A state lawmaker wants to allow tribes to offer sports betting for the first time in casinos in a bid to bolster public school funding and legalize a multi-million dollar underground industry.

Visiting Enid on Monday, Oklahoma’s governor contended that the state’s biggest challenge is the U.S. Supreme Court decision that much of the eastern part of the state remains Native American land.

As of Jan. 4, 72.3% of Oklahoma was experiencing at least Severe Drought (D2) conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. More than 40% of the state was experiencing Extreme Drought (D3), but none was in Exceptional Drought, the most severe category.

The nation’s highest court Monday declined to hear the appeal of a convicted murderer — leaving intact an Oklahoma ruling that appeals related to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision cannot be applied retroactively to undo a final conviction.