Oilers Football Adds Billy Black

By Staff Report

Tulsa Oilers Football, a proud member of the IFL and powered by Community Care, acquires Billy Back as the team’s new Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach, bringing the five-time champion to Tulsa for the 2026 season.

In a release to media the team noted Back, was most recently the Head Coach/OC for the Tucson Sugarskulls in 2024 and 2025. Before his time with Tucson the new Oilers’ coach led the Frisco Fighters to the best record in the Indoor Football League for two consecutive seasons (2022/2023). Under his guidance, the Fighters were near the top of the league in points scored. Back’s Fighters had the top rushing offense in the league and sported the best run defense in the IFL under his guidance.

Continue reading →

Guardrails on State Testing Waiver

By David Arnett

Tulsa, OK — The NorthStar Project has filed formal public comments on the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s request for a waiver from federal peer review of statewide assessments. While affirming the Department’s intent to modernize testing and reduce burdens on schools, the NorthStar Project warns that the proposal—if adopted as written—risks eroding accountability, transparency, and fairness across Oklahoma’s 500+ school districts.

“Oklahoma cannot afford to weaken accountability at the very moment when student outcomes are at historic lows,” said Dr. Mark Roberts, Chairman of the NorthStar Project. “Our students deserve both innovation and rigor. That requires statewide comparability, constitutional compliance, and clear transparency for parents.”

Continue reading →

OK’s $32M Settlement With CVS Caremark

By David Arnett

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced yesterday a more than $32 million settlement with CVS Caremark over money from Oklahoma’s state employee health plan. 

CVS Caremark is a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) that manages prescription drug benefits for health plans, including HealthChoice which is Oklahoma’s state employee plan. When drug companies give discounts and rebates for medications, CVS Caremark was supposed to pass that money on to HealthChoice. Instead, the state contends that CVS kept millions of dollars that should have gone to help lower healthcare costs for state employees from January 2020 through December 2024. CVS maintained that it complied with its contractual obligations. 

Continue reading →

Tulsa County Opioid Settlement Funding

By David Arnett

The Tulsa County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) announced Monday they have awarded more than $4.5 million in opioid settlement funds to local organizations working to prevent addiction, expand treatment and recovery options, and strengthen behavioral health supports across the community.

The organizations funded include:

Continue reading →

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Returns

By David Arnett

The multi-platinum rock group Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) returns to Tulsa with their highly anticipated 2025 Winter Tour. This year, the rock powerhouse will bring their legendary holiday show, The Ghosts of Christmas Eve: The Best of TSO & More, to life with a special production,  featuring a second set of hits and fan favorites, including a 25th-anniversary salute to Beethoven’s Last Night.

Continue reading →