In a Tuesday afternoon, the Secretaries of State and Agriculture celebrated a new commitment between the United States and Mexico that strengthens implementation of the 1944 Water Treaty, providing greater certainty for farmers, ranchers, and producers in South Texas who rely on consistent water deliveries from the Rio Grande.
With state lawmakers preparing to gavel in the 2026 legislative session next week, Oklahoma small business owners are calling on lawmakers to prioritize reforms that strengthen the state’s small business economy and reduce cost pressures. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Oklahoma calls on the Legislature to prioritize reforms that reduce cost pressures on small business owners.
“Rising costs continue to be a challenge for small business owners here in Oklahoma,” NFIB State Director Jerrod Shouse said. “There are practical reforms that lawmakers can prioritize this session to give Main Street Oklahomans relief. In addition to cutting taxes, our members want lawmakers to be informed by real cost data and coverage impacts, not guesswork, when crafting health insurance mandates. Giving the Legislature the tools it needs to make smarter decisions that affect small businesses’ health insurance premiums is a commonsense solution.
More than $1 billion in unclaimed property is sitting in state custody, and thousands of Oklahomans may not even know they’re owed money. In recognition of National Unclaimed Property Day (Feb. 1), the Oklahoma State Treasurer’s Office is reminding residents to search their name and claim what’s theirs, some in amounts that could make a meaningful financial difference.
“Behind each unclaimed account is a person, a family or a business that could benefit from these funds,” said Oklahoma State Treasurer Todd Russ. “Whether it’s a refund, insurance claim check or the contents of a safe deposit box, National Unclaimed Property Day is a timely opportunity to reclaim what belongs to you.”
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins issued the following statement applauding President Donald J. Trump’s support for the nationwide year-round sale of E-15:
“Yet again President Trump is honoring his commitment to America’s farmers and energy producers by announcing his support for the nationwide year-round sale of E-15. As Congress continues to work through the details, the President has been clear – get a bill that allows nationwide E-15 to his desk, and he will sign it to unleash American homegrown row crops for biofuel use like never before.
“Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.”
Those are the words of Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman. Oklahomans are seeing this lack of belief in freedom firsthand as out-of-state interest groups seek to raise the minimum wage. Not to be outdone, lawmakers in Washington share the same unbelief in freedom as they seek to pass the poorly named Credit Card Competition Act.
The CCCA attempts to push down interchange fees—or “swipe fees”—for credit card users by prohibiting banks from requiring merchants to use a specific network like Visa or Mastercard. The purported reason for doing so is to increase competition among payment networks. But market competition isn’t achieved through government mandates, and the CCCA primarily serves to expand the role of the federal government—and worse, the Federal Reserve—in the credit card market.
