I’m a farmer and rancher by trade—I grow wheat and raise beef cattle. I certainly don’t spend my days reading policy papers or watching cable news. But I do pay attention to what works and what doesn’t.
Out here, Medicare Advantage is one of the things that works for seniors and our local communities. Lawmakers shouldn’t mess with it or make changes that would pull funding from the support and care rural seniors have come to rely on.
In 2020, Medicaid expansion was approved by the narrowest of margins through a ballot measure placed before voters via the initiative-petition process. The proposal added hundreds of thousands of able-bodied adults to the welfare program and put taxpayers on the hook for paying the medical bills of numerous adults who were capable of gainful employment but not pursuing it.
The measure was strongly rejected by election-day voters and majorities in roughly 90 percent of counties. It passed only because of absentee votes. Yet today, Oklahoma faces a reported Medicaid shortfall of roughly a half-billion dollars that is due largely to the expansion. Every dollar going to expansion takes money away from schools, roads, public safety, or tax relief for working families.
United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the March Federal Grand Jury 2026-A Indictments. The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury.
Wednesday, March 4, Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd released the findings of her extensive audit of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) requested by Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond. The audit, in PDF format, is posted with this story.
After the release, AG Drummond issued the following statement, “While the audit did not uncover criminal misconduct, the findings should not be mistaken for an agency’s clean bill of health. The audit made clear the need for increased oversight, accountability and transparency at the OTA. A court finding that an agency willfully violated the Open Meetings Act is not a case of bureaucratic red tape. It is a signal that an agency believes it can operate beyond the scrutiny of the public it serves. I urge the OTA’s leadership to take the audit’s findings seriously and use this as an opportunity for meaningful reform. My office will continue to monitor the OTA’s operations and will not hesitate to act should future conduct warrant further review.”
It is aggravating to read how some statisticians judge America. They remind that daily life includes lies, damn lies, and statistics. WalletHub is most zealously active in establishing statistical sets which make news. The validity of their judging criteria, however, is frequently challenged. Today’s example highlights Women and proclaims Oklahoma is the “2nd Worst State for Women in 2026.”
To identify the most women-friendly states, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from median earnings for female workers to women’s health care to the female homicide rate. Our reading suggests, they are not valuing women who choose to be mothers as equal to feminists. Could that be bigotry?
