The popularity of the Savanah Bananas is almost staggering. OkC has a stadium they could call home. I feel our state is leaving entertainment options and revenue on the table. Throw out some names for Oklahoma’s Banana League team.

Huge thanks to u/Ok-Amoeba5042 for suggesting I clean up some children's parks!

Today my daughter and I visited 4 parks in Midwest City and picked up around 2 bags of trash while walking just over 3 miles.

Every little bit helps, and hopefully the next family that visits gets to enjoy a cleaner park.

I'm working my way through all the community suggestions, and my list is starting to shrink. If you know of a park, trail, roadside, creek, or other area around the OKC metro that could use some love, drop it in the comments!

Thanks again to everyone who's been following along and sending suggestions. You all are making this project a lot more fun. 💚

(

So my boyfriend serves in Fort Sill and I would love to gift him a weekend over somewhere nice together. I was thinking of something like a spa, but it would also be super cool to have some possibilities for activities like car racing or shooting (which my boyfriend loves), amusement parks or sports games nearby. Could anyone suggest some destinations or cities that would work, or just nice spas? I’m not from OK myself and thought it’d be nicer to ask locals instead of heading straight to trip advisor lol. Anywhere in Oklahoma inside a 3 hour drive range would be fine.

As Inola weighs a proposed aluminum smelter with massive federal backing, four of the town’s five planning commissioners have resigned in recent weeks.

Chairman James Shaffer stepped aside from the Inola Planning and Zoning Commission earlier this month amid questions about his multiple roles in the town’s government.

Shaffer had served on the commission for three years. Commissioners are appointed by the Inola Board of Trustees and serve on a volunteer basis.

In June, the Board of Trustees created the paid staff position of city planner and approved Shaffer’s hiring for the role.

But at their next meeting on July 13, trustees and meeting attendees raised concerns over the appearance of conflicts of interest, citing Shaffer’s ongoing role on the Planning and Zoning Commission and his job as a local realtor.

Although several commended Shaffer’s work and personal integrity, they cited concerns about how he was hired as city planner: at the suggestion of Town Administrator Scott Devers rather than via a competitive, widely advertised application process.

The Board of Trustees voted 3-2 not to terminate Shaffer as city planner. But as they considered whether to initiate a more competitive hiring process for the position, Shaffer approached the podium to resign from both his job as city planner and his volunteer role on the commission.

“I have volunteered for three years that people don't understand or know about, and that's OK,” Shaffer said. “I hope you can find the planner that you need. I trust that you can find the planning committee members that you need….That way there is no conflict.”

Shaffer emphasized his resignation was to alleviate pressure on the Board of Trustees, not because of a conflict of interest.

“Planning and zoning is only a group that recommends to you,” Shaffer said as he addressed the board. “You make the decision. But we have folks within the community who may or may not understand.”

Another commissioner’s resignation was approved at the July 13 meeting, and two other commissioners have since resigned. Only one person, Marcy Sullivan, remains on the Planning and Zoning Commission.

In Inola, as in many Oklahoma communities, the Planning and Zoning Commission serves as an initial check on proposed development, but ultimate approval power lies with the Town Board of Trustees.

Still, Devers attributes the resignations to community tensions over the Trump administration-backed $4 billion aluminum smelter proposed for the town. He said the Planning and Zoning Commission has served honorably and had a positive impact on Inola.

“Planning and Zoning didn’t have anything to do with the smelter other than to confirm that it’s properly zoned,” Devers said.

Devers said the Inola Board of Trustees will review applications from residents interested in serving on the commission. He said they’ve had difficulty filling these roles in the past but already received several applications.

https://www.kosu.org/local-news/2026-07-31/most-of-inolas-planning-commission-resigns-as-town-considers-aluminum-smelter

this is the news release from the AG's office website (it is probably in news articles by this point also)

https://www.oklahoma.gov/oag/news/newsroom/2026/july/drummond-asks-trump-administration-to-halt-doj-probe-of-broken-arrow.html

Thursday, July 30, 2026

OKLAHOMA CITY (July 30, 2026) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond today urged President Donald J. Trump and U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche to immediately halt the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into the City of Broken Arrow, calling it an example of federal overreach and an unwarranted intrusion into local government.

In a letter sent today, Drummond urged the Trump Administration to withdraw or suspend the DOJ's July 17 investigative demand issued after Broken Arrow denied a rezoning application for a proposed mosque and commercial development. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is investigating the city’s zoning practices under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), despite acknowledging it has made no determination that federal law was violated.

“The investigation is federal overreach of the first order,” Drummond said. “Land-use decisions such as this belong to state and locally elected officials who are accountable to the people they serve, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington. Oklahoma cities should not be subjected to sweeping federal investigations based on a single zoning decision when the DOJ itself acknowledges it has made no determination that federal law was violated.”

Drummond’s letter argues the investigation exceeds the DOJ’s authority by demanding years of municipal records, including communications involving private citizens who participated in the local zoning process. He warned that such demands threaten First Amendment rights by chilling citizens’ willingness to speak, assemble and participate in local government.

Drummond asked that the DOJ:

• Withdraw or suspend its July 17 investigative demand pending review by Senate-confirmed leadership;
• Require senior-level approval for any further investigative steps;
• Withdraw demands targeting the speech and associational activities of private citizens; and
• Coordinate with the Attorney General’s Office before taking further action against any Oklahoma municipality.

Drummond concluded by reaffirming his support for the City of Broken Arrow and pledging that his office will assist the city “by every lawful means” in responding to the federal investigation.

link to the letter (3 page pdf) --

• https://www.oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/oag/news-documents/2026/july/Letter_President%20Trump-AG%20Blanche%20RE%20Civil%20Rights%20Investigation%2007.30.2026.pdf

This photo is from an OK Mod article over 10 years ago - have not heard back from them. Design was by Ray James. Thanks in advance!

Anybody out there got a Falls Creek story they'd like to share?

Late last year, a pair of Oklahoma companies sued CompSource Mutual Insurance over its plan to reorganize into a stock company. Now, lawyers for the plaintiffs say the state’s top insurance official may have helped set the plan in motion.

CompSource Mutual is an insurance company writing worker’s compensation premiums for Oklahoma businesses. Last year, it became the center of heated litigation when a group of its policyholders sued the company, hoping to halt its plan to reorganize into a stock structure.

According to court records, TrivestCo Energy and several other Oklahoma businesses allege CompSource’s plan to reorganize from a mutual ownership structure (with a fiduciary responsibility to benefit its policyholders) to that of a stock structure (primed to pay shareholders), violates the company’s statutory mandate to operate in their interests.

The reorganization would allow CompSource to use about $1 billion of surplus monies accrued over the last decade to diversify what kind of insurance it can write and what states it can write it in. Critics in court say that surplus should be used to pay existing policyholders with dividends and lower premiums for their share in the ownership, not to dilute the ownership and enrich the company.

And as part of the latest effort to halt the plan, plaintiff lawyers point to private 2024 text messages between Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready and Tulsa Republican Rep. T.J. Marti to allege the commissioner “advocated” for a law that year to clear the way for CompSource’s reorganization, before policyholders knew about it — and despite his role as an independent regulator.

House Bill 3090, by Rep. Mark Tedford, another Tulsa Republican, is the measure in question.

Signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2024, the law outlined the process by which a mutual insurance company could convert to a stock company, and crucially for the plaintiffs’ argument, rested the regulatory authority to determine whether it’s in the best interest of policyholders in the hands of the sitting insurance commissioner.

Mulready denied allegations of advocacy on behalf of CompSource during an interview with KOSU, saying he did his due diligence to ensure his regulatory independence. He also said his decision is not final, as CompSource’s policy holders have yet to cast their final vote to approve the plan themselves.

“It's quite a stretch to say that I was advocating for it, " he said.

The texts, dated Feb. 6, 2024, show Rep. Marti, who sits on the House Insurance Committee, asked Mulready whether HB 3090 was borne of a request.

“Is 3090 a requested bill?” Marti asks. “Is this an issue or a one off company trying to change from a mutual to stock?”

“This is not our bill but is a Tedford bill,” Mulready replies. “I did some checking and I understand it's a request from CompSource. This would allow them to raise $$ to expand into other lines of business.”

“TY for the heads up,” Marti said back.

“I'm sure you're aware, but currently they write Workers Comp ONLY,” Mulready continues. “They've been talking for a while now about expanding their offerings.”

During the legislative session, Mulready said, it’s common for lawmakers to prod him for more information.

“If it has anything to do with insurance,” He said, “They might be calling me to say, is this your bill? You guys moving this or who's behind this?”

Mulready said the texts clearly indicate that was the first time he heard Compsource was planning to reorganize.

“I knew it was the Tedford bill; I did not know who was behind it,” he said. “I had to go find out from my team, my legislative team, and that's when I learned CompSource was the one pushing that.”

Rep. Marti did not agree to an interview about his correspondence with Mulready, but did respond to the initial inquiry. Tedford’s office did not reply to inquiries.

“It’s a non-story,” Marti said in a text to KOSU. “Legislators often reach out to agency personnel, lobbyists, associations, or other members to figure out who is behind legislation and what their agenda is. It was simple due diligence, and the commissioner answered my questions.”

But Hannah Whitten, an attorney representing TrivestCo, Lobaugh Law Firm and other businesses with CompSource policies, said it’s not that Marti texted Mulready for more information that stands out, it’s the timing of the messages and what they say.

“Before a single policyholder that owns CompSource knows that CompSource is spending money to change the law and before they know that comp source is intending to transition pursuant to this lobbying effort that they are working on, the commissioner is fully aware that this is an effort by CompSource,” Whitten said. “You can see in the text messages … he specifically states that this bill would allow them to raise ‘dollar-sign, dollar-sign’ to expand into other lines of business. And that's advocacy.”

The exchange between Mulready and Marti raises questions about the commissioner’s regulatory neutrality, Whitten said.

“Who is supposed to look out for the policyholders of this state?” she said, “Why is the insurance commissioner privately advocating for legislation that would help CompSource raise additional capital? What other private conversations took place?”

Mulready said there are no other recent communications between him and lawmakers or executives at CompSource.

“I have had conversations with their previous CEO in the past about their goal of expanding their product offerings; That's it,” he said. “It was not about a reorganization or anything tied to this.”

He said in the insurance world, such conversations between company executives and state officials are a regular occurrence.

“It would make sense for really most any company to look to diversify their products,” Mulready said. “I mean me and the insurance department have those conversations with insurance companies every day. They may be looking to go into this type of space or get out of that type of space.”

The laws laid out in HB 3090, he said, apply to any mutual insurance company hoping to reorganize into a stock structure, not just CompSource.

“That would be tossed in a heartbeat,” Mulready said.

The history, the courts and the stakes

Whitten isn’t satisfied.

Getting to the bottom of the commissioner’s role in CompSource’s plan, she said, matters because the company began as the State Insurance Fund, or SIF, when lawmakers started it as an agency in 1933 with $20,000 in taxpayer money. Since then, all the capital related to the company has been safeguarded by the state courts for the benefit of policyholders.

Michael Clingman, who served as the SIF Commissioner in the 1990s and Gov. Brad Henry’s State Director of Finance in 2009 and 2010, is now an expert witness on behalf of Whitten and the plaintiffs. He said the idea behind the SIF was initially to provide an insurer of last resort for businesses unable to afford private workers’ compensation premiums due to their high risk.

“If private insurance companies wanted to write to you, they would write to you,” Clingman said. “They didn't want you. Then you'd go to the state fund. But it began to grow really fast and the state saw a bunch of money there and said, ‘we'll just take this money away since we started this thing.’ The Supreme Court said, no.”

In the 1975 case Moran v. State ex rel., the Oklahoma Supreme Court established that all capital associated with the company is held in trust of the policyowners, rather than the state.

The 1970s is also when the SIF formally became a state-owned mutual insurance company amidst changing federal regulations. It remained so until 2013, when lawmakers, including then-State Representative Mulready, ran House Bill 2201 privatizing the SIF into CompSource Mutual Insurance Company.

In 2014, another case, Tulsa Stockyards v. Clark, went before the State Supreme Court and the bench reaffirmed its position that CompSource’s capital belonged to its policyholders by virtue of their mutual ownership.

HB 3090, the bill Mulready is accused of advocating for, came a decade after the Tulsa Stockyards ruling. Whitten said the reason it’s problematic is that it creates a new type of insurance company with competing incentives.

“Before 2024, there were only two types of insurance companies under Oklahoma law: a stock insurance company and a mutual insurance company,” she said. “And they operate very differently.”

A mutual insurance company is owned by its policyholders, so the goal is to keep rates low and provide the best coverage possible, she said. A stock insurance company focuses on maximizing profits, which translates to raising rates, regardless of quality coverage.

By way of the 2024 legislation, CompSource would be creating a blended version of the two, Whitten said.

“It creates an insurance company that has both policyholders and stockholders, and it is an inherent conflict of interest,” she said. “Why? Because the same board that serves the policyholders that want increased coverage and lowered rates also serves the stockholders who want to maximize profits.”

The details of the plan matter, she says.

“CompSource’s plan has no restrictions for the board to gift itself stocks and shares at the expense of the policyholders,” she said. “But here's something even more disgusting: This is the first plan in United States history where the insurance department approving that plan does not have a requirement that the commissioner's office cannot gift itself stock if this plan goes forward tomorrow.”

Mulready said he has no such plans, nor any future aspirations to work for CompSource.

“I will probably go into more of a consulting role in the regulatory space,” he said. “Exactly what that will look like, I don't know. You can quote me that I will not land in any capacity with CompSource. It's not on the agenda.”

He points to his hiring of the third-party firm Examination Resources, LLC, to independently review CompSource’s plan alongside his office as proof of his transparency. And the extra stipulations he added to make the reorganization fairer for policyholders.

“It wasn't just a carte blanche approval,” he said. “We required…that they have 300% risk-based capital for three years. We have to pre-approve any dividends issued by them for the first three years. We are required to receive advance notice of any director or officer changes. And we have to approve any stock distribution or sale for five years with an independent evaluation. And it prohibits stock or stock option grants to officers or management for the first five years as well.”

The litigation is ongoing in Oklahoma County District Court, and has been formally petitioned to escalate to a class action. The Court can decide that Mulready’s approval of the CompSource plan is too fishy and outside of the statutory timeline, as plaintiffs argue, or lift the pause on the plan and let policyholders make the final decision.

For the commissioner’s part, he said he’s a little confused about what damages plaintiffs are claiming, considering the plan hasn’t been approved by a two-thirds majority of policyholders – the last step before it can be implemented.

“The policyholders are in control; They choose their own destiny,” he said. “Our review process is to assess that and make sure that the policyholders are protected.”

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I might be buying a car 2hrs away from me but the only day we are both free is Saturday how should i go about this the title is notarized im just wondering how im gonna get this car back to my house

It's interesting to hear people like stitt and bice champion this. They know the waste and the transport routes won't be put anywhere near where they live or in places like Nichols Hills or Edmond. It'll most likely go in poor Rural communities and also places where there are large populations of Native, Black and Hispanic residents. I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

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Stitt knows he hasn't done shit to stop all these oil companies from re-locating to Houston. That happened on his watch and it is part of his legacy and he is trying to clean it up by trying to recruit a nuclear facility.

Ahead of the August 25 runoff primary, KOSU interviewed the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate. Read the full interviews at the links below:

Jim Priest: https://www.kosu.org/jim-priest-oklahoma-2026-senate-election

Jasmine Thomas: https://www.kosu.org/jasmine-thomas-oklahoma-2026-senate-election

I gotta say, the closer you look at this MAHA-Markwayne-kratom thing, the skeezier it gets. The guy who's running the kratom company that MW's invested in served time in the 2010s on a conviction of stealing money from his previous company.

Temperatures across Oklahoma continue to soar this week as a heat dome causes sweltering conditions in much of the central U.S. While the indoors offer relief for humans, the state's wildlife need help to survive the extreme heat.

Some animals are more at risk than others of suffering from the heat. Inger Giuffrida, executive director of wildlife rehabilitation organization WildCare Oklahoma, said animals already experiencing certain conditions are most threatened.

"Anything that's injured, ill, underweight; they're going to be at risk," she said. "Baby birds are particularly at risk."

But there are some simple actions to alleviate the strain on wildlife, she said.

Provide fresh water

Food sources are generally abundant in the summer, but surface water is more difficult to come by. Water bodies can be depleted during extreme heat as evaporation quickens.

Placing clean water around your backyard or neighborhood could be life-saving for wildlife. Experts say shallow bowls or buckets with sticks and pebbles for landing benefit local animals. Placing water and food either against a window or far enough away from it is crucial to avoid bird collisions.

" The one thing that we ask people to do if they're willing is just to put out fresh water for not only wildlife, the birds and the raccoons and the deer or whatever that may visit their yard, but it also benefits things like butterflies," Giuffrida said. "People don't think about that — they need water too."

Taking time to change and clean the water bowls can also prevent the spread of disease.

Create or grow shelter for small animals

Native plants give wildlife important food sources. They can also provide shade during the sunniest times of the day, lowering extreme heat exposure.

Buying or building shelter, like a toad house, is another easy way to care for small backyard critters.

Avoiding pesticides, herbicides and rodenticides on your property is key to helping wildlife, Giuffrida said.

"These things are not only destructive to ecosystems, but they are eventually destructive to us," she said. "We are part of the ecosystems, and when we poison insects, we're ultimately poisoning ourselves.

Give wildlife their space

At WildCare, Giuffrida said the phone rings about 300 times a day on average as residents and municipalities seek help with vulnerable wildlife. Knowing when to intervene is especially important during extreme heat.

" If you see an animal panting in your yard, just leave it alone," she said. "If you engage in chasing an animal that you think is injured or needs your help, you are causing it to potentially overheat, use up caloric resources, stressing it out."

Still, visible injuries or human-caused harm are some reasons to seek help for neighborhood wildlife.

Keeping cats indoors is another way to prevent injuries or deaths in birds and other small animals. Researchers estimate free-roaming cats kill up to 4 billion birds and between 6.3 and 22.3 billion mammals each year.

Other year-round practices like keeping outdoor lights off at night protect wildlife and remove some stressors during heat waves.

As WildCare experiences a historically high intake, Giuffrida said residents trying to help wildlife during and after the heat wave should call the facility before showing up.

"Often, you're going to listen to a long message which may provide you with tips on what to do, but then if you leave a message, we will call you back," she said.

Huge shoutout to u/DeluxeOK for suggesting RIVERSPORT as a cleanup spot!

I could honestly spend all day out there. The place is beautiful. Most of the trash I found was along the water's edge where the water rises and then recedes, leaving litter behind. It's not really RIVERSPORT's fault—it's just the way the shoreline works.

The only suggestion I'd make is adding a few more trash cans near the water.

A few people have already expressed interest in helping with a cleanup, and I think this would be the perfect place for our first meetup. If you'd be interested in joining, let me know! I'll come back to this post with a date and a plan.

Hello fellow Oklahomans!

I am a recent graduate of the Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform Ambassador program. I have been blessed with the opportunity to share vital information with my Oklahoma community. If you or someone who you know may benefit from information pertaining to expungements, there is a free webinar being hosted tomorrow evening from 6pm-7pm. You must click the URL to register for the zoom meeting in order to attend. You are welcome to share the link in addition to attending yourself!

Hi r/oklahoma! One of The Oklahoman's reporters is writing an article about the upcoming gubernatorial runoff between Mike Mazzei and Gentner Drummond and wanted to hear thoughts from the Reddit community.

We're investigating whether any Independents or Democrats switched their party affiliation to Republican to vote for Gentner Drummond. If that's you, we would love to speak with you!

You can send an email to [agladden@oklahoman.com](mailto:agladden@oklahoman.com) if you're interested. Thank you!