It used to be that a loss in OU-Texas would ruin my week, if not my month. I lived in Texas at the time, and I was constantly surrounded by folks who hated the Sooners.

Older and wiser, the outcome of the Red River Rivalry doesn’t impact me for more than maybe a day — and any highs are usually much longer lasting than the lows. I practically floated from the levitating power of the 2000 win (63-14) for months, and that started a Cotton Bowl run so good that I got accustomed to the Sooners putting a beat down on Texas annually.

But we’ve been spoiled the past few years, too. The game where Kennedy Brooks walked it off with a long run that we weren’t really expecting because it was so late in the game and all we needed was a field goal… That was amazing.

The pass from Dillon Gabriel to Nic Anderson two years ago? Amazing.

The OT wins.

The Big 12 championship win.

Despite believing, even remotely, that you know what will happen on Saturday, you really don’t. For grins, though, I see it as a low-scoring slugfest or maybe even a little sloppy. The Oklahoma defense wins the day, again, and the Sooners hold off the ‘Horns 19-9.

Yeah, I feel a weird score coming on. 19-9. 13-11. 12-5. 22-19.

And if we win, fantastic!

And if we don’t, not that a big whoop. It’ll be ok.

The two teams play again in 365 days.

You can message me anytime at [email protected].

Here’s your Friday list:

‘Oklahoma Memo’ is on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. There is also a YouTube channel — and it’s all growing day by day.

Summer in October continues across the Sooner State.

🌡️ Friday's high in OKC 87°
🌡️ Friday’s high in Tulsa 86°

By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
Click here to read the story
Donate to Oklahoma Voice

OKLAHOMA CITY — Thursday marked a new day for the Oklahoma State Board of Education, with two new board members and a new state superintendent at its meeting table.

The mood was lighter, and the board’s meeting room was, too. Window blinds were open in the usually crowded, cavelike corner of the Oklahoma State Department of Education. No line of protesters stretched to enter the building. 

Portraits of the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame, which former state Superintendent Ryan Walters had removed, again lined a hallway leading to the meeting space. Walters resigned from office Sept. 30, and former CareerTech center administrator Lindel Fields has been appointed to finish his term. 

In Walters’ absence, the board’s conversation centered on various school needs and accreditation issues. There was no talk of culture-war topics, which Walters made a frequent discussion point. 

Board member Mike Tinney said he noticed “less tension” in the room. 

“It seemed like everybody was just lighter, happier, more ready to get down to business,” Tinney said after the meeting.

Thursday’s meeting was Fields’ first as state superintendent, a position that leads both the board and the state Education Department. New board members Brian Bobek, who served on the board from 2019 to 2022, and Wes Nofire also joined.

Much of the board’s action Thursday centered on suspensions and revocations of teaching licenses. Tinney and other board members complained last month during Walters’ final meeting that too many of these cases had not been resolved quickly enough. 

Click here to finish the story.

If you’d like to advertise in the Oklahoma Memo newsletter daily, reach out to me at [email protected].

Your advertisement could include a headline, photo, story and a link to anywhere you’d like it to go! 🔗

By Jennifer Palmer, Oklahoma Watch
Click here to read the story
Donate to Oklahoma Watch

Parent and teacher Sandra Valentine doesn’t place much stock in state test scores. Released months after the school year ends, the scores aren’t much more than a number on a computer screen. 

In one-on-one conversations with her daughter’s teachers, they discuss benchmark scores, not state test results, because those are current and more relevant.

“That’s the info I value more,” Valentine said.

The scores for the 2024-25 school year, published online this week, come with a caveat: they look significantly lower than last year, but students didn’t learn less. It’s due to changes in what the state considered proficient. 

In 2024, the state lowered the bar, temporarily inflating scores. This year, they raised it back. 

The new scores show about a quarter of Oklahoma students hit grade-level targets in English language arts. In math, about a third of students met expectations in elementary school but the rates dropped to a quarter in sixth and seventh grades and 17% in eighth grade. 

Click here to finish the story.

A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:

• Tulsa launches fifth excavation for 1921 Race Massacre victims (Public Radio Tulsa)

• Walters’ former chief of staff out at Oklahoma State Department of Education (Oklahoma Voice)

• Oklahoma Medicaid director ‘transitioning out’ of role following appointment of new OHCA director (KGOU)

• Do tribal citizens need state-issued hunting, fishing licenses off trust lands? Oklahoma officials say yes (KOSU)

• Tulsa County defends its prosecution of tribal members (Tulsa World)

• Tulsa attorney claims prosecutors broke immunity promise, arrested witness (2 News Oklahoma)

• Parents outraged after gunfire erupts following fight on Oklahoma City school bus (KOCO)

• Missing SWOSU student's body found near lake in Sulphur (KOCO)

• After Isla’s and Fulton Street’s closing, Greenwood business owners wonder what’s next (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Tulsa ICE protesters take their message to county jailhouse (Public Radio Tulsa)

• Despite federal shutdown, Indian Health Services clinics remain open (Tulsa World)

• OKC 2025 bond election: What to know; when to vote (Oklahoma City Free Press)

• Arkansas construction company drops multimillion-dollar suit against Edmond over bid award (The Oklahoman)

• Ross Dress for Less to expand in the Oklahoma City area (The Journal Record)

• Public Service Company of Oklahoma offers 3 programs for furloughed employees (KSWO)

• Council adjusts animal control consent form, but residential private property rules remain unclear (Guthrie News Page)

• 'Isn't that wonderful?': Intergenerational programs combat loneliness, create purpose for seniors (KOSU)

• Survivor tree planted at Durant High School as students reflect on the Oklahoma City Bombing (KXII)

• Woman injured while protecting Braum's employee from teen attack in Owasso (News On 6)

• Sapulpa’s new “Mother Road Antique Mall” will be a mix of young and old (Sapulpa Times)

The ‘Oklahoma Memo’ mission is simple: Reignite the daily news habit by connecting Oklahomans and those who love Oklahoma to quality sources of news and vetted information.

✅ Save you time.
✅ Make you smarter.
✅ Protect Democracy.