What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is Monday, August 11, and I got a lot of feedback about the Norman Turnpike piece I wrote last week.

If you’ll recall, I wrote about a Substack created by an OU professor with a post detailing how even the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority understands that most of the people most directly impacted by the turnpike are against it.

TL;DR: The impact sentiment was measured by a collection of input gathered at public meetings. It’s valid, but I also knew it wasn’t likely complete.

I invited folks who are either for the turnpike or at least more understanding of it to reach out to [email protected] — and they did. Of course, it could have been that I got more anti-turnpike messages, but I didn’t.

You never know what you’ll get. For a guy just starting his own Oklahoma-centric newsletter, I’m thrilled to have gotten the responses I got. They were very insightful.

Here was one response:
I thought I would add some input from those of us who live Southwest of the Canadian River.  If you live in the Tri-City area, (Newcastle, Blanchard, Tuttle), there are only 2 ways to drive into the city (OKC or Norman)  If one of those exits is sluggish or closed, we have to go several miles out of our way to cross the river.  Most people I've talked with here, would enjoy having another option to "get out of town".  We would not enjoy the construction phase (as in the I-35/Hwy 9 construction going on now).  I can't say how enthusiastic they are, but it will be nice to have when it's completed.  One of the upcoming projects in Newcastle is a new Hospital being planned by the Chickasaw Nation, which will eventually have 3,500+ employees.  To have all these people driving in and out of Newcastle with only two roads will create lots of new traffic.  

That being said, it sounds like the OTA totally mishandled how they went about planning and executing this new turnpike.  I realize that the people in Tri-City will not have our homes affected, and I empathize with the people who are in the path of the proposed road and side roads.  OTA did not follow the prescribed manner to be fair and transparent with plans and money.  I understand why 97% of the people who go to the meetings are against the proposal.  But most of the people that go to those meetings are the people whose homes will be demolished, or land that has been in the family for generations will be taken away and of course they have strong opinions about it.  I don't know anyone personally on this side of the river who attended those meetings. I don't know what the answer is to all of this, and I'm not vehemently opposed to or in favor of the turnpike.  But it seems that there will need to be some form of problem solving for the traffic issues coming up in the next 10 years.  Again, if Oklahoma had done it the right way the first time, there may have been less contention and better outcome.  

Another pro-turnpike email:
I am one of the few that is excited about it. It will make my commute to Mustang easier.

Another email:
I live in Tulsa and when I plan to travel south on I-35 I take the Kickapoo Turnpike from the Turner Turnpike and avoid a lot of the Oklahoma City traffic.

If the East-West Connector were to be built I would likely take it from the Kickapoo to I-35.

I don't know enough about the South Extension Turnpike to have an opinion.

Easy for me to say but it does sound alike a lot of "not in my backyard" thinking so far regarding these turnpikes.

Norman definitely has some NIMBY tendencies, and even Normanites would admit that. However, what the city has by way of the university and its neighborhoods and communities is really special, and I get why citizens there want to protect it.

You can message me anytime at [email protected].

Weather Update ⛈️

Storms possible, and decent rain accumulations for many Oklahomans possible. Nothing too crazy. Considerably less hot at least through the end of the week.

🌡️ Monday's high in OKC 91°
🌡️ Monday’s high in Tulsa 91°

Hundreds gather at Oklahoma Capitol for rally calling to impeach Superintendent Ryan Walters

By Abigail Siatkowski and Sierra Pfeifer, KOSU
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A few hundred protestors gathered at the Oklahoma State Capitol to call for State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ impeachment on Saturday afternoon.

The demonstration was organized by the Sooner State Party, a new group seeking to unite Oklahomans dissatisfied with both Republicans and Democrats around new policy goals. Along with collecting signatures to be recognized as an official party in the state, the group gathered just over 200 signatures on a petition to impeach Walters.

The protest comes as the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigate claims that images of naked women were seen on a TV in Walters’ office during a State Board of Education meeting. Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said a review of the incident found the lewd images were from “The Protector,” an R-rated film playing on a Samsung channel during the time of the meeting.

Rally speakers and attendees also pointed to Oklahoma’s recent ranking as 50th in the nation for education among states and the District of Columbia.

Jennettie Marshall, a former member of the Tulsa Public Schools Board who recently announced her candidacy for State Superintendent, accused Walters of leaving parents, educators and legislators out of Oklahoma’s educational system.

“Character begins with truth, and truth begins with Oklahoma receiving the educational value. Education in excellence,” Marshall said.

During Marshall’s speech, two pro-Walters counter-protestors entered the rotunda balcony and held up signs expressing their support for the current superintendent. The audience below booed the women until rally organizer CJ Webber-Neal encouraged them to focus on the speakers.

Click to finish the story.

Ryan Walters promised ‘serious changes’ in Oklahoma schools. This might be the biggest yet.

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

OKLAHOMA CITY — In a major departure from decades of state and federal policy, Oklahoma’s top education official said Friday his administration doesn’t plan to administer statewide reading and math tests this school year. 

Instead, state Superintendent Ryan Walters suggested Oklahoma should collect data from benchmark assessments that individual school districts select and purchase from private vendors. Oklahoma would be the first in the nation to replace its statewide exams with a patchwork of district-chosen tests.

The plan requires permission from the U.S. Department of Education, and Walters said he expects a “very, very quick” approval from the Trump administration. The Oklahoma State Department of Education is accepting public comment until Sept. 8 on the idea before submitting its final request to the federal government.

“I was elected to make changes, serious changes,” Walters told Oklahoma Voice. “I have done all that I can to bring the changes into place that the voters demanded. And so, that’s where you’ve seen an overhaul of an education system that was failing our kids.”

If the Trump administration agrees to the plan, Oklahoma could “open the floodgates” for other states to do the same, said Dale Chu, a school policy expert and senior visiting fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a national education think tank. 

State leaders in Texas, for example, also are considering replacing their state testing system.

Federal law requires every state to test their public school students in reading and math from grades 3-8 and once more in high school. These tests are intended to hold schools accountable to providing a quality, equitable education to every student, and they inform families of their children’s academic results.

Oklahoma law similarly mandates that the state Board of Education adopts a statewide system of assessments that complies with federal regulations.

Click to finish the story.

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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

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

• Woman found dead near Arcadia Lake in Edmond, police investigation underway (The Oklahoman)

• Kellyville couple arrested on animal cruelty charges after police find dead and “severely emaciated” dogs on the property (Sapulpa Times)

• Former Mustang Public Schools employee sentenced for $470,000 payroll scheme (News 9)

• 2 killed in Marshall County crash (KTEN)

• Man injured; woman taken into custody in Paoli shooting (KXII)

• Oklahoma's school cell phone ban is here. This is how each school district will implement it (The Oklahoman)

• Former Tulsa school board member Dr. Jennettie Marshall announces run for state superintendent (News On 6)

• Listen Frontier: ‘We’ve lost five years’: Cherokee Chief says next governor must rebuild tribal relations (The Frontier)

• Beto O'Rourke stops in Oklahoma to rally people against Trump, request donations for Texas lawmakers (KOSU)

• Amid Trump admin changes, Oklahoma Broadband Office prepares for next stage of development (NonDoc)

• Former homeless man speaks about living on Tulsa’s streets (Public Radio Tulsa)

• Federal judge sends refinery explosion lawsuit back to state court in Pauls Valley (OK Energy Today)

• Choctaw Nation looking to expand emergency services through federal aviation proposal (KTEN)

• Photography exhibit brings hip-hop, punk heroes to Woody Guthrie Center (Tulsa World)

• Oklahoma leaders weigh in on SNAP changes, Texas redistricting fight, and back-to-school policies (News On 6)

• Lexington residents angry over high electric bills due to city software glitch (Fox 25)

• Traffic shifts continue amid Myriad Convention Center demo (Oklahoma City Free Press)

• City of Jenks, residents debate over property (KTUL)

• Termination of longtime Osage Nation upheld after altercation (Osage News)

• Reminder: Canute bond election is Tuesday (KECOfm.com)

• What does it take to plug one of Oklahoma's thousands of abandoned oil wells? (KOSU)

• Paycom raises 2025 growth targets after strong Q2 results (Journal Record)

• Billion-dollar acquisitions boost ONEOK’s second quarter income (Journal Record)

• BancFirst funds Route 66 Centennial monument at Luther’s Threatt filling station (The Luther Register)

• Jaguars’ Cam Little, former Southmoore player, hits a 70-yard field goal in exhibition game (AP via KOCO)

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