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Tuesday, July 7, 2026 • Sunny and low 90s. ☀️
⚽ World Cup: Belgium 4, USA 1 FT (ESPN)
Poll results:
We received 216 votes on the Monday poll, “Should the Bible be required reading in Oklahoma public schools?”
• 27 said YES
• 189 said NO
New poll question at the bottom of today’s newsletter. (You can also suggest a poll question by emailing me at [email protected].)
Oklahoma County has a program to help poor people get out of jail. Prosecutors rarely support it.
Daniel Kingery was released from jail on a TEEM bond in 2025. He says the opportunity helped him break out of a cycle of homelessness and incarceration. Now he works as a shop hand for an oil company and lives in a sober living house in Yukon. Sarah Liese/KOSU
By Maddy Keyes, The Frontier; and Sierra Pfeifer, KOSU
👉 Click here to support The Frontier
👉 Click here to support KOSU
An Oklahoma County program gets people charged with nonviolent crimes released from jail before trial if they can’t afford bail, but prosecutors try to block most defendants from participating.
The nonprofit The Education and Employment Ministry, or TEEM, runs the program. TEEM monitors participants, ensuring they appear in court and comply with drug testing and other conditions of release. Participants are connected with mental health or substance abuse treatment, employment assistance and other resources.
The program helps economically disadvantaged people who would likely be released while they wait to see a judge if they had enough money to pay bail, said Stacy Kastner, who supervises TEEM’s pretrial release program.
“You could have two people charged with the same thing, and the person who can afford to get out can get out and the person who can’t stays in,” Kastner said. “How is that about public safety at all?”
TEEM says it screens defendants to determine how likely they are to show up to court and whether they pose a risk to the public by looking at their ties to the community, financial situation and criminal history, among other factors.
But the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office routinely opposes TEEM bonds for eligible defendants, according to numbers obtained by The Frontier and KOSU. Prosecutors objected to nearly 72% of the 2,982 people TEEM found qualified for the program in 2025. County judges make final determinations about who gets released, but local public defenders say the judge who sets defendants’ bail rarely deviates from prosecutors’ recommendations. In 2025, only 376 of the TEEM bonds prosecutors either opposed or didn’t make a recommendation for were later approved by judges.
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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰
Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.
Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:
New recess law, state policy change causing surprise challenges for Oklahoma schools (Oklahoma Voice)
Edmond mom pushes for schools to bring back pen-and-paper learning as screen time worries grow (KOCO)
Weatherford ammonia leak lawsuit put on hold until January 2027 (News 9)
Oklahoma researchers seek new options for treatment-resistant depression (NonDoc)
More bottled water being distributed to Tonkawa residents in the wake of E. coli crisis (Kay News Cow)
Wayne residents still waiting for water after lightning strike damages well, officials say (Fox 25)
‘She was my best friend': Family grieves mother of 7 killed in Collinsville (News On 6)
86-year-old woman dies after dog attack while caring for family pet in Moore (KOCO)
Drone delivery service plans Tulsa operation, seeks permit for launch site (Tulsa World)*
New Cleveland County sheriff Darrell Weaver takes oath as undersheriff Mike Finley resigns (KOCO)
Chickasha Police Chief Goebel ‘G.G’ Music to retire after over two decades with department (KSWO)
Left behind: People deported by ICE leave behind families of citizens and lasting trauma (Oklahoma Watch)
Oklahoma’s SNAP error rate increased, officials are working to cut it down (Oklahoma Voice)
Three dead after head-on collision Saturday night in Rogers County (Tulsa World)*
Tourism industry hopes 2028 Summer Olympics will be boon for Oklahoma economy (Oklahoma Voice)
Loss aside, Tulsans take pride in Mexican national team’s World Cup performance (Tulsa Flyer)
Tulsa mayor creates domestic violence task force (Public Radio Tulsa)
Tulsa earmarked money to demolish 2 abandoned hotels. Neighbors say it’s long overdue. (Tulsa Flyer)
Plans are moving forward to demolish Heritage Park Mall. Three things to know (The Oklahoman)*
Truck found in Logan County pond (Guthrie News Page)
Tuesday Poll
Was it appropriate for President Trump to get involved in FIFA's red card decision involving U.S. player?
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