Thursday, March 12, 2026 • Sunny and mid-60s. 🌞

By Abigail Siatkowski, KOSU
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Oklahoma Representative Kevin Hern formally announced his bid for U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

Hern currently serves Oklahoma's First Congressional District, which encompasses the Tulsa area. He was first elected to Congress in 2018.

In his announcement video on social media, Hern focused on his support of President Trump's agenda. He called out both liberal politicians and "Republicans in Name Only," or RINOS, as threats to Trump's policies.

"The American Dream is under threat by the radical left and RINO Republicans, who oppose President Trump's 'America First' agenda and want to turn the United States into a third-world country," Hern said in the video.

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By Andrea Eger, Oklahoma Watch
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The statewide governing board overseeing charter schools has once again drawn the ire of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond over its handling of an application for a religious school.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Drummond went to court, this time accusing the Statewide Charter School Board of deliberately failing to perform a clear legal duty.

This same state governing board, which was blocked last year by the U.S. Supreme Court in its quest to facilitate the establishment of an openly religious Catholic charter school, has complied with that binding legal precedent by denying sponsorship and taxpayer funding for the proposed Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School.

But the Office of the Attorney General said the board’s formal notice of denial to the Florida-based applicant is insufficient because it relied solely on the online charter school application’s inclusion of religion. 

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

• ‘Overwhelmed and happy’: Woman granted 3-year protective order against Myles Davidson (NonDoc)

• Lawmakers looking to try to change TSET again (KFOR)

• Stacy Leeds vows to be ‘clutch player’ as she returns home to lead The University of Tulsa (Tulsa Flyer)

• Arson investigation underway after grassfires in Roger Mills County (KOCO)

• Applicant pulls proposed Ardmore data center rezoning request (KXII)

• Tornado recovery continues in Tulsa as city offers financial assistance to residents (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Oklahoma House approves bill banning state from displaying LGBTQ+ pride flags (Oklahoma Voice)

• Oklahoma immigration attorney criticizes ICE for worsening case backlog (KOCO)

• Rejected Edmond Walmart Neighborhood Market wins second court battle (NonDoc)

• New Bricktown sculpture (Cloud Embrace) finished, ready for visitors (KFOR)

• Oklahoma senators warn effort to ban sexually explicit books could block students’ Bible access (Oklahoma Voice)

• Robinson family files negligence lawsuit against auto businesses in connection with fatal 2024 crash (KXII)

• City Council discusses hiring consultants for Rock Creek Entertainment District TIF districts (OU Daily)

• 'We're still farmers': The lasting impact of rural Oklahoma wildfires (KOSU)

• Osage Nation leaders mark 20 years of constitutional government (Osage News)

• Oklahoma doubled its solar energy capacity last year, report shows (KGOU)

• Several music-related bills advance in Oklahoma's legislature (KOSU)

• Lizard disrupts Oklahoma State University campus by causing power outage (KFOR)

Oklahoma State captured another Big 12 wrestling title Sunday in Tulsa, holding off Iowa State after a dominant weekend that included eight Cowboys reaching the finals.

Bedlam Buds’ Jeremy Cook was there for all the action, and he breaks down the highlights from both the Oklahoma State Cowboys and a little bit for the Oklahoma Sooners, who finished in 7th.

Nationals in Cleveland are next — and Jeremy spent some time at football practice this week. He says there was a surprise receiver out there for the Pokes! 🏈

See also: Cowboys sending 10 wrestlers to NCAA Championships (The O’Colly)

A daily briefing connecting Oklahomans to the state’s best journalism — and original content from Oklahoma Memo.

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