Tuesday, April 21, 2026 • Windy and mild. Upper 60s to mid-70s. ☁️

🎉 Reminder: Open House from 5-8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23, at The Boardwalk at OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark (click here to learn more)

By Maddy Keyes, The Frontier
👉 Click here to support this newsroom

The Oklahoma County Detention Center will soon have fewer people checking on detainees and ensuring their safety after jail officials canceled a contract with a staffing company to save money at the cash-strapped facility.

The jail entered an agreement with Louisiana-based VieMed Healthcare Staffing LLC in May 2024 to staff the jail with 20 to 30 contract workers whose sole task would be to conduct sight checks on detainees. The jail was paying the company about $180,000 a month for staffing.

The jail has long struggled to retain and recruit detention officers. And the lack of staff means security checks are routinely missed, The Frontier reported in 2024. 

State law requires detention officers to visually check on detainees at least once an hour, and a jail spokesperson said officers also conduct checks more frequently on those on suicide watch. More than 53 detainees have died at the facility since 2020; A state multi-county grand jury in 2023 found chronic understaffing at the jail and that many detainee deaths were preventable.

👉 Click here to read the rest of the story

Here's a wild stat: the average person spends 40 minutes a day trying to make sense of tech news across six different apps, three YouTube videos, and one very confident coworker who is definitely wrong.

The Current is a daily tech newsletter written by Kim Komando that helps you stay up to date on AI, tech, and digital trends in about 5 minutes a day and right now new readers get a free AI Prompt Hack Pack.

Each morning she breaks down what’s happening in tech so you know what matters without digging through questionable sources.

When you subscribe, you’ll also get a guide packed with AI prompts you can copy and paste into tools like ChatGPT.

You’ll find prompts for things like:

It’s a simple guide designed to help you start using AI in ways that save time.

Sign up for The Current and get the free AI Prompt Hack Pack.

Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.

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

• Oklahoma voters challenge effort to eliminate property taxes, say it would have ‘devastating effect’ (Oklahoma Voice)

• Senate leader slams brakes on measure calling for an Oklahoma constitutional convention (Oklahoma Voice)

• LeFlore County sheriff's office identifies deputy killed on Sunday (40/29 News)

• Bill protecting oil and gas industry from climate-related lawsuits goes to Stitt (Tulsa World)*

• Oklahoma Department of Corrections installs full-body scanners to prevent contraband (KOSU)

• Despite tribal boundary disagreement, lawmakers try to tee up a sports betting deal (NonDoc)

• Oklahoma reading reform bill passes Senate, heads to governor’s desk (Oklahoma Voice)

• What new federal college aid rules could mean for Oklahoma students (News On 6)

• Gov. Stitt calls for elimination of council dedicated to Native American education (KOSU)

• Valliant man arrested, accused of fatally shooting cousin at family gathering (KXII)

• Oklahoma man accused of faking death, failing to register as sex offender convicted (News 9)

• Oklahoma rugby community remembers Bjorn 'Bear' Miller after deadly fall from California cliff (KOCO)

• Man killed on Bell Cow Lake remembered for love of outdoors, family (KOCO)

• Oklahoma principal who tackled school gunman honored as prom king (KXII)

• As Hollywood loses ground, Oklahoma plays the long game (Oklahoma Watch)

• Hundreds of out-of-towners take home lessons from east Tulsa’s business district (Tulsa Flyer)

• The quiet fight over a Tulsa bed and breakfast at the former home of artist Adah Robinson (Tulsa Flyer)

• ‘The laws are broken’: Plea ends 3-year cockfighting-related criminal case (NonDoc)

A daily briefing connecting Oklahomans to the state’s best journalism — and original content from Oklahoma Memo. Got a news tip? Somebody I need to interview? Message me at [email protected].

Want more in-depth analysis, commentary on Oklahoma news? Join me on Substack.