Saturday, February 28, 2026 • Get outside, and enjoy the day! ☀️ Some of us will hit 80 — but the rain chances are in the forecast starting Sunday. ☂️

By J.C. Hallman, Oklahoma Watch
Click here to support their newsroom

As the Oklahoma Supreme Court weighs a motion to assume original jurisdiction — that is, overturn — Oklahoma City District Court Judge Amy Palumbo’s decision to permit Attorney General Gentner Drummond to intervene in Oklahoma’s ongoing hail claim saga, two back-to-back hearings in State Farm cases in Chickasha on Feb. 19 provided surprising insight into how rapidly the legal actions against State Farm have expanded since December.

Plus, there’s a map.

Both Feb. 19 hearings focused on motions to dismiss portions of cases against State Farm captive agents. Captive agents are not formally employed by State Farm, but are required to sell only State Farm policies.

Many of the lawsuits brought against State Farm have included captive agents as culpable parties on the argument that they were aware of the alleged underlying scheme perpetrated by State Farm. The alleged scheme, as described in dozens of petitions examined by Oklahoma Watch, sought to arbitrarily reduce the amount that State Farm was paying out on wind and hail claims by up to 50%.

👉 Click here for the full story.

You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. 1440's daily newsletter distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way.

Join for free today!

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

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

• Oklahoma House Republicans approve bills targeting unauthorized migrants applying for welfare benefits (KOSU)

• Oklahoma’s display of political muscle at Presidential speech may be short-lived (Gaylord News)

• Oklahoma is taking over the ACA insurance marketplace. How will that change what you pay? (Tulsa Flyer)

• DOJ sues Oklahoma for not sharing voters' personal data (KOSU)

• Norman residents upset after turnpike named for Toby Keith, who opposed project (KFOR)

• Mullin boasts about Sanders confrontation (Tulsa World)*

• City looking into building, owning proposed downtown convention hotel (Tulsa World)*

• Allergy alert: Oklahoma tree pollen counts among highest in the nation this week (Tulsa World)*

• Red Cedars in Oklahoma: Could drones help eliminate them? (News On 6)

• Oklahoma nonprofit’s reevaluation of affordable housing could have implications for Tulsa (Tulsa Flyer)

• Tulsa police estimate 8+ months to deliver deadly shooting video. The family says that’s too long. (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Cockfight investigation: former sheriff charged, advocate running for office (2 News Oklahoma)

• Cost to repair county building could be as high as building a new one (The Oklahoman)*

• Flu activity surges across Oklahoma (KFOR)

• OU Sigma Phi Epsilon to close following violations of national fraternity’s standards (OU Daily)

This week on the Oklahoma Memo podcast, Clay Horning and I dig into three conversations shaping Oklahoma’s present — and possibly its future.

First: Is the Legislature really going to dismantle OSSAA? Clay spent the week talking to Senate leadership and says the appetite for chaos may not be there after all.

Second: If OU moves on from Porter Moser, what kind of coach should it actually hire? A splashy name — or the next Stoops? Or the next Paul Westhead? #IYKYK

And finally: Gov. Kevin Stitt’s NPR interview raised eyebrows. Is he quietly positioning himself as the “reasonable Republican” in a post-Trump GOP?

👉 Click here for Clay’s Substack

President Trump delivered a record-length joint address — but Grant Hermes says the real story is what didn’t make the cut. In our weekly conversation, we unpack why ICE and the “One Big Beautiful Bill” were basically absent, what that signals about political risk, and how midterm messaging starts to wobble when your signature agenda is too toxic to name.

Then we pivot to Oklahoma: Gov. Kevin Stitt’s NPR sit-down had big “national audition” energy — from “return to integrity” to a more pragmatic, Bush-era tone on immigration and states’ rights. Listen for the tells: the language, the posture, and the lane he might be trying to carve.

👉 Click here for Grant’s substack

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

If you run a business and you like Oklahoma Memo, this newsletter needs sponsors. Reach out to me at [email protected].