What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is Thursday, September 11, exactly 24 years since the United States was changed forever.

I had just returned the night before (Sept. 10, 2001) with colleagues from InSite Interactive from a team trip to Cozumel. Talk about some wild stories I can’t tell in public. It was an amazing time.

But the day after we returned, during the attack’s frightening first few hours, I thought, “That could have been us on one of those planes.”

That’s dramatic interpretation in my head, and ergo not really true. We were headed to Dallas and not New York or Washington, D.C.

In the aftermath, I’ve never forgotten something Adrienne, InSite’s owner, told us a few weeks later. A friend of hers — likely from outside the United States, since she had international contacts long before social media — warned that the militarization of police departments, and of the country as a whole, was on the horizon.

For years, I had looked at her vision as only half-right. Local police departments have been beefing up for years, well beyond what they’ve ever really needed. And now we’ve got the National Guard in the streets of big cities, needlessly.

I don’t want to lose the plot completely. Let’s bring this back to Sept. 11.

We figured out as a nation how to navigate terrorism in the skies. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created, and while none of us liked taking off our belts and removing our laptops from luggage, we did it for each other.

This was a common sense solution to a real problem, not an imaginary one, and we welcomed it in the name of safety and patriotism.

Then some idiot tried to plant an explosive in his shoes, and we were trotting barefoot through a security line for years.

Anyway, fast forward to Sept. 10, 2025, and the tragic, awful shooting death of conservative activist, husband and father, Charlie Kirk. It was a political assassination, and it was murder. But also, four students were injured in a shooting at a Colorado high school.

Same day. And shootings and gun-related deaths happen every day across the country.

We collectively appear to be OK with it because we’ve never attacked this problem like we did airline terrorism in 2001.

The awfulness of 9/11 was a situation that required a common sense solution in 2001.

Common sense is all that’s needed, really, to curb gun violence in 2025.

No, you will never eliminate it completely, and that isn’t the point. But with common sense reform, we could curb it significantly and do so without impeding 2A rights.

I mean, prove me wrong: you can still fly whenever, wherever you want, right?

And this reform would be the most patriotic thing America could ever do. We’d literally be celebrated across the planet for finally, finally coming to our senses.

Let’s frame it another way.

If President Trump really wanted the Nobel Peace Prize, something we know he covets deeply, fighting this fight in the name of his friend would land him that medal — guaranteed.

Guaranteed.

You can message me anytime at [email protected].

Weather Update ☀️

We’re back to summer temps. Might be worth turning the sprinklers back on for a day.

🌡️ Thursday's high in OKC 91°
🌡️ Thursday’s high in Tulsa 90°

Charlie Kirk killed at Utah Valley University, search for shooter continues

By Katie McKellar, Alixel Cabrera, and Kyle Dunphey of Oklahoma Voice
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Conservative activist Charlie Kirk has died after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday. 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon that a person of interest was in custody, but that he could not elaborate. Soon after, at 6 p.m., FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the “subject in custody had been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.” 

Officials suspect that the shooter shot Kirk from a rooftop as he spoke at an outdoor event on the college campus, but they had little additional information other than that the person appeared to be wearing dark clothing. They said the investigation is ongoing. 

“We are actively looking for anyone and everyone who has any possible information related to the shooter,” Cox said. 

Cox called the shooting a “political assassination” and called for anyone who had celebrated Kirk’s death to “look in the mirror.”

Click here to finish the story.

See Also 👀

• Oklahoma leaders condemn political violence after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed in Utah (The Oklahoman)

• 'Our hearts are broken': Oklahoma leaders, lawmakers react to deadly shooting of Charlie Kirk (KOCO)

• Charlie Kirk, who drew huge crowds at OSU visit, dies after being shot in Utah (The Oklahoman)

• Gov. Stitt orders flags to half-staff after shooting death of Charlie Kirk (KOCO)

• Oklahoma college chapters of Turning Point USA grieve death of Charlie Kirk (KOCO)

Tulsa encampment sweeps lead to no arrests, 1 connection to services

By Sierra Pfeifer, KOSU
Click here to read the story.
Donate to KOSU

Oklahoma Highway Patrol confirms no one has been arrested during recent encampment sweeps in Tulsa, and just one person has been connected to services, despite already clearing at least 30 locations.

Lt. Mark Southall, a spokesperson for state highway patrol, said the vast majority of people living in encampments have instead elected to simply vacate state land.

“Unfortunately, we only had one person in the whole weekend take us up on the offer to go get assistance,” Southall said. “We can't make anybody go with us. Once they leave state property, that's all they're required to do.”

Work to shut down encampments in Tulsa is led by Gov. Kevin Stitt, who launched Operation SAFE last Thursday, despite concerns from service providers and city officials that encampment sweeps will harm efforts already underway to address homelessness.

KOSU asked whether the governor’s office anticipates there will be fewer people experiencing homelessness in the state at the conclusion of Stitt’s actions. Abegail Cave, a spokesperson for Stitt, said it depends on the choices of homeless individuals.

“They have to choose — do I want to keep living under a bridge, or do I want to get better?” she said. “But it's not compassionate to let somebody live under a bridge. The governor is not going to settle for people living under bridges. And so I guess we'll see.”

Click here to finish the story.

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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

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

• First indictment after 2023 McCurtain County sheriff scandal (2 News Oklahoma)

• Attorney general clarifies that 'obscene material' in drag shows would break new law (Tulsa World)

• Owasso, Tahlequah voters approve school bonds while Lawton approves 'True North' statement (KOSU)

• Protesters decry Tulsa County GOP’s constitution class with ties to Christian nationalist (Public Radio Tulsa)

• ‘We are forever changed’: Texas woman shares impact of state abortion bans with Oklahoma City crowd (KGOU)

• Tulsa foundation pauses new grant applications in response to Trump anti-DEI policies (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Another crash on 151st Street in Glenpool, push for changes continues (2 News Oklahoma)

• Report: Oklahoma’s record of major earthquakes could help avoid induced seismicity from carbon storage (KGOU)

• Residents raise concerns over proposed trap-neuter-return ordinance: private property access a key issue (Guthrie News Page)

• 4-H students await judgment as Oklahoma State Fair starts (KGOU)

• How steel tariffs are affecting the sod industry (KXII)

• OKC Broadway reaches high with Tony-winner ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ (Oklahoma City Free Press)

• Good News: Lawton Voodoo hydra transitions from gardening to pickleball (KSWO)

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