Oklahoma News: Immigration Reform & Deportation Concerns

Good morning to everybody who subscribed on Wednesday. It was a great day. 😁 Your sign-ups mean the world to me!

Who is ‘me’ anyway? I’m Ryan Welton, and I spent nearly 16 years combined at Griffin Media (News 9 and News On 6) and KOCO in Oklahoma City.

The purpose of this newsletter is simple:
• Amplify the most impactful news
• Amplify the most interesting news
• Amplify the most overlooked news

And put it all into one newsletter.

Thursday Weather

After eclipsing 40° on Wednesday, we might not get out of the 30s on Thursday. There is a warm-up ahead though!

🌡️ High in OKC 39°
🌡️ High in Tulsa 39°.

KFOR Chief Meteorologist Mike Morgan has us ready to trade in our winter coats for windbreakers! I’m not complaining.

🗞️ Big Story: Immigration & Oklahoma

President Trump has promised sweeping immigration reform, and that will result in deportations across the country. Those deportations could happen at schools, churches, and hospitals, reversing a policy that had been in place since 2011.

KOCO’s Alyse Jones talked with Santa Fe South Superintendent Chris Brewster, who oversees a charter school whose student body is 96% Hispanic.

KJRH’s Stef Manchen talked to a legal permanent resident going through the immigration process, and she also talked to an immigration attorney.

More immigration coverage:
• New rule could track how many students have undocumented parents (PBS)
• Rep. Hern talks about border initiatives (News 9)

Sales Tax Recommended For New Okla. County Jail

A first-of-its-kind “county public safety sales tax” is being recommended to pay for a new jail, Richard Mize of The Oklahoman reports (paywall). The Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board unanimously made that recommendation. Next steps are a review by county commissioners and then a vote of the people, reports News 9.

Oklahoma Watch: Housing Insecurity Forcing Oklahoma Seniors To Move

The price of rent is rising much faster than Social Security cost-of-living increases, and it’s impacting stability for tens of thousands of older Oklahomans. Oklahoma Watch reporter Heather Warlick talked to an attorney who says she’s “seeing more seniors fighting for their homes at eviction court.”

Oklahoma Headlines

• Yukon Public Schools names new superintendent (News 9)
• Shawnee city manager resigns (Shawnee News-Star, paywall)
• $700M allocated for clean drinking water, sanitation infrastructure (Mvskoke Media)
• Bob Dylan to make stop at Tulsa theater (Tulsa World, paywall)
• Eastern Okla. State College president to retire (McAlester News-Capital)
• Impact of President Trump’s energy orders on Oklahoma (OK Energy Today)
• OKC joins national lawsuit over price of insulin (KOCO)
• Understanding the surge in egg prices (News On 6)
• $1.2B Lithium battery refinery breaks ground in Muskogee (News On 6)

✨ Don’t Miss This!

Oklahoma rancher Hunter Wagnon did what he had to do—jump into a frozen pond to save a calf. After a video went viral on social media, KJRH’s Braden Bates talked to the hero cowboy!

News On 6 talked to Wagnon a few days, ago, too!

Check out the video posted to @okfeedlot on Instagram. Unreal!

👀 Businesses: Activate Like A Newsroom!

Imagine what your public relations and communications efforts could be if your teams truly activated like a newsroom.

• Going direct-to-audience with your messages

• Owning the narrative

• Capturing attention faster

It’s what I do in my new post-newsroom life: work with businesses, brands and entrepreneurs to show them how to ‘activate like a newsroom’ to level up the attention they need to succeed at scale!

Visit my website at doabledigitalmedia.com, or message me anytime at [email protected].

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🗣️ Story Tips, Ideas, Feedback

My inbox is always open. If you have a link I should add to the newsletter, a story that isn’t getting enough attention, a press release, a press event you’d like to invite me to—or you just want to offer some good old-fashioned feedback, I’m available to you.

Best way to reach me is via email at [email protected].