Opening Act: Oklahoma is looking for a new state superintendent

Word started to get around Wednesday afternoon that Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters was planning to resign this week — and that he intended to enter the private sector to work for a think tank that goes to battle with unions.

It was more than rumor. The process to identify and appoint his interim successor was already underway, and then Walters himself made it official.

On FOX News. At 10:35 p.m.

Before he told the Oklahomans he served, he told Trace Gallagher on FOX News.

Ryan Walters is resigning as state superintendent to become the CEO of something called the ‘Teacher Freedom Alliance.’ Their mission is to destroy teachers’ unions, or that’s how he described it Wednesday night.

This will be the big story all day Thursday, and there will be plenty of coverage and reaction on ‘Oklahoma Memo’ social accounts, so please take a moment and follow on the platform of your preference.

‘Oklahoma Memo’ is on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. There is also a YouTube channel — and it’s all growing day by day.

You can message me anytime at [email protected].

Weather Update ☀️

A slight warm-up with a side of sunshine.

🌡️ Thursday's high in OKC 82°
🌡️ Thursday’s high in Tulsa 79°

Fired Oklahoma board secretary seeks $100,000 from Education Department

By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
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OKLAHOMA CITY — The former secretary of Oklahoma’s top school board has demanded $100,000 from the state Department of Education, contending the agency wrongfully fired her after she complained department staff interfered with her job duties.

Amy London took the first step toward filing a lawsuit over her July 17 firing by submitting a tort claim to the agency last week with the $100,000 demand, which also alleges she suffered workplace discrimination. She contends state law gives only the Oklahoma State Board of Education, not the department, authority over hiring and firing the board secretary.

Amid ongoing tensions between state Superintendent Ryan Walters and the board, London’s claim states Walters’ chief of staff, Matt Mohler, instructed her not to communicate with board members until 24 hours before their monthly board meetings. Mohler’s directive had her withhold draft agendas and supporting documents until that deadline, leaving the board with limited time to review hundreds of pages of information needed to cast votes, London said.

“When you’ve got other personnel interfering with the board business, it prohibits a well-functioning state board office,” London told Oklahoma Voice.

The Education Department did not return a request to interview Mohler and Walters, nor did it comment on London’s claim. Instead, the agency submitted a brief statement through its spokesperson, Madison Cercy.

“We have extremely high expectations and high standards for every employee at SDE,” Cercy stated. “We have a core mission to empower parents and return education decisions back to core conservative values of our state. We expect all personnel to abide by this and sometimes things don’t work out.”

Click here to finish the story

‘Bedlam Buds’ podcast debuts: Episode 1 focuses on Mike Gundy’s firing and John Mateer’s injury

Well, my long-time friend Jeremy and I had been talking about launching a sports podcast for a few weeks.

And then Mike Gundy got fired.

And then John Mateer got hurt.

Who needs a plan, right? It was ‘go’ time.

The ‘Bedlam Buds’ podcast was born. Hosted by University of Oklahoma graduate and long-time Sooners devotee (and ‘Oklahoma Memo’ editor) Ryan Welton and Oklahoma State University graduate and long-time Cowboys supporter Jeremy Cook, we prove that rivalry doesn’t have to be unfriendly.

We’ll talk sports in a candid, fun way — and we hope you’ll give it a watch and even subscribe to our YouTube channel. The podcast will eventually be everywhere you listen to audio, too.

PODCAST: Mike Gundy fired at OSU, OU's John Mateer injured | Reaction & CFB analysis: Bedlam Buds, Episode 1

Withheld evidence emerges in another old murder case

By JC Hallman and Haley Parsley, Oklahoma Watch
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In 1999, nine years before he was convicted of a murder he may not have committed, Joshua Christon, then nine years old, told The Oklahoman the figure in history he most admired was the formerly enslaved abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

“Little Harriet’s slave masters were cruel to her,” Christon wrote. “But this only strengthened Harriet’s body and desire to be free.”

The following year, The Oklahoman featured Christon again, now 10, about his plans to become a football player.

“One night I had the best dream of my life,” Christon told the paper. “I saw myself playing professional football for the Dallas Cowboys on television Thanksgiving Day.”

On a spring evening seven years later, a man named Christopher Thompson, 23, burned rubber on his scooter as he pulled into a gas station in Oklahoma City’s East End District.

Within minutes, Thompson was dead with two .45 caliber bullets lodged in his spine and forearm, fired from a maroon-colored sedan operated by members of a rival gang, prosecutors argued.

The people in the sedan, Joshua Christon, 18, along with Leroy McKissick, 26, and Kevin Parker, 33, were arrested for the crime.

Christon was pegged as the shooter; prosecutors used rap lyrics discovered at his home to secure a conviction at trial. He was given a life sentence; McKissick and Parker received sentences of 25 and 10 years, respectively, as accessories to the crime.

Christon has been in prison ever since.

Click here to finish the story

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I will also offer one-time story placement, branded clearly as sponsored content. Keep it to 250 words or thereabouts with an image and a call-to-action. There are also opportunities on other platforms for us to work together.

Monthly contracts available, and I can be super flexible to make the partnership meet your business needs.

The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

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

• Broken Arrow police recruit dies after medical emergency during training (Tulsa World)

• Superintendent Ryan Walters nixes public comment from Sept. meeting (2 News Oklahoma)

• Tulsa man faces charge of attempting to support Al-Qaida (Tulsa World)

• ‘Just trying to survive:’ Unhoused Tulsan shares human toll of Operation SAFE (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Medical professionals, Oklahoma autism advocate respond to Trump briefing linking Tylenol and autism (StateImpact Oklahoma)

• Osage Nation celebrates reacquisition of sacred site near St. Louis Arch (KOSU)

• Norman homeowners confront turnpike authority over proposed toll road (KOCO)

• Oklahoma connection in Dallas ICE facility shooting investigation (KOCO)

• ‘Quintessential’ Oklahoma public servant to retire (Oklahoma Voice)

• 'Tragic and unexpected': Muldrow man killed, woman recovering after hit by car in Krebs (News On 6)

• Brian Lovell pleads, receives suspended sentence after Drummond accused of politicizing case (NonDoc)

• Public forum tackles OKC affordable housing crisis (Oklahoma City Free Press)

• Commerce down this year on Oklahoma's McClellan-Kerr river system (KOSU)

• New multicultural plaza opens in Oklahoma City's Capitol Hill district (KOCO)

• Oklahoma artists paint Charlie Kirk memorial message at Cadillac Ranch project in Texas (The Oklahoman)

• Geronimo Man changes plea in Lawton Army Birthday Parade threat case (KSWO)

• Suspect dead after stolen vehicle pursuit ends in Dickson (KTEN)

• Dollar Tree breaks ground to rebuild Marietta warehouse (KTEN)

• Oklahoma woman competes on Survivor season 49, finds ‘light after dark years’ (News 9)

• Oklahoma woman with Stage 4 Cancer sings for spot in U.S. Karaoke Finals (News 9)

• Heritage Hall standout Addi Thompson honoring her late father with her own sports path (The Oklahoman)

• Guthrie JROTC students take flight on CH-47 Chinook helicopter (Guthrie News Page)

Oklahoma Memo’s Mission

The ‘Oklahoma Memo’ mission is simple: Reignite the daily news habit by connecting Oklahomans and those who love Oklahoma to quality sources of news and vetted information.

✅ Save you time.
✅ Make you smarter.
✅ Protect Democracy.