The federal government shutdown reaches Day 36, making it the longest of all time — but will Tuesday’s election results lead to movement on that front? Sen. Markwayne Mullin thinks so in a story linked below from News On 6 (below).

Our lead story once again comes from The Frontier — this time highlighting how Oklahoma’s tribal nations are stepping up to feed families as SNAP funding stalls. The newsletter also features Oklahoma Voice’s story about the latest effort from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to get illegal immigrants off Oklahoma roads.

And then finally, my conversation with entrepreneur and engineer Colby DeWeese about his company, Tobe Energy, and its new partnership with Zeeco in Tulsa. His vision for making hydrogen electrolysis more efficient could be huge for Oklahoma’s energy industry.

If you’re enjoying the newsletter, please share it with a friend and help me grow this audience. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

By Clifton Adcock, The Frontier
Click here to read the story.
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As the government shutdown threatens food assistance for tens of thousands of low-income Oklahomans, the state’s American Indian tribes are stepping in to help affected tribal citizens.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. announced Oct. 29 that the tribe would dedicate $6.5 million to ensuring its citizens who receive federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits would still receive food.

“I don’t know what the President of the United States is going to do,” Hoskin told a group of tribal elders in Tulsa. “I don’t know what the Congress is going to do, but I know what the Cherokee Nation just did. We just put $6.5 million to save SNAP for Cherokee citizens in this region. That’s what we just did.”

Hoskin and Oklahoma Democrats have called on Gov. Kevin Stitt to tap into the state’s reserve fund to assist all food stamp recipients in the state.

“Right now, the state of Oklahoma has a budget surplus of $3.69 billion,” Hoskin said. “Those dollars came from me and you and everybody in this state, $3.69 billion,” Hoskin said. “I’m calling on the governor of the state of Oklahoma. I’m calling on Kevin Stitt to get out your checkbook and save SNAP for this entire state in the month of November.”

Stitt had said doing so would require a special legislative session, state law restricts what the state’s Rainy Day Funds can be used for and there’s no guarantee that the federal government will ever reimburse the state.

Stitt and legislative leaders announced Friday that state leaders would vote to spend  $1 million per week for up to seven weeks from the state’s Contingency Review Fund to food banks around the state, targeting assistance for children, the elderly and disabled SNAP recipients.  

Click here to finish the story.

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

By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
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OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol, in partnership with federal immigration forces, arrested 73 people during a second operation targeting drivers without legal immigration status. 

The most recent operation was held over two days last week near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border on Interstate 40. Troopers spoke with about 500 people and arrested 73 for being in the country without legal status. Of those arrested, 34 of which were commercial truck drivers, said Oklahoma Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Tipton. 

It marked the second sting under Operation Guardian that has resulted in a total of nearly 200 people being detained on immigration violations while traveling along I-40, he said. 

The first operation was held in September in western Oklahoma. It resulted in law enforcement speaking with 520 people and making 120 arrests for alleged immigration violations. 

Both operations involved traffic stops and inspections at Oklahoma’s ports of entry. 

Click here to finish the story.

By Ryan Welton, Oklahoma Memo

An Oklahoma City startup is betting that new technology will finally allow green hydrogen to compete on price with hydrogen made from fossil fuels. Tobe Energy, led by Tulsa-raised engineer Colby DeWeese, has raised $1.8 million and built working prototypes designed to eliminate wasted heat in the electrolysis process — the core method used to split hydrogen from water.

Hydrogen is already widely used in petrochemicals, fertilizer, food processing and refineries, but 95% of it is still produced from fossil fuels today. DeWeese said the barrier to green hydrogen has always been cost and inefficiency. He compared today’s systems to an incandescent bulb, which wastes most of its energy as heat, rather than the LED-style approach his team is taking.

Tobe Energy has a 5,000-square-foot facility in Oklahoma City with in-house manufacturing, engineering and power-electronics testing. The company has seven employees and is building its first units while preparing for commercial deployment. A new partnership with Tulsa-based Zeeco — a global combustion engineering firm — will allow the company to test and install systems faster.

DeWeese believes the real long-term opportunity is synthetic fuel — combining captured CO₂ with hydrogen to create carbon-neutral natural gas, diesel, aviation fuel and gasoline. That process, he said, uses the same pipelines, burners, stoves and engines we already have, but without fossil-fuel emissions.

Editor’s Note: If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe to this newsletter and subscribe to ‘Oklahoma Memo’ on YouTube.

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

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

• New records raise ethical questions about Walters-era spending, gifts and ties to group he now works for (KFOR)

• Mullin predicts Democrats will vote to end shutdown this week (News On 6)

• Tulsa-area families seeking alternative child care options due to government shutdown (Tulsa Flyer)

• Oklahoma EPA employees among those affected by shutdown, union says (KGOU)

• ‘Nobody needs to go hungry’: Edmond nonprofits try to fill void as shutdown disrupts SNAP benefits (NonDoc)

• Turnpike Authority makes controversial vote as fight over ACCESS OK continues (KFOR)

• 5 largest tribes in Oklahoma are asking SCOTUS to take up tax case involving Muscogee citizen (KOSU)

• How lived experience shapes case management in Oklahoma County's drug court (KOSU)

• Midwest City officials say ‘their hands are tied’ after concern is raised over a well site near a residential area (KFOR)

• Lawton widow raises awareness after husband killed by unsecured truck load (KSWO)

• Tulsans question redevelopment plans for former Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments (Public Radio Tulsa)

• After flames engulf hand sanitizer, Oklahoma sues to clean up what's left (The Oklahoman)*

• ‘Allegations are undisputed’: Latimer County undersheriff gets probation for beating son (NonDoc)

• New law helps county officials try to crack down on real estate theft (Tulsa World)*

• $2 million pledged for 14-mile Gilcrease Museum trail system (Tulsa World)*

• Tulsa’s Blue Team builds trust, breaks cycle of chronic homelessness (Oklahoma Watch)

• East Tulsa homeowners eligible for up to $10K in free home repairs (KJRH)

• Newspaper at Oklahoma's largest women's prison awarded national recognition (KOSU)

• You will soon have more bachelor’s degree options in Tulsa. Here’s why. (Tulsa Flyer)

• OCCC expands access through microcredentials, ESL classes (Oklahoma City Free Press)

• Man arrested for allegedly recording underage females inside Moore gas station restroom (KFOR)

• Man dies after lawnmower accident in Bryan County (KXII)

• Lady Liberty suffers nose gear collapse at Ponca City Regional Airport (Kay News Cow)

• Oklahoma debuts at No. 12 in first CFP Rankings (News 9)

Picture perfect.

🌡️ Wednesday's high in OKC 74°
🌡️ Wednesday’s high in Tulsa 73°

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