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It’s Election Day in Oklahoma. While most of the country voted two weeks ago, our state’s latest round of local elections lands today — and we’re leading with a helpful KOSU primer on the local questions voters will decide.

Our other lead story comes from The Frontier, looking at a conundrum in Watonga: the need for revenue versus the controversial plan to get it — a detention center that would hold people suspected of being in the country illegally.

Two excellent pieces of journalism from the best newsrooms Oklahoma has to offer.

The weather should be nice again today, but there are storm chances brewing for Wednesday night.

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By Abigail Siatkowski, KOSU
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Oklahoma voters in 26 counties head to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots on a variety of local measures.

To find your polling location and hours, head to the Oklahoma Voter Portal.

El Reno residents will vote on whether to re-elect incumbent Mayor Steve Jensen for another term or instead select challenger Phillip Church.

Jensen has led El Reno through a time of growth. Earlier this year, city officials voted to annex sections east of the city, despite concerns from residents and landowners. Jensen framed the move as the only alternative to annexation by Oklahoma City or Yukon.

Church is a realtor running as a political outsider. On Facebook, he explains that one of his primary platforms is property owners' rights. He highlights a recent city council decision to demolish a building that violated code after the owner asked for more time to comply.

The winner of the election will serve a 3-year term in office.

In the City of Choctaw, voters will decide on two questions.

The first proposition asks whether term limits should be implemented for the city council and mayor. The city doesn't currently have them, but if the proposition passes, any given person would be capped at three four-year terms in each office.

The second proposition asks about selling one of the city's parks, which the proposition said doesn't see much use. The money made from the sale of Optimist Park would fund improvements at two other local parks.

In cities across the state, residents can decide on tax questions.

Voters in Carmen — located 35 miles northwest of Enid — will decide whether to raise the town’s sales tax rate from 3% to 3.5%. If passed, the majority of tax dollars generated from the increase would be allocated to general government funds, with the remaining 0.25% to be used for the fire department.

Residents of the town with a population of just shy of 400 have voiced strong reactions to the proposal on Facebook. Those in favor express a willingness to spend extra money for projects they want to see, while opposition voices fear the town isn’t managing its money properly.

Voters in Edmond are being asked to renew two separate sales taxes the city currently uses. The first is a one-cent tax for the city's general fund, which the city says has been active since 1977. The second is a one-half-cent tax for capital improvements.

In Midwest City, a hotel tax increase will be on the ballot. The measure has been popular statewide recently, with Oklahoma City voters passing a similar one last year. If approved, the Midwest City proposal will bring the rate from 5% to 9.25%.

Voters in several school districts can also vote on school bond proposals.

A proposal in Minco seeks to fund new school buses months after one of the district’s vehicles flipped upside down.

In September, a bus was carrying members of the high school's softball team back from a game in Anadarko when it struck a deer and crashed. Several injuries resulted from the incident, but none were fatal.

According to News9, the district’s school board had voted just hours earlier to call for an election on bus funds. The $900,000 proposition will not raise taxes.

In Newcastle, a $10.8 million bond proposal would not increase taxes. Instead, it would rely on the city’s growth to maintain the tax rate of a previous bond. If approved, the proposal would fund an additional elementary school and improvements to the track and stadium.

A bond proposal in the southeast Oklahoma city of Antlers seeks to fund a new middle school, as the current one suffers from leaks. The nearly $8 million proposal would raise property taxes in the area by 15%.

School bonds must earn approval from at least 60% of voters to pass.

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

By Ari Fife, The Frontier
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In the hilly countryside of northwest Oklahoma, workers have been installing razor wire fencing and air conditioning units to prepare the long-shuttered Diamondback Correctional Facility to house immigrants awaiting deportation proceedings.  

A few miles away, cars drive down the town of Watonga’s sleepy main street, and some customers trickle in and out of a handful of open shops. Many of the downtown storefronts have weathered facades, and about half are locked and vacant, with decaying signs. Watonga’s sales tax revenue was down nearly 10 percent in November from the previous year, according to state data.

A hardware store, a floral shop and a carpet and flooring business are a few of the businesses that have survived. Some in Watonga see Diamondback’s reopening as a welcome boost to the local economy. 

CoreCivic, a Tennessee-based private company that owns five other facilities in Oklahoma, announced in early October that it was awarded a new five-year contract with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement and the state Department of Corrections to resume operations at its 2,160-bed facility in Watonga.

The Trump administration is expanding the use of private, for-profit prisons to house detainees as it looks to deport 1 million immigrants a year. Meanwhile, CoreCivic has faced allegations of mistreatment of immigration detainees at facilities across the country. A disability rights group observed immigrants at a California City facility operated by CoreCivic being put in “criminal prison-like solitary confinement” earlier this month.  

A spokesperson for the company said in an email that it takes its obligation seriously to adhere to all applicable federal detention standards at ICE-contracted facilities. ICE monitors all immigration facilities daily. The facilities are audited regularly and without notice several times a year, and families, attorneys and elected officials also visit, he said. 

Aaron Clewell, the owner of Clewell’s Family Hardware & Appliance in downtown Watonga, said he expects Diamondback to bring new business into town and trusts the locals who could work at the facility to treat detainees well. But he said it doesn’t feel like a total win for the town. 

“I don’t feel great about a community profiting on the suffering of a whole population,” Clewell said. 

Click here to finish the story.

By Ryan Welton & Jeremy Cook, Oklahoma Memo
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The Oklahoma Sooners stunned Alabama on the road Saturday, escaping Tuscaloosa with a 23–21 win behind a stingy, gritty opportunistic defense and a game-changing blocked field goal late in the first half. A sophomore special teams standout (Taylor Wein) leapt over the line to partially deflect the kick, a play that proved to be the difference.

After weeks of uneven offensive performances, head coach Brent Venables’ defense continues to carry the load. OU’s offense managed just 212 total yards, but a gritty performance by quarterback John Mateer and timely playmaking from Wein and Eli Bowen — who had an 87-yard interception return — were enough to keep the Sooners in the playoff race.

But OU’s path doesn’t necessarily get easier: Missouri and LSU are next.

Meanwhile in Manhattan, the Oklahoma State Cowboys lost 14–6 against Kansas State, committing five turnovers and missing chances in Wildcat territory. The loss overshadowed gritty improvements across the roster, with young players like receiver Shamar Rigby and quarterback Zane Flores showing progress.

Rumors also continue to swirl around OSU’s coaching search — and Jeremy talks about what he knows and what he can’t talk about…

In other news, OSU Wrestling finished third at the National Duals behind breakout performances from an impressive group of Oklahoma-born freshmen — a strong sign for the program’s future.

Both football teams face pivotal weeks ahead, with the Sooners aiming to finish strong and the Cowboys playing for pride — and possibly a new era.

Watch us on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts — and if it’s the latter, please leave us a 5-star review. It would help each episode get discovered more easily in search.

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

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

• ‘What people are saying’: Constant criticism, odd episodes keep defining Oklahoma County jail trust (NonDoc)

• Son warns of hydrocodone dangers after father kills mother, pets, then himself (2 News Oklahoma)

• DA dismisses charges against Edmond mother while broken leg lawsuit lingers (NonDoc)

• Vandals hit new Clara Luper National Sit-In Plaza in downtown OKC: What we know (The Oklahoman)*

• Thunder improve to 14-1 with win over Pelicans (Sports Illustrated)

• Teenage girl stabbed 14 times by 'obsessed' co-worker saved by her brother in Pottawatomie County (KOCO)

• Oklahoma State Chamber backs Mississippi-style reading reforms (Oklahoma Voice)

• Oklahoma Highway Patrol conducts immigration sting near Texas border (Oklahoma Voice)

• Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation caught in crossfire over tribal hunting, fishing licenses (KOSU)

• 'We see these coming': How Oklahoma communities are prepping for data centers (KOSU)

• Muscogee Nation sounds alarm to prioritize language revitalization efforts, declares state of emergency (KOSU)

• OKPOP meets $18M funding goal, sets opening for 2028 (Public Radio Tulsa)

• Tulsa’s Global Entrepreneurship Week brings dozens of free events to the city (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Housing for homeless endangered under new HUD guidelines, Tulsa officials say (Tulsa World)*

• Last victim of Weatherford ammonia leak released from hospital, police say (KOCO)

• Prosecutors to dismiss adult rape by instrumentation charges against 2 Sperry HS students (News On 6)

A little bit cooler. Rain and storms are possible Wednesday night.

🌡️ Tuesday's high in OKC 73°
🌡️ Tuesday’s high in Tulsa 75°

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