Vice President J.D. Vance proclaimed Monday that the United States is likely headed toward a government shutdown on Wednesday.

“I think we’re headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing,” he was quoted as saying in this story on CNBC.com.

National podcaster Grant Hermes from the “Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes” podcast talked about the ramifications of a government shutdown on average Oklahomans during last week’s Oklahoma Memo podcast.

(Go to about the 37:00 mark.)

If we get to that point (a shutdown), I’ll for sure gather all the news coverage out there that pertains to the shutdown’s impact on you.

Onto the Tuesday list:

‘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].

Chamber of Commerce weather albeit a little warm. No complaints, but we’re back to watering the lawn.

🌡️ Tuesday's high in OKC 84°
🌡️ Tuesday’s high in Tulsa 83°

By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
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OKLAHOMA CITY — State Superintendent Ryan Walters will submit his letter of resignation from elected office on Tuesday, his senior adviser confirmed, bringing to an end a short but highly scrutinized tenure that divided even his fellow Republicans.

Matt Langston, who also served as Walters’ campaign manager, confirmed the state superintendent will formally step down the day before he is set to begin his new role Wednesday leading an anti-teacher-union nonprofit. His resignation will prompt Gov. Kevin Stitt to appoint a replacement to finish the final 15 months of his term.

Rather than launching a campaign for higher office, as many Oklahomans expected Walters to do, he announced last week that he would step down to become the CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance, an organization he said would “destroy the teachers’ unions.”

Walters’ office did not return requests for an interview in his final days in office, but others who spoke with Oklahoma Voice and issued public statements gave mixed reviews of his performance as the state’s public education leader.

The state’s largest teacher union, the Oklahoma Education Association, which Walters once called a terrorist organization, said he will be remembered for “plunging Oklahoma education into its darkest days.”

“We must leave this divisiveness behind and work together as a team with parents and communities by listening to and supporting our students and education professionals,” the union wrote in a statement. “Our public schools can once again become a source of pride and promise for every community in our state.”

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By Ashlynd Huffman, The Frontier
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A sharp screeching late one night in June 2024 grabbed the attention of a Bixby Police officer. He looked over to see a black SUV sending up sparks as it ground forward on one flat tire and another with a bare rim. The officer flipped on his patrol lights and pulled the SUV over.

Tulsa Police Officer Derrick Alexander, a nearly 30-year veteran of the force, emerged from the vehicle, wearing a blue Tulsa Police Department T-shirt for the agency’s youth mentoring program, according to police body camera footage that later aired on local TV news. He was unsteady on his feet, smelled of alcohol, and had red, watery eyes, according to a police report. The front end of Alexander’s SUV had “significant” damage. Bixby police officer Aaron Godwin observed. Alexander was reluctant to tell the officer if he had been drinking at first, but eventually said he had two drinks earlier that evening.

“I don’t know him, but he’s (Tulsa Police Department). He was rolling on rims,” Godwin said in the body camera video. “Looks like he might have hit something.”

Alexander declined to take field sobriety and breathalyzer tests, so Godwin arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence and driving a vehicle without the required equipment or in unsafe conditions, the police report said. 

But Alexander didn’t face criminal charges after the incident. He was removed from his position as a school resource officer but went back to work at the Tulsa Police Department after a five-day suspension in September 2024, records show. A department spokesperson said that Alexander was released from restricted duty on April 4, meaning he can have his gun and police badge back. 

The Frontier reached out to Alexander for comment but did not receive a response. 

The Tulsa Police Department has disciplined six officers after incidents where they were suspected of driving under the influence since 2016, a Frontier investigation has found. In one case, an officer was suspected of causing a wreck after driving under the influence and leaving the scene of the accident. In another case, an officer was accused of driving her city-issued vehicle after drinking and was involved in a crash. Neither officer was criminally charged. Just three of the six officers faced criminal charges in either the state or the municipal court. 

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If you’d like to advertise in the Oklahoma Memo newsletter daily, reach out to me at [email protected]. I’d be happy to send you a rate card with all sorts of options.

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

• New poll shows Oklahoma governor’s race tightening between McCall and Drummond (News On 6)

• 'Not gonna stop': Vocal DHS employee fired after whistle blowing on agency (2 News Oklahoma)

• Stitt touts over 100 arrests of unauthorized migrants along I-40 in highway patrol, ICE operation (KOSU)

• 'A miracle': How the Minco school bus crash forged a bond like nothing on a softball field could (The Oklahoman)

• Ninnekah homeowners see 75% increase in property taxes after school's sexual abuse settlement (KOCO)

• Oklahoma mental health department to withhold exact impact of provider cuts until review completed (KGOU)

• 'The best dad': Family left devastated after father was killed when wife crashed into his car (KOCO)

• Counties await guidance on renewing State Question 781 programs (Oklahoma Watch)

• Board asks for millions more to increase access to Oklahoma career, technical education (Oklahoma Voice)

• Why are Starbucks locations closing in Oklahoma? (News On 6)

• Stitt urges HRSA to stop Planned Parenthood from participating in federal drug pricing program (KGOU)

• Oklahoma reaches $3.9 million settlement with breast cancer nonprofit organization (KSWO)

• Roundup: Jail problems, grand jury decisions and free vision care across Oklahoma (NonDoc)

• What Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, reigning NBA champion OKC Thunder said at 2025 media day (The Oklahoman)

• TSA rolls out family security line at Will Rogers Intl. Airport (KFOR)

• 'Anything to add to the culture': Bilingual street signs coming to McAlester (2 News Oklahoma)

• Downtown Yukon gears up for 59th annual Oklahoma Czech Festival (KFOR)

• Abandoned dog rescued by OKC woman becomes viral TikTok sensation with a mission to help others (News 9)

• What Atoka Public Schools' $8 million bond is building (KTEN)

• Bokchito officer injured during stolen car pursuit (KTEN)

• OU football to wear Bud Wilkinson era throwback uniforms Saturday vs. Kent State (Tulsa World)

It always sucks when somebody loses their livelihood, so this editorial isn’t a measurement of one person’s pain over another’s.

However, it sure hit home when seven people lost their jobs at the Tulsa World late last week. The biggest reason, selfishly, is because one of those impacted was Executive Editor Jason Collington, who chose to leave rather than inflict deeper cuts on the newsroom, according to reporting from both The Oklahoma Eagle and The Pickup.

Jason has been a huge encouragement to me in starting the Oklahoma Memo, and I hope to be one to him in whatever his next venture is. He and I are both big believers in capital J “Journalism.”

You might not know this, but the Tulsa World is owned by a company called Lee Enterprises — and they’re a public company. They’re not big, bad and evil, but they are public, and by necessity, it means their customers are first and foremost shareholders. For them, journalism is a profit and loss venture.

And, in 2025, journalism is frankly too important to be relegated to a P&L sheet.

This work is the barrier between a fragile democracy and authoritarianism. Doubt that at your own peril. Local journalism and community journalism are too important to be left to public companies, especially the type of wonderful journalism the Tulsa World has always provided.

I only say that because, truly, the role of any public company is to maximize shareholder value. Full stop.

And the role of a great newsroom is to maximize each citizen’s understanding of their place in society and how to navigate the world by ensuring they’re aware of what’s happening in their midst.

Journalism is less a path to profit, and more an investment in the public good.

You can message me anytime at [email protected].

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.