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What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is June 4, and we start Wednesday with weather:

• Several tornado warnings were issued Tuesday as a line of storms moved through Oklahoma mid-afternoon and evening. News 9 tracked tornado-warned storms in the Norman area and near Choctaw.

• Meanwhile, the NBA Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers were diverted to Tulsa because of storms. Welcome to Oklahoma! The Pacers open their NBA Finals series against the Thunder on Thursday night.

• And in a case of really bad timing, the National Weather Service announced Tuesday that NOAA weather radios would be undergoing an outage through June 5 to finish a software update.

Remember, the next three weeks will be super abbreviated for Oklahoma Memo as I’m participating in the Oklahoma Ambassadors of Music’s trip to Europe — and for now, that means several long, long days of practices. Hang with us, all will be normal by June 23, and I will be doing the newsletter from Europe with photos from along the way!

Oh, and there will be a FREE concert this afternoon at UCO’s Mitchell Hall at 1 p.m. Both the Ambassadors’ band and choir will perform.

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Weather Update ☁️

Once we get past some storms overnight, our Wednesday should be cloudy and seasonably cool.

🌡️ Wednesday's high in OKC 76°
🌡️ Wednesday’s high in Tulsa 75°

Gov. Stitt names interim commissioner of Oklahoma's mental health agency

By Sierra Pfeifer, KOSU
Click to read the story.
Donate to KOSU.

Gov. Kevin Stitt named an interim commissioner of Oklahoma’s troubled mental health department Tuesday, after lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to fire its former commissioner, Allie Friesen.

Taking Friesen’s post is Retired Rear Admiral Gregory Slavonic. Slavonic was previously appointed to lead the Department of Veterans by Stitt in 2024, following reports of personnel and financial mismanagement at the agency.

The Department of Mental Health has similarly been the subject of scrutiny since late March, when lawmakers first learned it had a significant financial deficit. Dissatisfaction intensified when it became clear a lack of funds would prevent state employees from getting paid. Legislators were forced to make a special appropriation for the agency to complete its fiscal year.

In a late-night vote Thursday, lawmakers fired Friesen. They said they had “lost confidence” in her ability to lead the department. She was removed, effective immediately.

Despite the building criticism of Friesen’s leadership, Stitt remained steadfast in his support. He appointed Friesen in January 2024 and called the legislature’s decision a “politically motivated witch hunt.”

“It is no secret that the Department of Mental Health has long been in need of reform,” Stitt said in a press release announcing Slavonic’s position. “It is imperative that Admiral Slavonic is allowed to do the hard work needed to remove corruption and conflicts of interest without political interference. There are brighter days ahead for this department and those that rely on its services.”

Slavonic does not have experience in the mental or behavioral health fields, but does have prior agency experience, which many lawmakers requested.

Click to finish the story.

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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

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

• Epic Charter Schools closing learning centers, slashing 357 jobs (Tulsa World)

• Wagoner County family angry after longhorns shot, killed: 'All I can do is shake my head' (News On 6)

• OK County cites slow progress, stuns OKC youth homeless shelter by taking back ARPA money (The Oklahoman)

• Man killed while helping wife change a flat tire in southeast Oklahoma City (KOCO)

• Brent Swadley files motion to disqualify Oklahoma Attorney General from involvement in criminal case against him (News 9)

• Oklahoma Department of Corrections seeks to keep incident reports for inmate deaths confidential (The Frontier)

• Park Board vote clears path for Newblock Park to be used for housing for homeless (Tulsa World)

• Voters to select three new Oklahoma representatives (Oklahoma Voice)

• Cheat sheet: Cherokee Nation District 4 open seat features 6-candidate field (NonDoc)

• Cheat sheet: 3 seek open Cherokee Nation District 5 seat in Tulsa area (NonDoc)

• Construction on Sapulpa’s new Route 66 Park to kick off July 7 (Sapulpa Times)

🗣️ 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.

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