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Tinker Air Force Base, community bracing for possible layoffs

Tinker Air Force Base, community bracing for possible layoffs

This is a round-up of Oklahoma news stories for February 25, 2025

Ryan Welton
February 25, 2025

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE 🚨
The public memorial service for former Oklahoma Gov., U.S. Sen., and University of Oklahoma President David Boren will be held Saturday, March 29, at 2 p.m. The service will be held at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City.

David Boren (1941-2025) | OU Daily special section

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Here is the Oklahoma journalism I’ve hand-picked for you this Tuesday:

• Tinker AFB, community brace for possible layoffs.

• SCOTUS to hear the case on Oklahoma charter school St. Isidore. (Oklahoma Voice)

• Fentanyl deaths skyrocket in Oklahoma. (The Frontier)

• Thunder drop a heartbreaker to T-Wolves in OT

Weather Update ☀️

Tuesday will be a lot like Monday!

It does appear that Wednesday and Thursday will be slightly cooler than the start of the week, but at most it might require a jacket.

🌡️ Tuesday high in OKC 74°
🌡️ Tuesday high in Tulsa 70°

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1️⃣ Tinker Air Force Base, community bracing for possible layoffs

A report published on Sunday in Topeka, Kansas, and on a Broken Arrow news site prompted concern after it suggested that 600 layoffs could be coming to Tinker Air Force Base on Monday.

Those layoffs didn’t happen on Monday. However, The Oklahoman’s M. Scott Carter and Dale Denwalt corroborated the report with the source in a report published Monday afternoon. (Paywall)

But while it appears that no layoffs have taken place on base yet, the source behind the story, Diana Hicks, national vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees for the 9th District, told The Oklahoman that even if the layoffs didn't happen Monday, she expects them to take place this week.

2️⃣ Supreme Court sets date to hear case on Oklahoma Catholic charter school

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on April 30 over St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The school's Board of Directors last held a public meeting on June 28 at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa's Chancery Office in Broken Arrow. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)

By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
Click here to read the full story.

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided on the date it will hear oral arguments on an Oklahoma Catholic school's request for taxpayer funding. This case could be a test case for the separation of church and state.

Justices of the nation’s highest court will hear discussion and ask questions on April 30 in Washington, D.C., over St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. There’s no set date for the Court to make a decision on the case, but it typically does so by the end of June before its summer recess.

The case centers on whether St. Isidore should be able to open as a state-funded charter school in Oklahoma while teaching Catholic doctrine, requiring students to attend Mass and abiding by church principles.

3️⃣ Fentanyl deaths skyrocket in Oklahoma as jails, prisons and rural communities try to combat the drug

By Ari Fife, The Frontier
Click here to read the full story.

New drug combinations, limited emergency resources in some rural communities, and overdoses in jails and prisons have contributed to rising fentanyl deaths in Oklahoma.

Data from the state Bureau of Narcotics shows that 748 people in Oklahoma died of overdoses related to fentanyl in 2023, an increase of 21% over the previous year. Fentanyl overdose deaths in Oklahoma have grown by more than 1,300% between 2019 and 2023, according to state data.

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Oklahoma News Headlines 📰

• Medicare telehealth coverage set to expire in March (KOCO)

• Ryan Walters asks Okla. AG Gentner Drummond if Trump order pulls funding from undocumented students (StateImpact Oklahoma)

• Federal layoffs leave mark on Oklahoma agriculture (KOSU)

• Gentner Drummond says many don’t like him but do respect him (Tulsa World, paywall)

• Cheat sheet: Oklahoma Senate District 8 GOP primary set March 4 (NonDoc)

• There’s always something to ‘Notis’ in Oklahoma (Black Wall Street Times)

• Report: Domestic homicides peak in Oklahoma (2 News Oklahoma)

• By the numbers: How research institutions in Oklahoma use NIH funding (News On 6)

• Third phase of terminal project at Stillwater Regional Airport approved (The O’Colly)

• OKANA welcomes full house of guests to $400 million attraction (Oklahoma City Free Press)

• Actual Innocence: Glynn Simmons was innocent. Read the story of his 48-year fight to prove it. (The Oklahoman, paywall)

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Oil & Gas Headlines 🛢️

Devon Energy Reports Record Production, $4.4B Q4 Revenue
Devon Energy posted record average production of 848,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and total revenues of $4.4 billion in Q4 2024, beating analyst expectations. CEO Rick Muncrief prepares to retire on March 1. (Journal Record)

Crude Oil Prices Rise, Oklahoma Energy Stocks Decline
WTI crude oil rose 0.6% to $70.83 per barrel on Monday, while most Oklahoma energy stocks experienced losses. PHX Minerals and Stardust Power each dropped 4%, though Empire Petroleum and Helmerich and Payne saw gains over 5%. (OK Energy Today)

ONEOK Announces 2025 Financial Guidance and 2026 Outlook
ONEOK, Inc. released its 2025 financial guidance and provided a growth outlook for 2026, with expectations of over 10% increase in NGL raw fee for the Natural Gas Liquids segment. (PR Newswire)

Oklahoma House Committee Passes Energy Generation Bill
The Oklahoma House Utilities Committee passed House Bill 2747, promoting affordable energy generation by championing natural gas resources and restoring state control over high-voltage transmission infrastructure. (okwnews.com)

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Sports Headlines 🏀⚾

Timberwolves Stun Thunder 131-128 in OT
On the second night of a back-to-back with Minnesota, this time at Paycom Arena, the T-Wolves outscored Oklahoma City 41-19 in the fourth period to send the game to OT — where they eventually won 131-128. Shai scored 39, and Jalen Williams had 27.
Click to view the Thunder Gametracker.

Dean Blevins Announces Retirement From News 9
Longtime sports director for the Oklahoma City CBS affiliate Dean Blevins announced Monday that he would retire this summer — and that the voice of the Oklahoma Sooners, Toby Rowland, would be taking his place as sports director. (News 9)

OU Softball Rallies Past Bowling Green in Extra Innings
No. 2-ranked Oklahoma improved to 13-0 after a thrilling 8-5 win over Bowling Green in eight innings. Kasidi Pickering's three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth sealed the victory for the Sooners. OU followed that up with a 9-1 win over Abilene Christian. (SoonerSports)

No. 16 OU Baseball Hosts Texas Southern for Midweek Series
The Oklahoma Sooners, fresh off an impressive 3-0 showing at the Round Rock Classic, welcome Texas Southern for a two-game set on February 25-26. OU's 6-0 start is their best since 2019, propelling them to No. 16 in the D1Baseball poll. (SoonerSports)

Oklahoma State Baseball Sweeps Series with UT-Arlington (OKState.com)

No. 13 OSU Softball Tops Central Arkansas 9-5 (OKState.com)

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