What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is Friday, June 27, and I’m already feeling healthy again. Imagine that!

Before we get into everything you need to know for Friday, I wanted to revisit a story from Wednesday. Public Radio Tulsa reported on a new Tulsa curfew being implemented from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Thursday through Saturday for persons 17 and under. It applies to the city’s Inner Dispersal Loop (IDL).

And that reminded me of something I learned overseas that I thought was interesting.

I didn’t love everything about Europe. If you’ve followed ‘Oklahoma Memo’ for even more than a couple of days, you know that my family and I just returned from a two-week-plus tour of the continent with the Oklahoma Ambassadors of Music.

It was the trip of a lifetime. Wonderful experience.

Europe is beautiful (in places). Paris has a certain je ne sais quoi smell in the morning, often hot garbage unfortunately. The food is amazing in spots (but also can be quite bland, surprisingly). And the architecture is mostly on a scale from awe-inspiring to ‘what is that exactly’?

And I appreciate it for what it is, even the parts I didn’t love or even like.

For example, they don’t do air conditioning or even air circulation. It’s charming, but it’s equally absurd. It’s like they’re punishing themselves out of pride, not willing to acknowledge that the Americans have a point while beads of sweat drip down their faces on an otherwise mild 82-degree day.

“We’re comfortable!” they might say while looking anything but.

However, one of the things I really loved about Europe was the concept of “quiet hours.” In many parts of Europe, especially in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, entire towns power down after 10 p.m. And by power down, I mean “go silent.”

I’m not talking about teenagers’ music blaring from cars or groups of revelers hooting and hollering at a bar.

I’m talking about not even grandma’s porch conversations were to be heard in the night air.

Silent. AF. Nothing.

By no means am I suggesting this for the US of A. I love the bustle of a big city on a Saturday night.

But the peace was glorious.

Dean Blevins reflects on 40-year career ahead of retirement

OK, one more thing before the news of the day. I’m not sure when Dean Blevins’ final day on News 9 will be precisely, but I wanted to acknowledge his impending retirement.

For any of you who didn’t know, I worked at Griffin Media for nearly 8 years — and I got to know Dean pretty well. His desk was literally right outside my office at News 9 in downtown Oklahoma City.

He was one of my favorite people in the entire building.

Genuine. The nicest person. Forthcoming (especially when I had a question about the Sooners). And smarter than anybody gives him credit for.

Dean is a terrific writer. I used to edit his digital copy — and I long suggested he could have been a newspaper columnist. He has a writing style that reminded me of the era of columnists like Blackie Sherrod.

TL;DR: There are a lot of folks in the news business I wouldn’t bother sticking up for (#trust) — but Dean ain’t one of them. Great, great guy.

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Weather Update 🌩️

Very warm with more chances for showers and storms. If there is a severe risk, it’s lower-end.

🌡️ Friday's high in OKC 88°
🌡️ Friday’s high in Tulsa 87°

Lawmakers don’t know why President Trump keeps denying disaster mitigation grants

By Em Luetkemeyer, Oklahoma Watch
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The Trump administration has repeatedly denied disaster mitigation funding to states hit by extreme weather events, another step in President Donald Trump’s plan to downsize and phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and lawmakers aren’t sure why it keeps happening.

Since March, states including Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa and Mississippi suffered severe storms, winds or wildfires and requested assistance through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program at FEMA, which provides funds to help protect against future natural disasters. Unlike the Biden administration, Trump is no longer automatically approving those grants and has denied seven requests this spring, according to Bloomberg, while six requests remain under review.

Oklahoma made one such funding request after March wildfires and winds ravaged the state, killing several people and damaging hundreds of homes, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. Those fires burned Gov. Kevin Stitt’s farmhouse to the ground.

FEMA approved several Fire Management Assistance Grants in Oklahoma, which help state, local and tribal governments cover fire-related damage costs, but it denied a request for mitigation funding in early June.

“Well, I’m usually on the side of my state, so we’ll wait and see what happens,” Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma said of the funding denial.

Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford said he’d have to see the requests in order to answer questions about the resilience funds. But while disaster aid is often necessary, it’s not simple, he said.

“There’s not a time, obviously, when there’s a disaster — maybe it would be a flood, a wildfire or our famous tornadoes — that we don’t need help from someone,” Lankford said. “But there’s a mixture of private insurance, state funding and federal funding, a formula set up on the federal side, to try to figure out when that actually kicks in. We’ve got to be able to make sure we actually meet that.”

Click to finish the story.

Governor reveals  ‘Make Oklahoma Healthy Again’ plan with RFK  for bans on soda, red dye

By Janelle Stecklein, Oklahoma Voice
Click to read the story.
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OKLAHOMA CITY — In a move quickly panned by licensed health care providers, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Thursday that he planned to “Make Oklahoma Healthy Again” by urging state agencies to stop supporting public water fluoridation, removing red food dyes from school and prison meals, and by asking the federal government to approve a request that bans food stamp recipients from purchasing soda and candy.

Stitt’s pledge came minutes after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s secretary of Health and Human Services, criticized the state for having the 47th worst health outcomes during a raucous “MOHA” kickoff rally that drew hundreds of people to the state Capitol.

Oklahoma has become the latest conservative state to submit a waiver to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that seeks to ban the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients from using their benefits to buy sodas, candies and other confectionery items, Stitt said. Tax dollars will no longer “continue to fund foods that are making people sick,” he said.

State officials will also work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to find more ways to promote healthly eating and to make food stamp funding go further. 

“Eating healthy foods today is going to reduce health care spending and dietary related illnesses later on in life,” Stitt said.

The Republican governor also said he’s instructed the Oklahoma State Department of Health to stop recommending fluoride in public water.

“Cities and water districts, they can still choose to do what they want, based on their constituents and the science, but it’s no longer going to be a recommendation for the state health department,” Stitt said.

And Stitt said he’s instructed all state agencies that provide meals to Oklahomans to discontinue their use of artificial dyes. He also plans to convene an advisory counsel to recommend other changes that can improve health outcomes across the state.

Stitt’s plans immediately faced criticism from licensed medical providers who showed up en masse at the rally, holding signs reading “Support Evidence-Based Health Care”, “Encourage Immunizations” and “Protect Medicaid.” 

Dr. Steven Crawford, chair of the Oklahoma Alliance for Healthy Families, said it would be “disastrous” for children’s health to remove fluoride from water.

“We do know that appropriate public water fluoridation prevents cavities,” he said. “And how do you help children get better nutrition when they don’t have adequate dentition or teeth to be able to eat the food? So I am so sad that the governor is advocating removing appropriate fluoride from public water.”

Crawford, who practices medicine in Oklahoma City, said fluoridation of public water and immunizations are two of the major health benefits over the past century and have been critical to improving the state’s and nation’s health outcomes.

He said removing candy and sugary drinks from the list of approved food stamp items isn’t inappropriate, but Stitt neglected to mention that many recipients already don’t get enough resources to be able to buy healthy foods. The governor also didn’t discuss increasing food stamp funding to ensure children are getting adequate nutrition, particularly during the summer months when they are not eating at school, he said.

Click to finish the story.

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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

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

• Nex Benedict's mom sues Owasso Public Schools for wrongful death, discrimination (2 News Oklahoma)

• Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics report reveals emerging drug trends in state (KOSU)

• Meet the new group in charge of millions in state money to help pregnant women after Oklahoma banned abortion (The Frontier, StateImpact Oklahoma)

• SCOTUS ruling on Medicaid, Planned Parenthood, could impact Oklahomans, lawmaker says (KGOU)

• Governing board approves tuition hikes for most Oklahoma colleges and universities (Oklahoma Voice)

• Oklahoma State Board of Education admits error in student transfer vote (Oklahoma Voice)

• Tulsa hardware store closing for good after 46 years in business: 'Hard to see them go' (News On 6)

• Three Ada teens save 4-year-old girl after she nearly drowned (KXII)

• After weekend violence, Greenwood remains unsettled (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Edmond says 'unclean hands' took it to court over multimillion-dollar job bidding dispute (The Oklahoman)

• Oklahoma State Board of Education members request more review time before votes (Tulsa World)

• OKC Thunder selects Northwestern's Brooks Barnhizer 44th overall in 2025 NBA Draft (The Oklahoman)

• Lucky fans live out dream of meeting Alex Caruso during his 'shift' at Raising Cane's (KOCO)

• Arvest Bank launches Greenwood Rising debit card (Black Wall Street Times)

• Plainview hires former OU coach Sunny Golloway to lead their baseball program (Ardmoreite)

• Juneteenth sparks review of museums, slavery’s impact (Cherokee Phoenix)

• Harrah closes community storm shelter, citing risk concerns (KOCO)

• Muskogee City Hall called musty, inaccessible, outdated (Muskogee Phoenix)

• Sapulpa residents in need get fans from OG&E (Sapulpa Times)

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