Tuesday, June 23 2026 • Storms possible late tonight into the overnight hours. Highs in the mid- to upper-80s. ⛈️

• 3 tornadoes touched down in overnight Oklahoma storms: What we know (KOCO)
• Storms leave damage just west of Oklahoma City metro (KFOR)
• Gov. Kevin Stitt extends State of Emergency, adds multiple counties after overnight storms (News 9)
• Intense storms trigger rare emergency alert in Oklahoma (Oklahoma Voice)
• Choctaw family says downed tree narrowly missed 18-month-old’s window in overnight storm (KOCO)
• Woodward County cleanup begins after overnight storms topple trees, train cars and knock out power (KOCO)
• Lawton High sustains storm damage, repairs underway (KSWO)
• Lake Eufaula, Jellystone Park area, heavily damaged during overnight storms (News On 6)
• What is a derecho? Oklahoma storm leaves thousands without power, causes severe wind damage (KOCO)
• David Payne, NOAA explains rare 100 mph winds and life-saving alerts (News 9)

Poll results:

We received 96 votes on the Monday poll, “On those occasions when you don't vote in an election, what's the reason?”

• 8 said I was out of town and didn't plan to early vote or for an absentee ballot.
• 4 said I just couldn't get away from work.
• 8 said I already know who's going to win.
• 5 said It doesn't matter. I've soured on the entire system.
• 71 said I try to always vote. If I didn't vote in an election, it's because an emergency happened.

New poll question at the bottom of today’s newsletter. (You can also suggest a poll question by emailing me at [email protected].)

By Phillip Jackson, Tulsa Flyer
👉 Click here to support this newsroom

Mayor Monroe Nichols says he is one of Tulsa’s most accessible mayors while some city councilors say he doesn’t keep them informed. Disagreements began last year when the council put off a sales tax increase vote, and tension appeared to rise again last week with a decision to shift a high-paid appointee into a more permanent civil service position.

On Thursday, the Tulsa Flyer first reported the posting of a public safety commissioner job on the city’s website that reclassified the job as civil service. Long-time Tulsa Police officer Laurel Roberts was appointed by Nichols into that newly created role after his election in November 2024 to oversee police, fire and emergency operations. It is an at-will position, meaning the person serves at the pleasure of the mayor. 

Civil service jobs come with added protections including only being fired for cause. If a future mayor eliminates the position within the civil service structure, the employee can apply for other city jobs.  

Councilors, including chair Karen Gilbert, vice chair Christian Bengel and District 8 councilor Phil Lakin, said they didn’t know of the change. Nichols pushed back, saying his public safety approach under a commissioner model has reduced the crime rate. He told the Flyer organizational decisions are within his power, and the council is aware of his public safety priorities. The council Special Budget and Project Committee at 1 p.m on Wednesday will be discussing the mayor’s moves to create positions within the civil service.

“It is unfortunate with something so important like public safety, we have folks trying to play politics on it,” Nichols said. “Councilors who say they don’t know about stuff, I don’t know what to say about that. My door is always open, my cell phone is always ready to go and my calendar is full of meetings with councilors.”

👉 Click to read the rest of the story.

Investors face a dilemma. When the S&P 500 finished its worst quarter since 2022 last month, diversifiers like bonds and bitcoin fell too.

Even with the turnaround in mid-April, analysts at Goldman Sachs and Vanguard have projected low-single-digit annualized returns from 2024-2034.

Bloomberg asked where experts would personally invest $100,000 for their March monthly edition.

One answer that surfaced for a second time? Art.

It's what billionaires like Bezos and the Rockefellers have privately used to diversify for decades.

Why?

Thanks to the world's premier art investing platform, now anyone can invest in works featuring legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso, without needing millions.

Shares in new offerings can sell quickly but...

Our subscribers skip their waitlist*

^{*According to Masterworks data. Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important Reg A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.}

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

Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:

• Report: Mullin backed kratom interests tied to Broken Arrow company (Tulsa World)*

• How an unwarranted immigration arrest began unraveling one Tulsa couple's life (Tulsa Flyer)

• Oklahoma senator named next Cleveland County Sheriff (Oklahoma Voice)

• 22 businesses forced to close as methane leak shuts down Owasso shopping center (2 News Oklahoma)

• Luther joins growing list of Oklahoma communities with data center moratoriums (KOSU)

• OKC evictions have doubled in a decade (Oklahoma Watch)

• OU paleontologists make one-in-a-million fossil discovery (Fox 25)

• Legal roundup: Indian jurisdiction DA suits stayed, American Heartland case continues (NonDoc)

• Oklahoma River partially drained south of downtown OKC for sewer repairs (KOSU)

• OKC couple wins $25,000, Ty Pennington consult from USA Today Co., Pella (The Oklahoman)*

✅ Want to partner with Oklahoma Memo? Click here.

✅ Message me anytime at [email protected].

✅ Tip jar or monthly support: @Ryan-Oklahoma-Memo (Venmo)

✅ News tips and reader comments: [email protected]

✅ NEW! Follow Oklahoma Memo on LinkedIn