Monday, September 21, 2026 • Finally, cooler. 84-85. ⛅

We received 223 votes on the Saturday poll, “Tulsa Public Schools is weighing $12 million in cuts. What should be protected first?”

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Classroom teachers and class sizes (71)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Arts, music, and athletics (7)
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By Paul Monies, Oklahoma Watch
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After a regulatory settlement over unpermitted dams, the fight over water near Cedar Lake in Canadian County now moves to who can use water from streams that feed the lake.

The Oklahoma Water Resources Board on Tuesday approved a dam safety consent order with companies connected to former lawmaker Glenn Coffee and his family. The settlement stemmed from a complaint by Cedar Lake residents that Coffee’s family built several unlicensed dams that they said affect lake levels and domestic water wells. 

Coffee and his father, Virgil, own neighboring land through two companies, C&F Ranch LC and Coffee Grounds LLC. In March and April, they filed applications for stream permits to take water from an unnamed stream that feeds several Coffee farm ponds and Cedar Lake. 

The stream applications kicked off a separate regulatory review process from the dam complaint and resolution. 

Western Sportsman Club, the private company that owns Cedar Lake, already has a permit to take water from the stream that dates to 1960. The club was among more than 400 landowners downstream of the Coffee farm ponds who must be notified of the new stream permit applications. 

Two of the Coffee water permit applications are upstream of Cedar Lake. OWRB officials said they are still waiting on additional information from Coffee’s representatives before an official public notice goes out about his pending applications for stream surface water. That would start the clock on any protests by other landowners. 

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