What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is Thursday, July 24, and for what it’s worth, I’m not bored.

Did you see the report that The Oklahoman has been writing about, the one that had Oklahoma City and Tulsa atop the list for the most boring cities in the United States?

Here’s the full list if you’re interested from Finance Buzz, and to save you the click: Jacksonville, Florida, is No. 1, the most boring city in the United States, followed by Wichita, Kansas, our neighbor to the north.

The factors that went into this?

• Demographics: Share of residents 65+, young adults 20–34, and international visitors per capita.

• Attractions: Sports teams, arcades, amusement centers, and highly rated tourist spots per capita.

• Nightlife & events: Number of nightclubs, concert venues, and festivals per capita.

• Food scene: Presence of top-rated Yelp spots, Michelin and James Beard restaurants per capita, and percentage of chain restaurants.

• Outdoors: Access to parks, favorable climate, hiking trails per capita, and walkability.

Who did they ask exactly? Only young people? I would agree that a thriving populous between 20-34 signifies upward mobility and a city on the rise. Fair.

But then let’s look at sports teams. We have the NBA Champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. No offense to my Oklahoma State readers, but Oklahoma also has one of the most storied football teams in the history of the sport, the Oklahoma Sooners.

Side note: Don’t laugh, but OSU is pretty darned good all-time, too. And Pistol Pete gave us Barry Sanders, the greatest running back ever to play the sport.

The nightlife is about to get much better in OKC once the new arena is built because the area around it downtown is about to boom — and Tulsa has long been a sleeper city in this category, at least for live music.

But I get it. It’s not NYC, LA or Vegas.

Not to be too defensive, but Chef Andrew Black has put Oklahoma City on the map in the food space, as has Florence Kemp who won the Beard award in 2022. Black won it the year after. I can’t speak as much to Tulsa since I live in Oklahoma City, but I would argue the food scene in this city is actually underrated.

I should write about it more. Message me and tell me where I should go.

The one category here I would agree with is access to parks and walkability. That’s a big deal, and while Oklahoma City and Tulsa are getting better, it’s not quickly enough for my taste. Plus, with as large as Oklahoma City is in terms of area, the fact that we don’t have some kind of light rail system is a drawback.

But I wouldn’t say that makes us boring, just overly dependent on our vehicles.

And the climate? What’s boring about that!? (Sarcasm)

I had the delight of working with David Payne for nearly eight years (not sarcasm - he’s awesome), and he is Mr. Rock-n-Roll when it comes to weather because in this state, it’s anything but boring. (Fire up!)

I guess it just comes down to priorities, and at the age of 54 I don’t mind “boring.”

Heck, when I saw that Jacksonville was No. 1, my first reaction was …

Beach. Ahhh…

The beach is never, ever boring.

To each their own.

You can message me anytime at [email protected].

Weather Update ☀️

Sunny and hot, but there are storm chances late in the day.

🌡️ Thursday's high in OKC 95°
🌡️ Thursday’s high in Tulsa 96°

Missing, murdered Native American cases delayed as police struggle to work together

By Elizabeth Caldwell, Oklahoma Watch
Click to read the story.
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The most important part of 28-year-old Brandon Hummel’s life was his two children, according to his mother.

“I know in my heart he’s probably not alive anymore because he never would’ve stayed away from those kids this long, or me,” Deana Floyd said.

Floyd left Hummel, a Choctaw citizen, and her other son at home for a trip out of town in January 2024. Hummel stayed in Atoka while his brother reported going to the movies in Ada. When the family returned, Hummel had vanished.

“Yeah, he made mistakes, but through it all, he loved them kids,” Floyd said. “He was just a down-to-earth guy. Even when he got in trouble with the police before, they all liked him. It wasn’t like he was a bad guy or anything, he just had some issues that he got in trouble for.”

Hummel had a track record of leaving home without a lot of communication, so Floyd didn’t contact authorities to report him missing until a month passed. What followed, she said, was a disorganized and lackluster performance from law enforcement resistant to cooperation.

The first organization involved in the search for Hummel was the Atoka County Sheriff. Floyd said the agency initially responded, but passed the case to Choctaw Lighthorse police without further involvement. That was something new, Floyd said, because the sheriff helped the family before.

“When [Brandon] was in his addiction, they didn’t have a problem coming out and arresting him and taking him to jail,” Floyd said. “He was in their jail before.”

Things changed in Oklahoma after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the McGirt case. That 2020 decision drastically altered the state’s legal landscape, finding much of the eastern portion to be reservation land. As a result, cases that the state would have previously handled were scheduled for tribal or federal courts.

“I think this law that they passed is ridiculous,” Floyd said. “They just want to shove everything over to the [Bureau of Indian Affairs] or the Lighthorse. If they’re Indian, they want nothing to do with it.”

Click to finish the story.

Cole balancing local promises, Trump cuts in NOAA budget fight

By Kylie Caldwell, Gaylord News
Click to read the story.

WASHINGTON– Despite recommending the restoration of nearly $1.3 billion in previously threatened funds, a spending plan prepared by a House appropriations subcommittee would still cut $380 million from the budget of NOAA– jeopardizing key weather and climate programs even as it backed away from deeper reductions sought by the Trump administration.

The outcome of that discussion could be critical for the University of Oklahoma and hundreds of its employees.

NOAA currently provides roughly 20% of University of Oklahoma’s research funding.  At the university’s Norman campus alone, NOAA supports 73 active projects totaling $274 million, with $28 million spent annually. In total, the agency has contributed to over 240 research projects in the past decade  and supports more than 900 jobs in the area.

While Trump’s original proposal aimed squarely at dismantling federal climate efforts, the House subcommittee version offers less detail but still includes language to “terminate a variety of climate-related research, data and grant programs.”

“The 6% reduction in funding all but ensures that NOAA will continue mass layoffs, paralyzing the agency’s ability to respond to the environmental, ecological and extinction crises,” Rachel Rilee, oceans policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Arizona, said in a statement.

The cuts could severely impact efforts at the Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations, the largest research center at the University of Oklahoma.

Other research institutions including NASA, the National Science Foundation and grant programs like National Institute of Standards and Technology Circular Economy initiative are also facing proposed cuts or full elimination under the subcommittee’s markup of the bill.

U.S. Rep Tom Cole (R-Moore), the chair of the House appropriation’s committee whose district includes many operation centers under the NOAA umbrella, has promised protections for Oklahoma’s weather infrastructure and the people behind it.

Click to finish the story.

The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

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

• Muscogee high court rules 1866 treaty requires Freedmen citizenship, strikes ‘by blood’ language (NonDoc)

• Walters asks Oklahoma Supreme Court to lift lawsuit stay to purchase classroom Bibles (KGOU)

• Richard Glossip denied bond as he awaits new trial (NonDoc)

• Supreme Court upholds Lankford’s terrorism victims law in unanimous ruling (News 9)

• Tulsa County holds first resentencing hearing under Oklahoma Survivor’s Act (Tulsa Public Radio)

• Oklahoma student proficiency expected to drop this year (Oklahoma Voice)

• As Oklahoma wants to ban junk foods from SNAP, federal changes loom (KOSU)

• Anti-abortion group backs law putting restrictions on Oklahoma’s initiative process (Oklahoma Voice)

• Pinnell hopes Route 66 ‘bridge’ for fearful international travelers in time of Trump (Tulsa Public Radio)

• Tulsa police confirm investigation into former East Central High School teaching assistant (Tulsa World)

• Owasso murder-suicide: Police say shooter killed woman, then himself (Tulsa World)

• Targeted robbery leads to death of Canadian citizen at Pottawatomie Co. marijuana grow (KFOR)

• 21-year-old man jailed after admitting to shooting girlfriend’s husband in Edmond (KOCO)

• Oklahoma lawmaker looks to address youth homelessness (The Frontier)

• Victim's family speaks out after Achille man's murder (KTEN)

• Unresolved issues: Ardmore City Schools fields questions from parents about allegations made against district (Ardmoreite)

• Former Senator, Hugo city manager arrested by Hugo Police (Hugo Daily News)

• Blackwell teen accused of second degree rape (Kay News Cow)

• U.S. Senate candidate Jasmine Thomas to visit Okmulgee (Okmulgee Times)

• Ethan Holliday signs with Rockies, landing top bonus for high school player, per report (The Oklahoman)

• New Broken Arrow amphitheater now targets summer 2026 opening (Tulsa World)

• Why are catfish wearing green tags in Grand Lake? (News On 6)

• Bartlesville business owner paying tribute to Ozzy Osbourne following his death (Fox 23)

• Pryor Police warn public about interstate car burglary, check fraud ring (Fox 23)

• Local churches ensure school supplies for Waurika elementary students (KSWO)

• Kiowa Casinos holds grand opening ceremony for the Elk Creek Kiowa Casino (KSWO)

• Land sale may bring grocery store to downtown Lawton (The Lawton Constitution)

• OKC's Boardwalk at Bricktown set to break ground soon (KOCO)

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