Latest news with #KOSU
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oklahoma public media weighs potential loss of federal dollars
A protester holds a sign in support of federal funding for public media during a May 1, rally at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka as part of a 50501 national day of action. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) With the possibility of federal cuts to funding for public media looming, Oklahoma's media outlets are working to fight the cuts and secure revenue. President Donald Trump asked Congress to rescind, or take back, funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps to fund public radio and television across the country. Also known as CPB, it is a nonprofit entity authorized by Congress. The corporation serves as the steward of federal funding for public television, radio and related mobile and online services. Rescission of the funding would require approval from both the House and Senate. NPR and three Colorado public radio stations have sued the Trump administration in response to his request for rescission. Two of Oklahoma's public radio stations, KOSU and KGOU, are weighing how to balance their budgets if federal funds are pulled back. Dick Pryor, general manager of KGOU, said around 7% of the station's funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which most recently was more than $166,000. KGOU's other revenue comes from University of Oklahoma Outreach, individual donations and business sponsorships, he said. 'In addition to the direct funding that we receive from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, they also provide what's called interconnection services which allows us to get programming from NPR and shared programming among ourselves, including emergency notifications and they pay for and manage music licensing for stations,' Pryor said. The cost to replace these funds and services is potentially around $295,000, he said. 'One thing we don't know is how much money might we be able to raise through donations from individuals that rally behind us and want to contribute,' Pryor said. Without Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding, KGOU will have to work to reduce the cost of its programming and potentially suspend some services it provides, he said. Rural media often receives more funding through the corporation, Pryor said, so a loss of funding could be 'especially catastrophic' for those stations. At KOSU, Executive Director Rachel Hubbard has put out a series of newsletters warning of the potential effects of funding loss for the NPR member station and urging Oklahomans to contact their federal lawmakers. Rescission of funding would mean a loss of 11% of the station's budget, or a $311,000 deficit, Hubbard wrote. Like KGOU, the station would incur 'significant new costs' to pay for music rights and emergency communication infrastructure that are currently paid for with federal money. KOSU is actively searching for new funding sources, according to an article on the station's website. 'The loss would not cause the station to go away, but it would drastically cripple KOSU's ability to provide essential services, including Oklahoma news and emergency alerts for rural Oklahoma,' the article reads. 'Fundraising would also be necessary to close a budgetary gap that, if left unfilled, would undoubtedly result in a loss of services or programming.' For the 2024 budget year, 15% of the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority's budget came from Corporation for Public Broadcasting, said Garrett King, board president of the Friends of OETA, a nonprofit that raises funds and supports the station. He said it would be a 'a tragic disservice to the public' to rescind funding and asked that Oklahoma's congressional delegation stand against efforts to do so. 'Without CPB funding to local PBS stations, OETA would not be able to operate,' King said in a statement on behalf of the Friends of OETA. 'The CPB support to public television stations like OETA constitutes an indispensable 'third leg of the stool' of the federal, state, and charitable investment that keeps the station carrying out its public safety and educational work for all Oklahomans in each of our 77 counties.' OETA's network of transmitters provides the only statewide transmission infrastructure for the Warning, Alert and Response Network system, which provides 'life-saving warnings and alerts' from emergency services and U.S. armed forces during internet and cell service outages, King said. Those impact rural Oklahomans most. 'Reasonable people can agree that a frank and productive conversation can and should be had about the best way to steward and utilize the $1.60 per American per year that the taxpayers invest in the CPB,' King said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Week of heavy rain, severe storms leaves 2 dead, caps off wettest April in Oklahoma City
A week of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms capped off what turned out to be, in many parts of Oklahoma, the wettest April on record. Treacherous flooding occurred in communities across Oklahoma this week, leaving at least two dead from driving in high waters. The relentless rain also caused a patched dam to fail in northeast Oklahoma and triggered creeks to overflow, closing roads and highways across the state. One man died while caught up in floodwaters at State Highway 102 and State Highway 59B, the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Office said. In Lincoln County, 86-year-old Eileen Sanders drowned after escaping her car amid sweeping floodwaters, NBC News reported. This comes less than two weeks after Easter weekend storms left five dead: one death resulted from a tornado in Hughes County, while four others were killed after being swept away by floodwaters. The weekend should be dry and sunny before chances of showers and storms return early next week. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on April 30 declared a state of emergency for three Oklahoma counties because of continued heavy rain, flooding and severe weather that began on April 19. Cleveland, Comanche and Cotton counties are under the emergency declaration so far, and more counties are expected to be added as damage assessments are made. The emergency declaration allows state agencies to make emergency purchases and acquisitions to provide resources to local jurisdictions, and allows for the application of federal assistance if needed. Anyone impacted by the severe storms can report damage at which will allow emergency managers to coordinate the response and recovery effort. April 2025 is now the wettest April on record for Oklahoma City. Tulsa, Lawton and Duncan also broke their April rainfall records, KOSU reported. In April 2025, Oklahoma City received 12.55 inches of rainfall in total. This puts Oklahoma's rain total for 2025 at 15.54 inches, up from almost 3 inches at the start of April. Before 2025, the title was held by April 1947, which saw 11.91 inches of rain in Oklahoma City. Contributing: Josh Kelly, The Oklahoman This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Floodwaters leave 2 dead, three Oklahoma counties in state of emergency
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘All we wanted to do was our jobs': Federal layoffs felt across Indigenous communities in Oklahoma
The Osage Agency branch of Bureau of Indian Affairs is pictured. (Photo provided by Osage Nation via KOSU) Federal offices crucial to Indigenous success — Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, Department of the Interior and others— are undergoing layoffs. The Trump administration's decision to empty those seats will trickle down into Indigenous communities in Oklahoma. Paige Willett landed a job at the Bureau of Indian Education as a Communications Specialist in the summer of 2023. Willett, a Citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, was responsible for media requests, communications plans, social media and other projects such as the STEP Initiative, which helped BIE schools create websites to keep their students and parents informed. When Willett started talking about the STEP initiative, she began to get emotional. 'Obviously, I won't be a part of it anymore, which is very unfortunate and makes me sad,' Willett said in an interview with KOSU. 'It was a really big project, and one that we felt like had a lot of impact.' Willett was one of 40 BIE employees slated to be let go. The employees targeted in this layoff wave are 'probationary,' meaning they were recently hired or moved to a new position. Other federal agencies, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIE), were also affected by the layoff spree. Willett said she knew of three people who had lost their BIE jobs, all of whom had been hired around the same time. 'I think with the layoffs, Indian Country is being impacted, and these are things that were promised to Indigenous nations that should be upheld,' Willett said. 'All we all wanted to do was our jobs.' Late last month, she was faced with deciding whether to choose the deferred resignation program, and she chose to stick it out. Her mother, a public school teacher for almost forty years, instilled a passion for ensuring the next generation's success. 'I believed in what I was doing throughout my career,' Willett said. 'I have always enjoyed and had my whole heart into serving Indian Country. And getting a chance to do that for education and for students was really special.' In Oklahoma, there is one Bureau-operated school and four tribally-controlled schools: Chickasaw Children's Village, Eufaula Dormitory, Jones Academy, Riverside Indian School and Sequoyah High School. There is also one tribal college, the College of Muscogee Nation. Indian Health System workers were also supposed to be impacted by the potential wave of 950 job cuts. Still, the new Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., verbally rescinded the layoffs, as ICT reported. Though IHS workers weren't included in this round of firings, Cheyenne and Arapaho Governor Reggie Wassana explained they will still affect the surrounding community. 'I think anytime you have a large layoff of any scale, it affects the communities,' he said. 'It also affects the purchasing power of your mom-and-pop stores that people don't eat out as much. They don't shop much. … It trickles down into all stages in a community, regardless of what it is.' One of these jobs is the role of BIA Osage Agency superintendent, formerly held by Adam Trumbly. He's one of 118 BIA employees expected to lose their jobs. Trumbly, who had initially filled the position last November, told Osage News on Friday morning he'd been laid off as part of these federal cuts. 'I have been notified I will be relieved of duty effective sometime today as part of a government downsizing. It has been a pleasure working with you in my capacity as Superintendent for the Osage Agency,' Trumbly said in an email to Osage Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear. 'I will continue to assist the Osage Nation in any way I can; however, it appears as though it will no longer be in my capacity as Superintendent.' While serving as agency superintendent, Trumbly notably helped the Osage Nation with placing their historic Osage Nation Ranch into trust, a move that concluded a long acquisition battle for the tribe. Vice President of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes Tasha Mousseau said the layoffs could have a big impact on her Southwest Oklahoma community. Her tribal nation is located in Anadarko, also home to the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, the Delaware Nation and a BIA office. At this time, it's uncertain if some layoffs will be rescinded alongside IHS. What is clear, according to Mousseau, is these cuts will have a negative ripple effect on community members. 'It's a broad impact on Indian Country. Everything is related. The systems are related, the people are related,' she said. 'I think this layoff is impacting everyone because we all have family and friends who work for these institutions—and then it's impacting their little families.' This article was originally published by KOSU. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford releases ‘Playbook for DOGE'
U.S. Senator James Lankford and Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce Chair Teresa Rose discuss the senator's expectations and priorities under an incoming Donald Trump administration during the chamber's annual D.C. Spotlight event, Dec. 6 at the Oklahoma City Convention Center. (Photo by Lionel Ramos/KOSU) Oklahoma's senior U.S. Senator James Lankford has released what he calls a 'Playbook for DOGE,' the Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk. It's the latest in a series of annual 'Federal Fumbles' reports Lankford has released since 2015. 'As a founding member of the Senate DOGE Caucus, my goal is to create a roadmap for DOGE, identifying key areas within the federal government and solutions to fix them,' Lankford said in the report. Lankford released the 26-page football-themed document exclusively to Fox News. In it, he highlights improper payments in Medicaid, SNAP benefits and unemployment insurance. Lankford also claims 'the Taliban have directly received nearly $11 million in American taxpayer dollars' from USAID since 2021. The report he references from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction finds the Taliban-controlled Afghan government collected that much money in taxes, fees and duties from non-governmental organizations receiving U.S. funds. Like that finding, many of the improper payments Lankford cites were uncovered by federal inspectors general — watchdogs for agency impropriety or wrongdoing. President Donald Trump fired around a quarter of all federal inspectors general by email last week. Some of the firings are already being challenged in court for potentially violating laws that protect those inspectors from retaliation for their investigations. Lankford's playbook also calls out environmental regulation for keeping the U.S. 'behind in the rankings.' He highlights the U.S.'s lengthy permitting process for new mining operations and includes two different sections on a stalled plan to install electric vehicle chargers along the nation's interstates. Lankford also excoriates the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which receives money from Congress and distributes funds to NPR and PBS stations, for 'undercutting the home team.' 'Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for news that harms the reputation of our country,' Lankford said. Lankford isn't the only Oklahoma politician hoping to influence DOGE's actions. Gov. Kevin Stitt recently announced DOGE-OK to pare back government spending at the state level. Stitt said that's also intended to work as a playbook for Musk as he looks for ways to cut federal funds for states. 'My theory is we need to help him with that,' Stitt said at a press briefing Wednesday. 'We need to say, 'Okay, Elon, if you're going to cut 10% of what you're giving to the state of Oklahoma, here's the scalpel approach. Here's how we think we can do it efficiently.'' This article was originally published by KOSU. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Oklahoma senator pulls school-based medical services bill after backlash
Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, talks to Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, during the announcement of the newly established Oklahoma Freedom Caucus outside the Oklahoma State Capitol, Sept. 3. To their left, Sen. Dana Prieto, R-Tulsa, stands attentively. (Photo by Lionel Ramos/KOSU) Following heat from educators, parents and advocates, a bill regarding school-based medical services in schools is being pulled. Senate Bill 1017 by Elgin Republican Dusty Deevers would have disallowed medical services like occupational therapy and speech therapy from being written into students' Individualized Education Programs, which are federally backed documents that prescribe goals and methods of attainment for students with disabilities. It also would have pulled Medicaid coverage of those kinds of therapies, as well as services like eye and health exams. Opponents say the bill conflicted with federal laws like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Every Student Succeeds Act, and would have forced some parents to pay out-of-pocket for services. A petition to reject the bill has gathered more than 3,000 signatures in three days. Deevers issued a news release Wednesday afternoon announcing he was canning the bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'It has become evident that the language of SB1017 needed to more precisely reflect my intent — protecting the necessary services for our special needs students while ensuring that parental rights remain intact,' Deevers said. 'I regret any confusion or concern this has caused and sincerely apologize for the turmoil it has created.' He said the intent of the bill was to prevent Oklahoma from providing reproductive and gender-affirming care, such as in California, where students can access birth control without parental consent. Deevers said he still wants an audit of school-based Medicaid funds, and has 'secured a commitment' from OSDE to 'take a closer look' at its audits. This article was originally published by StateImpact Oklahoma. StateImpact Oklahoma is a partnership of Oklahoma's public radio stations which relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond.
