Latest news with #OklahomaCityZoo
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Quit ‘monkeying around' and pass tax cuts, Stitt tells Oklahoma Legislature
A white-faced monkey is pictured in a tree at Silvestre Cipancí Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica on May 10, 2025. (Photo by Jacob Fischler/States Newsroom) OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt accused lawmakers of acting 'bananas' and wrote over the weekend that they needed to stop 'monkeying around' and pass tax cuts. The Republican, who has ramped up his calls for income tax cuts in recent days, appeared to try to poke fun at lawmakers as he vetoed legislation creating a special license plate benefitting the Oklahoma City Zoo. He also on Saturday signed a number of measures, including one that could ban some drag shows. Senate Bill 837 would have allowed Service Oklahoma to enter an agreement with the Oklahoma Zoological Society to use its logo. The Oklahoma Zoological Society, a nonprofit which supports the Oklahoma City Zoo, would receive not more than $20 for each plate sold. The measure, which also created a motorcycle plate for Tulsa's Greenwood Historical District and allowed $27 of the fee paid for the plate to go to the Tulsa Juneteenth Festival, was one of seven bills he vetoed on Saturday. 'It's bananas that our Legislature has time to dedicate to creating more novelty license plates but doesn't have the time to pass tax cuts,' Stitt's veto message said. 'The Legislature should stop monkeying around and address the elephant in the room. It is time to boa (sic) up and pass tax cuts.' Oklahoma has over 200 specialty license plate options ranging from those that honor the military to those supporting various colleges, occupations, groups and causes. One of those is for the Tulsa Zoo. 'The Legislature's overzealous commitment to vanity license plates has resulted in a bloated catalogue full of taxpayer funded advertisements for special interest groups,' Stitt wrote. Stitt has been pushing lawmakers to reduce the state's 4.75% income tax rate and find a way toward elimination. In the past week, he's posted social media videos praising 17 state senators, who he said support cutting taxes, and of school-aged children, being urged on by an adult, chanting 'tax cut, tax cut' on his official Facebook page. Stitt used social media to explain why he had signed other measures, including House Bill 1217, calling it a 'no brainer.' 'We are basically banning drag shows in front of kids,' Stitt said. House Bill 1217 makes it a crime to engage in adult performances that have obscenity, or permit them, on public property where a minor could view them. 'Go check out and see who voted against that bill,' Stit said. 'Crazy.' Critics said the measure is unconstitutional. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
OKC Zoo launches initiative to dim lights for migrating birds
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — An initiative called 'Lights Out Oklahoma,' proposed by the Oklahoma City Zoo, is working to limit light pollution and help birds migrate through the state safely during spring and fall. 'The effort is to turn off or down unnecessary exterior lights to help birds that are migrating through the state,' said Greg Heanue, the Chief Marketing Officer for the Oklahoma City Zoo. Oklahoma is a hot spot for migrating birds, with spring migration right around the corner, starting April 15 through May 15. Downtown Oklahoma City road closures begin ahead of Festival of the Arts 'When birds have completed their spring migration, those exterior lights are okay to be turned on. But you know, the benefit of turning your lights off not only is helping the birds, but also it saves you energy,' said Heanue. For those at home not wanting to turn off their lights, Inger Giuffrida, the Executive Director of Wildcare Oklahoma, said homeowners can shield lights to only point in a downward direction. 'No one needs to protect anything coming from the sky,' Giuffrida said. Those who may be curious about downtown lights and bright stadium bulbs, the goal isn't to take the lights away, but to turn them off when residents won't be awake to see them. 'The stadium lights, the building lights that celebrate the Thunder's win, just turn them off after 11 p.m., and that's going to make an enormous difference,' Giuffrida said. Downtown is known for bright light attractions like the Paycom Center, the top of the First National building, and the Devon Tower. News 4 reached out to the city to see if they plan to dim any lights. We are waiting to hear back. However, the OKC Zoo is all in. 'We're walking the walk. So we will be turning off or down all of our unnecessary exterior lights, including here on our administrative building,' said Heanue. 'It's just about, you know, exercising some compassion towards other things that live on this earth with us,' said Giuffrida. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Joke's on you: Some of the best (and worst) April Fool's pranks pulled in Oklahoma history
Every April 1, people around the world have to watch out for pranks, schemes and jokes that signal the cheesiest holiday of the year: April Fool's Day. While April Fool's pranks in the internet age have become a common way to meme yourself (or your company) into global virality, the day has a rich history going back centuries. Oklahoma has seen its fair share of decent jabs. Here are some April Fool's Day pranks from Oklahoma history. Prank calls were all the rage back in the 1990s, and the Oklahoma City Zoo fell victim to some of that light-hearted pranking. The jokesters would leave messages with people urging them to call a phone number and ask for an individual. Unbeknownst to the target, they would be calling the Oklahoma City Zoo. The message asked them to return a call from Don Key. Or Ellie Phant. Sometimes it was Flo Mingo. Zoo staff told The Oklahoman that they sometimes fielded 500 calls on April Fool's Day. That is, until they set up a recorded line to deter the unsuspecting prank callers. Mike Steely, host of The Sport Animal's Morning Animals show, made the surprise announcement in 1994 that the University of Oklahoma Sooners would be recruiting an Amish tailback from Pennsylvania who had "built up his arms churning butter and building barns." The player, Steely reported, was named Zechariah Leviticus. He told his audience that there was no game film since the Amish believed that captured video would capture your soul. Stretching the joke a bit, he also said that OU agreed to send Leviticus to nearby road games on a horse and buggy instead of on modern transportation. Oklahomans' sense of humor even dates back to before statehood. On April 1, 1905, local pranksters convinced some of the most prominent people in Enid to attend what was later dubbed a "Sucker's Convention." According to a retelling of the complicated joke in the Enid News & Eagle, the town jailer came across an empty beer bottle near the jail. In those days, apparently, it was common to refer to empty bottles as "dead soldiers." The prank began when the jailer convinced an attorney friend that a dying soldier was in the jail and wanted to write down his will. Once the attorney arrived, he found the bottle tucked neatly under blankets inside of a cell. The pair decided to continue the joke, and convinced at least nine other local attorneys to rush to the jail for the same reason. Next it was time to prank doctors, who were told of a nasty fight. Seven of them hurried to the jail. By the end of the day, the prank would also snag local bankers, a man known to be a gunfighter, the funeral director, and a local grain dealer. The editor of Enid newspaper, hearing about a "hot story" developing at the jail, arrived in time to document the events. Not every prank has a happy ending. In April 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was ramping up and kids were being sent home from school, a newspaper in Sapulpa published an article online that warned parents that the school year would need to be repeated. The article didn't stay up for long, and the Sapulpa Times issued this apology: "The story was meant as an innocent April Fools' Day joke and was an attempt to draw some humor into a time where it's sorely needed. In hindsight, publishing the story was a mistake and the joke was not funny to a lot of the anxious parents and teachers who are dealing with preparing for distance learning next week. We sincerely apologize for any grief or stress the story may have caused." In 2022, the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office announced it would be retiring its K-9 officers in favor of a new feline program. Staff Sgt. and "feline handler" Bradley Wynn debuted two of the new police cats, reportedly named Cujo and Bloodfang, in a Facebook video. UPDATE: April Fools! We do want to thank the OKC Animal Shelter for providing us with "Black and white tactical police cats". Their names aren't really "Cujo" and "Bloodfang". In fact, we had to edit all of the purring and loving they were giving us during filming. Both of these fine feline actors are available for adoption along with their kitty and doggy friends. Please reach out to the OKC Animal Shelter at (405) 297-3100, or visit them at 2811 SE 29th in OKC and welcome a new furry friend into your family!The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office is proud to announce we will be phasing out our K-9 program, and replacing it with a Feline program. The three black and white police felines we are purchasing will take part in an extensive, 10 month training program in Colorado at a cost of about $10K each, paid for through a federal Homeland Security grant. "The ancient Egyptians worshipped cats because of their loyalty and grace, but also because of their keen sense of smell that led them to find spices that were used back then." Feline handler, SSgt. Bradley Wynn explained, "We are capitalizing on those natural abilities to produce the best tactical feline program in the country. It's the future of policing!" Posted by Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office on Friday, April 1, 2022 "The ancient Egyptians worshipped cats because of their loyalty and grace, but also because of their keen sense of smell that led them to find spices that were used back then," Wynn explained. "We are capitalizing on those natural abilities to produce the best tactical feline program in the country. It's the future of policing!" This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: April Fool's Day pranks: The best (and worst) in Oklahoma history
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Artists wanted: Deadline nears for OKC Zoo license plate design contest
Ready to see your art hit the road? Time is running out. The Oklahoma Zoological Society has launched a design contest for a new specialty license plate in honor of the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Feb. 21. They're asking for talented Oklahoma-based artists to submit their original design for a license plate representing the OKC Zoo. The contest's winning design will become an official Oklahoma license plate that will help raise awareness, funds, and support for the OKC Zoo's mission. More: Oklahoma's top 10 specialty plates, from 'In God We Trust' to 'Don't Tread on Me' 'We're excited about this campaign and engaging our state's talented artists to help inspire action for the OKC Zoo,' said Mandy Heaps, OZS executive director. The OKC Zoo cares for more than 1,000 individual animals and nearly 330 species from around the world. Contest entries should be original illustrations that artistically showcase the OKC Zoo's current animal family, including anticipated additions such as African penguins coming in spring 2027 as part of the Shore to Sea exhibit that will also house California sea lions and harbor seals. Artists are encouraged to highlight Zoo wildlife that aren't currently represented in existing Oklahoma license plates. License plates designed to support other organizations already feature bison (Oklahoma Conservation Commission), monarch butterflies (Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma) and giraffes (Tulsa Zoo). "(Specialty) license plates are extremely popular and we know that people take pride in acknowledging a favorite cause or organization, and soon, they will have the opportunity to support our beloved zoo," Heaps said. "We hope this effort provides ongoing support for the zoo while creating a fun cause that generations of fans can get behind." The Oklahoma Zoological Society will form a selection committee to review all art submissions and select designs ahead of the semi-finalist round. Later this spring, the public will have an opportunity to vote on the final list of selected designs and choose their favorite to become an official Oklahoma license plate for the OKC Zoo. The winning license plate design will be revealed by May 1 and which will be available to the public for purchase at a later date. For contest guidelines and rules and to upload official art submissions, visit Contest entries will be accepted through Friday, Feb. 21. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Zoo license plate design contest deadline is Feb. 21
