Muskogee County leaders announced today the Bass Reeves Memorial Public Safety Complex, a transformative investment in public safety that will enhance emergency response times, reduce costs, and modernize aging facilities for first responders throughout the County.

The $27.8 million, 60,000-square-foot complex will house operations for Muskogee County EMS, Muskogee Police Department, the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office, City of Muskogee Fire Department, 911 dispatch, city and county Emergency Management, and the Muskogee County Fire Tax Board. Its downtown location near 6th and Columbus will allow for faster emergency response and improved coordination among agencies. The facility will include bay areas, storage facilities, classrooms, and administrative offices.  

WASHINGTON — FEMA announced today that federal disaster assistance has been approved by President Donald J. Trump and is available to the state of Oklahoma to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding from Nov. 2-5, 2024.

FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during and after disasters.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond today in a release is urging legislators to significantly strengthen government transparency by passing House Bill 2163. His push for the measure comes during Sunshine Week, an annual event spotlighting the importance of public records and open government.

Authored by Rep. John Pfeiffer and Sen. Brent Howard, HB 2163 would statutorily create the Public Access Counselor unit in the Office of the Attorney General to review complaints where the requester believes a state department, board or commission has not addressed the request in a timely and reasonable manner.

Let’s hope this includes the Attorney General’s own office that is years past due in responding to this publication’s request for information on the unsolved Gertrude Marshall Blakey murder now over 44 years ago. The Tulsa Police Department will not release the file, claims the investigation is ongoing, but no investigation is being done. Someone is lying like a snake in the grass.

Oklahoma’s initiative-petition process allows voters to determine major policy issues, but some system flaws have become apparent. That’s why Oklahomans should support bringing greater transparency to the petition process.

Under Senate Bill 1027, the initiative-petition process would have to include clear language, transparent reporting of funders, and buy-in from a wider swath of Oklahoma. None of these ideas should be controversial.