Listen Frontier

The state is deeply red, but the two most high-profile races this cycle are seemingly up for grabs. Depending on who you believe, incumbent Gov. Kevin Stitt is trailing Democrat challenger Joy Hofmeister, who has served two terms as the state’s Superintendent of schools. And Republican Ryan Walters, who is attempting to replace Hofmeister as Superintendent, is fighting for votes against Jena Nelso...

Gov. Kevin Stitt is traveling to rural Oklahoma, defending his record and hitting up the state's metro areas, stumping with national figures like Ted Cruz and Glenn Youngkin. Challenger Joy Hofmeister is on a "50-stop bus tour" preaching unity, advertising her "aggressively moderate" brand, and vowing to help "all Oklahomans." On this episode of Listen Frontier, I speak about the final days before...

Oklahoma’s primary election day led to a few surprises, a number of runoffs and some big wins that set up a number of fascinating storylines leading into the next few months. Incumbent governor Kevin Stitt won his party’s nomination, as did Democrat Joy Hofmeister, who will face Stitt in November. Stitt’s attorney general, John O’Connor, was defeated by Tulsa lawyer Genter Drummond, a vote that wi...

The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed a lower court ruling from 2021, instead deciding that Oklahoma can prosecute non-Native Oklahomans who commit crimes against tribal members on tribal land. The court’s decision overturns a previous ruling by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals that vacated the Tulsa County conviction of Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta. Castro-Huerta, a non-Nativ...

United States Senator Jim Inhofe has been a fixture in Oklahoma politics since the 1960s. But in February the 87-year-old announced he would be resigning less than two years into his most recent term. The timing of his announcement is key. Inhofe said he would stay in office until next year, meaning that Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt can’t nominate an interim replacement. Instead, a special election w...

"Critical Race Theory" has become, for some, a blanket term that can encapsulate any number of things. On this edition of the Listen Frontier podcast, Clifton Adcock talks about his most recent story, where he noted that lawmakers here were moving beyond just outlawing Critical Race Theory, and were linking other school teachings to "leftist indoctrination."

When Joy Hofmeister announced last year she would run for governor in 2022, it wasn’t a surprise. Her name had been tossed around for the last couple years as a potential opponent for incumbent Republican Kevin Stitt. But what did come as a surprise for some was that Hofmeister, a lifelong Republican, was running as a Democrat. Many wondered what that meant … would she govern as a dDemocrat? Was s...

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday gave a wide-ranging 45 minute State of the State Address, touching on a number of topics including education, criminal justice, the McGirt decision, medical marijuana but, notably, not the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On today's Listen Frontier, host Dylan Goforth discusses the speech with Frontier State Government reporter Kayla Branch.

In 2020, former McAlester Public Schools teacher Ryan Walters was appointed as the youngest Secretary of Education in Oklahoma’s history. Earlier this month, with schools ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic and the highly infectious omicron variant, Gov, Kevin Stitt announced the Guest Educator Program. It simplified the ability for schools facing COVID-19 related teacher shortages to bring in substi...

Loopholes in state residency requirements have led to an influx of out-of-state investment through ‘ghost owners.’

On this edition of Listen Frontier, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt sits down with me to talk about, among other things: Oklahoma City’s voter base, how he labels himself politically, how long he wants to be mayor, his American Indian heritage, and his thought process behind which topics he chooses to weigh in on.

The Omicron variant has not been found in Oklahoma as of this recording, though state health officials are certain it’s already spreading here.  The variant has the potential to cripple hospitals if health officials are right about its extreme transmissibility, and it is hitting the country right before millions plan to gather for the holidays. On today’s Listen Frontier Podcast, I talk...

Bigler Stouffer is set to be executed on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. 24 hours before his execution, he spoke with The Frontier about his feelings about being the second person to be executed this year following a six-year moratorium on usage of the death penalty in Oklahoma.

Dylan Goforth and Ben Felder discuss the execution of John Grant on Oct. 28, which included details that raised questions about the state's ability to resume executions without problems.

Ben Felder and Dylan Goforth discuss the parole board's recent vote to commute Jones' sentence from death to life. Jones will now wait on the governor to ultimately decide on whether to accept the commutation request.

Kassie and Ben discuss the Oklahomans behind Covid-19 death statistics, including one man who blazed a trail for Hispanic media. We also discuss the continued rollout of the vaccine and how state health officials can't account for more than $20 million in protective equipment spending, which you can read about here .

Oklahoma City police lead the state in fatal shootings and have one of the nation’s highest rates. But while police say the use of deadly force is often necessary, more charges have been filed against Oklahoma City police officers in the last 18 months than in perhaps any other time in recent history.  Recently, five Oklahoma City police officers were charged with first-degree manslaughter in...

Julius Jones has spent the last 22 years on death row but his case has drawn increasing attention from advocates who say he was wrongly convicted. On this episode of Listen Frontier, Ben Felder and Dylan Goforth discuss the Jones case and his appeal for commutation, which will go before the state Pardon and Parole Board on March 8. Recent coverage of Jones' case: Julius Jones' co-defendant admitte...

A snow storm last week stretched utility companies, delayed action at the state capitol and impacted Oklahoma’s rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. On today’s episode of Listen Frontier we will discuss all those issues, plus an effort by some lawmakers to change the state’s initiative petition process.

Kassie, Kayla and Ben discuss the start of a new legislative session, Gov. Kevin Stitt's State of the State address and the latest with the governor's push for managed care.

Ben and Kassie discuss the rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine in Oklahoma and new details on coronavirus death data.

In this episode of the Listen Frontier podcast, we journey with John Creter through his first semester as a teacher, which operated under a distant learning model for all but one week.

The Frontier's Kassie McClung discusses the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine this week and how state officials plan to distribute it in the months to come. We also hear from The Frontier's Clifton Adcock about the upcoming redistricting process that will see state House and Senate districts reconfigured around new population figures. Read more about the vaccine in Oklahoma

Kassie, Brianna, Dylan and Ben discuss Tuesday's elections and the results from Oklahoma, including Stephanie Bice's win in the 5th Congressional District, the defeat of two state questions and how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted voters.

Dr. Marsha Herron is the chief of equity and student supports for the Oklahoma City Public School district. She discussed student mobility, a challenge for the district that has only gotten worse during the COVIDF-19 pandemic.