Listen Frontier: Why Trump picked Markwayne Mullin for Homeland Security
NOTUS reporter Reese Gorman discusses the firing of Kristi Noem and what Markwayne Mullin’s appointment could mean for Oklahoma’s U.S. Senate seat.
Groups that serve victims of crime in Oklahoma face shrinking funding
Oklahoma organizations serving abused children and domestic violence survivors have lost up to 80% of their federal support, even as demand continues to rise.
Outcry over 73-day prison stay spurs push to tighten Oklahoma early release program
Norman resident Sara Polston was released a few months into her eight-year prison sentence for a crash that left Micaela Borrego with a traumatic brain injury. The case is fueling a legislative effort to prevent people convicted of similar crimes from qualifying for GPS-monitored early release.
As data centers boom in Oklahoma, so does water demand
From Pryor to Stillwater and Muskogee, local officials say supplies are sufficient, even as Google alone used more than 1.1 billion gallons in a single year.
Oklahoma bill would make it easier to prosecute fentanyl overdose deaths
House Bill 2941 would require first responders to alert police, a move critics say could deter 911 calls. The bill would make any detectable amount of fentanyl a cause of death in overdoses, strengthening homicide prosecutions — even against friends who share drugs.
Kendrick Simpson executed, offers thanks to supporters but no words about the victims
Convicted of killing two men outside an Oklahoma City nightclub, Simpson thanked supporters before dying by lethal injection. A victim’s sister called the moment “the same smile that has been tormenting me for 20 years.”
Listen Frontier: Inside our investigation into Oklahoma’s lack of response to oilfield pollution
Nick Bowlin walks through the records, testing delays and injection well history that shaped his reporting on salty, oily drinking water in Oklahoma.
Salty, oily drinking water left sores in their mouths. Oklahoma refused to find out why.
State regulators discovered strong signs of oil pollution, including high levels of salt and toxic metals, in one family’s drinking water. But for two years, they repeatedly delayed basic tests to find the culprit — then closed the case.
Special Projects
Purged: Oklahoma’s Toxic Wastewater
Across Oklahoma, oilfield wastewater has continued to surface from the ground — even as regulators failed to contain it. This investigation examines how oversight fell short, how contamination spread and how families were left to navigate the consequences.
Fields of Green: A Frontier and ProPublica investigation into Oklahoma’s medical marijuana black market
Chinese criminal networks have taken over much of the illicit marijuana market in Oklahoma, stoking a wave of crime that includes violence, money laundering and human trafficking. And authorities suspect some of those involved have links to powerful forces in the Chinese state.
Shot by Shot: Tracking Oklahoma police shootings in 2024
There have been at least 25 police shootings in Oklahoma this year, at least 14 of which have been fatal.
Listen Frontier
NOTUS reporter Reese Gorman discusses the firing of Kristi Noem and what Markwayne Mullin’s appointment could mean for Oklahoma’s U.S. Senate seat.
