Stories

Officials with Oklahoma’s only refugee resettlement organization have already begun to urge Gov. Kevin Stitt to offer his approval for new refugees.

The Frontier is tracking every jail death in Oklahoma in 2019. We hope to uncover more about how and why people die in Oklahoma jails. 

The lawsuit comes after a significant increase in poultry operations in eastern Oklahoma — especially in Delaware County — beginning in late 2017 after Simmons Foods announced its plans to build a new poultry processing facility in Gentry, Ark.

Justin Xaochay Thao, 20, died in an Oklahoma City hospital after Grady County jailers found him hanging in an isolated in cell. In the time leading up to his death, Thao yelled out several pleas to jailers, video provided by the family’s attorney shows.

"We're extremely excited to add Ben to our staff," Frontier publisher Bobby Lorton said. "He's an experienced reporter with a deep knowledge of a number of topics of importance to Oklahomans and we can't wait to see the impact his reporting has on our state."

The co-founder of Save the Illinois River said Arkansas’ acknowledgement of Oklahoma’s .037 mg/L phosphorus limit was a huge step forward, but that he hoped the agreement between the two states did not result in another study that yields little or no improvement in water quality.

“Oh my God, I’m so happy,” Kisha Snider hollered and wiped the tears streaming down her face. Her cousin hugged her, then posed for a flock of television cameras, yelling: “We’re going home!”

The report, released on Monday, found a preterm birthrate of  11.4 percent  in the state, an increase compared to 11.1 percent last year

House Bill 1269 went into effect Friday morning, and within hours Gov. Kevin Stitt had signed off on hundreds of commutations.

Donations to The Frontier in November and December will be matched thanks to NewsMatch, a program that helps nonprofit journalism outlets like us raise money so we can continue to grow and do the type of reporting Oklahomans have come to count on.