Latest Oklahoma Headlines

All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Improved Tornado Forecasting Doesn’t Prevent All Deaths

Mar 8 2019 // Sometimes in forecasting tornadoes, you can get everything technically right, and yet it all goes horribly wrong.Three days before the killer Alabama tornado struck, government severe-storm meteorologists cautioned that...

Despite Improved Tornado Forecasting, Deaths Continue

Mar 7 2019 // Sometimes in forecasting tornadoes, you can get everything technically right, and yet it all goes horribly wrong.Three days before the killer Alabama tornado struck, government severe-storm meteorologists cautioned that...

Drug Companies Seek Delay in Oklahoma Opioid Trial

Mar 7 2019 // Pharmaceutical companies have asked for a 100-day postponement of an Oklahoma trial accusing them of fraudulently marketing drugs that have fueled the nation’s opioid crisis.Several states have filed lawsuits against...

Ryan Specialty Group Closes Acquisition of Oklahoma’s Westphalen Insurance

Mar 5 2019 // Chicago-based Ryan Specialty Group LLC has acquired the assets and operations of Westphalen Insurance Services Inc. (Westphalen), an independently owned wholesale insurance brokerage with offices in Edmond, Oklahoma.The...

Oklahoma’s Tulsa County Will Pay $350K in 2009 Jail Death Lawsuit

Mar 1 2019 // Tulsa County has reached a $350,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed by the estate of a local jail inmate who hanged himself in his cell a decade ago.The settlement was agreed to last week with Carolyn Cox, the mother of...

State Agency Shifts Focus as Medical Marijuana Demand in Oklahoma Rises

Mar 1 2019 // The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority has temporarily closed its customer service center to free up more staff to respond to the high volume of applications for medical marijuana cards.The number of applications...

Ohio DOT Seeks OK for Conditions-Based Variable Speed Limits

Feb 26 2019 // Ohio’s Department of Transportation is seeking permission to apply changes in speed limits anytime statewide.The department currently is allowed to impose variable speed limits based on road conditions on only a few...

Fire Severely Damages Downtown Businesses in Guthrie, Oklahoma

Feb 24 2019 // Multiple fire crews are responding to a blaze that has badly damaged businesses in Guthrie, north of Oklahoma City. Firefighters battled to contain a structure fire Saturday afternoon after officials say it consumed two...

Winter Weather Advisories in Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas

Feb 19 2019 // A storm system could yield snow and ice in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS issued a winter weather advisory for Tuesday through Wednesday morning for parts of western Texas,...

South Central Ratings Roundup

Feb 18 2019 // Credit Ratings of Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual Group UpgradedRatings agency AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B++ (Good) from B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings to “bbb” from...

Fire Danger High in Oklahoma, Texas Panhandles

Feb 13 2019 // Forestry officials say conditions in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles are ideal for sparking wildfires.Oklahoma Forestry Service officials say danger levels are high Monday in western Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Panhandle....

Ryan Specialty Group to Acquire Oklahoma’s Westphalen Insurance Services

Feb 12 2019 // Chicago-based Ryan Specialty Group LLC has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the assets and operations of Westphalen Insurance Services Inc. (Westphalen), an independently owned wholesale insurance brokerage...

Bus Video Shows Oklahoma Principal Used Phone During Texas Crash, Attorney Says

Feb 11 2019 // An attorney said video will show that an Oklahoma elementary school principal was using his cellphone when he crashed a bus filled with students in Texas, injuring 27 passengers — a charge the principal has denied.David...

AM Best Upgrades Credit Ratings of Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual Group

Feb 6 2019 // AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B++ (Good) from B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings to “bbb” from “bbb-” for the members of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Group:...

Crude Oil Spills in Northern Oklahoma; Cleanup Underway

Feb 5 2019 // Crews are working to contain thousands of gallons of crude oil that leaked into a creek in northern Oklahoma.Oklahoma Corporation Commission spokesman Matt Skinner said oil extends for about five miles in Black Bear Creek...

Business Moves

Feb 4 2019 // China Re, Chaucer, HanoverChina Reinsurance (Group) Corp. has completed the 100 percent equity acquisition of Chaucer Holdings Ltd. – the major portion of Hanover Insurance Group’s Lloyd’s international...

Cybersecurity Expert Tapped for Oklahoma’s Top Emergency Management Post

Feb 1 2019 // Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has appointed a longtime cybersecurity expert as the state’s new director of the Department of Emergency Management.Stitt announced the hiring this week of Mark Gower to lead the agency that...

Cleanup Underway After Massive Oklahoma Oil Spill

Feb 1 2019 // Crews are working to contain thousands of gallons of crude oil that leaked into a creek in northern Oklahoma.Oklahoma Corporation Commission spokesman Matt Skinner said the oil extends for about 5 miles in Black Bear Creek...

Normandy Insurance Enters Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Market

Jan 30 2019 // Florida-based workers’ compensation carrier, Normandy Insurance Company, has expanded into Oklahoma and is now offering workers’ comp coverage to small, mid-size and large businesses in the...

Louisiana Joins Oklahoma in Seeking Premium Payment Relief for Government Workers

Jan 25 2019 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner James Donelon on Jan. 25 issued a bulletin to insurers operating in his state, asking that they help out policyholders affected by the federal government shutdown by “exercising...