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Dep. Sheriff Red Edgman, Dep. Sheriff Dave Harlan, Sheriff Orin Johnston and Henry Troup break up a still near Purcell, Oklahoma in 1933.
Purman Wilson Collection / Oklahoma Historical Society

'Born Sober,' But Always Plentiful: How Oklahoma Got Its Liquor Laws

Oklahomans are considering some of the biggest changes to the state’s liquor laws since the end of prohibition. If approved, State Question 792 would amend the state constitution and alter a system with roots planted during the days of Indian Territory. Learn more about what’s on November’s ballot Oklahoma’s liquor laws can make outsiders do a double-take. Low-point beer. No refrigeration at liquor stores, which are closed on Sundays. Looking for wine at a grocery store? Forget it. It...
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Wine bottles in The Spirit Shop in Norman
Jacob McCleland / KGOU

State Question Could Bring Wine And Cold Beer To More Places, Change Oklahoma’s Alcohol Distribution

2016 Oklahoma Voter Guide

2016 Oklahoma Voter Guide Answers Voters' Frequently Asked Questions

Universities In States That Depend On The Energy Economy Are Facing Massive Cuts

By Meghna Chakrabarti • Sep 21, 2016

Low energy prices are hurting the budgets in states that rely on a healthy demand for oil and gas. Those budget problems are trickling down to public universities.

The University of Wyoming in Laramie is dealing with a $41 million reduction in state funding over two years. In the University of Alaska system, $52 million in state support has been erased from its budget. These cuts are creating fundamental questions about the future of the institutions in states where students don’t have a lot of options for college.

Oklahoma School Boards Group Says SQ 779 Would Pay For Raises, Little Else

By • Sep 20, 2016
Stacey Haynes goes over spelling words with her third-grade class in Washington, Okla.
Brent Fuchs / The Journal Record

State Question 779 could bring in millions for schools in the Oklahoma City metro, but the proportional breakdown means the smallest districts would receive just a few thousand dollars.

‘Quake Frequency Declines, Seismic Energy in Oklahoma Increases’

By • Sep 19, 2016

Though the rate of earthquakes “has declined from its peak,” the 5.8-magnitude earthquake near Pawnee has made 2016 the most seismically active year on record “as measured by seismic energy release,” Oklahoma Geological Survey Director Jeremy Boak tells the Enid News‘ Sally Asher.

Oklahoma Districts Refile Lawsuit Over Decades-Long Property Tax Allocation Mistake

By • Sep 19, 2016
School buses are parked at the Oklahoma City Public Schools Operations Center in Oklahoma City.
Brent Fuchs / The Journal Record

For 22 years, the state miscalculated how much property tax should go back to local school districts. That means hundreds of campuses lost money over that time period, while the rest got more than they deserved.

Some Oklahoma school districts are now going after millions of dollars they say were applied the wrong way, The Journal Record’s Dale Denwalt reports:

Oil #1: We Buy Oil

By & • Sep 19, 2016

Oil is everywhere, and in nearly everything: Our phones, our clothes, our food, and our medicine. It has driven industrial progress and technology. It has shaped our civilization, powered its rise. Despite all this, oil has exacted an enormous price: our climate is changing, smog is smothering cities around the world. That all comes, in part, from burning fossil fuels like oil.

KGOU's Funding Model Works Well

By • Sep 18, 2016
I listen, I support KGOU

September 18, 2016

This is from the Manager’s Desk.

Reading about media trends can be a little scary. There are always forecasts of doom and reports of innovations that will change the world, and concerns about how to pay for it all.

For me, public radio’s long time funding model works well. KGOU produces and delivers as much quality content as the budget will allow, and you get it first without having to pay.

Then you make donations based on how well we’ve done. The more people donate, the more we can deliver in the future.

SLIDESHOW: Dozens Protest Trump’s Norman Fundraiser Before Heavy Rain Sets In

By • Sep 18, 2016
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump arrives at the home of Hunter and Kathy Miller in Norman for a fundraiser Saturday, September 17, 2016.
Brian Hardzinski / KGOU

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spent a little over an hour in Norman Saturday afternoon, courting campaign donors just a few blocks from the campus of the University of Oklahoma.

More than 100 demonstrators gathered near the private residence where the fundraiser was held, protesting Trump’s views on race, immigration, and the economy.

How College Aid Is Like A Bad Coupon

By • Sep 17, 2016

Ian grew up in Milwaukee, in an African-American family with five kids where the annual income was just $25,000. He was involved in sports and after-school activities, and spent a year working after high school to save up for college. He saw himself as a role model in his community: "They see me going to college and are like, 'Oh, he's doing something positive, he's breaking through the ceiling.' "

Trump To Visit Norman Saturday For Fundraiser With Oklahoma Business, Energy Leaders

By • Sep 17, 2016
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump appears at a rally in Oklahoma City on February 26, 2016.
Emily Wendler / Oklahoma Public Media Exchange

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will be in Norman Saturday afternoon for a fundraiser just a few blocks from the University of Oklahoma campus.

How ISIS Is Shaking Up The Once-Predictable Mediterranean Drug Trade

By & • Sep 16, 2016
Swaths of cannabis in northern Morocco. The U.N. estimates 80,000 families in the rugged northern Rif mountains make their living from growing marijuana. Their efforst have made Morocco the main hashish supplier for Europe and the world.
Abdeljalil Bounhar / AP

Since 2013, European Union officials have seized hundreds of tons of hashish, worth more than $3 billion, from 20 ships traversing a lucrative drug trafficking route across the Mediterranean.

The drugs flow through multiple countries – Morocco, Libya, Egypt, and some Balkan states – and even areas controlled by self-proclaimed Islamic State militants, who are taxing the shipments as it goes through their territory.

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