Thousands of offenders in Oklahoma fail to pay what they owe on court fines and fees each year.

The reason often has less to do with defiance than with being too poor to make good on debt, some judges say.

In Oklahoma County, for example, as of August the district court had about 134,000 open cases going back to 2000 in which offenders owed a total of around $110 million, said Oklahoma County Special Judge Donald Easter.

A bill that would give Oklahoma's governor sweeping new power to appoint the heads of 10 different state entities is scheduled for a vote in a Senate committee.

The bill by Broken Arrow Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm is scheduled for a hearing Monday in his Senate General Government Committee.

It calls for the heads of 10 different state agencies and boards to be terminated effective Jan. 1 and allows the governor to name their replacements.

This week, I’m very happy to announce that we have expanded the KGOU service area a few more miles with the installation of a small transmitter near Shawnee, Oklahoma.

K286BZ operates at 105.1 FM at about 250 watts and will help fill in with a clear signal in Shawnee. It should serve the northern half of Pottawatomie County.

The dip in the land in Shawnee and generally just south of I40 was an area where both KGOU and KROU signals get very fuzzy. So this addition of this small transmitter will deliver the KGOU signal clearly into town.

Cherokee Nation leaders are lauding a guideline revision that could have impacted a bitter custody case in 2013.

The BIA's new guidelines prioritize early intervention — with services designed to prevent Native children from being removed from their homes.

The new guidelines also give state courts direction on how to locate family and tribal members for placement if a Native child can no longer safely remain in his or her own home.

Updated 3:17 p.m.

Saturday afternoon the Norman forecast office of the National Weather Service extended the Winter Weather Advisory until 6 a.m. Sunday.

Sleet will likely continue Saturday afternoon, eventually changing over to freezing rain between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. as lows fall to the upper 20s. Little to no sleet accumulation is expected.

Sunday morning there's a possibility of freezing rain before 7 a.m., but that should change over to just rain as much warmer temperatures arrive. Highs will be around 43 degrees.

Lawmakers crossed the deadline for hearing bills and joint resolutions in committees of their chamber of origin Thursday and Friday, cutting the number of measures from over 2,100 to just over 900.

By Jan. 22’s deadline for filing bills and joint resolutions to be heard during the 2015 legislative session, representatives filed a total of 1,233 measures and senators filed 828.

Oklahoma education officials say students can continue to sell snack foods in schools despite concerns that the fundraisers contribute to health problems.

State Board of Education members Thursday granted schools the ability to set local exemptions to a 2010 federal law that limits the sale of foods high in sugar or salt at schools.

The board previously allowed a limited number of fundraiser exemptions per school.

Proponents say the fundraising helps communities and that health decisions should be made locally.

Tribal members are preparing for the Osage Nation's Sovereignty Day, which is celebrated annually on March 11 to recognize the ratification of the Constitution of the Osage Nation.

The celebration begins March 11 with a gathering of Osage Nation leadership at the Osage Minerals Chambers in Pawhuska.

Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear will provide a welcome address and speech.

The second day of celebration is devoted to tribal youth, while the third is meant to honor tribal elders. The last day offers the most activities for the public.

Like the Supersonics, Seattle's two remaining elephants are being relocated to Oklahoma City.

The Woodland Park Zoo announced Friday that it will send its two endangered Asian elephants, Bamboo and Chai, to the Oklahoma City Zoo so they can be part of a larger social herd.

Critics of the zoo's elephant exhibit have argued for years that the exhibit should be closed and the elephants sent to a sanctuary in California.

Last month, the mayor and some council members also asked the zoo to move the elephants to a sanctuary.