An Oklahoma sailor in the United States Navy died during a training event earlier this week.
Navy officials said 29-year-old Lt. a.g. Aaron Fowler died while training with the Marine Corps at Marine Corps Base Hawaii Sunday in Kanehoe Bay.
Fowler was unresponsive during the training exercise. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
According to the Navy, Fowler entered the service in 2012 and later graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2018.
Fowler began reporting to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit One beginning in January 2022
Tag: Oklahoma
Oklahoma Marijuana Legalization Questions Heading To Ballot
Plans to fully legalize marijuana can proceed to the signature-gathering stage, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled, paving the way for two more cannabis plans seeking voter approval.
The high court’s ruling late Tuesday comes amid a marijuana boom in the Sooner State after voters in 2018 approved the most liberal medical marijuana program in the U.S. Nearly 10% of Oklahoma’s 4 million residents have qualified for a medical-use card, by far the highest percentage in the country.
Oklahoma Prepares For Route 66 Fest In 66 Days
KOCO:
In 66 days, people from across the world will celebrate the one and only Route 66.
Excited Oklahoma state leaders held an event at the Capitol on Wednesday, highlighting the one-of-a-kind road and the one-of-a-kind event.
“It is Americana. It is the best American road trip that you can do inside America,” Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell.
Route 66 runs from Chicago to California, with more than 400 miles stretching right through Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma has more miles than any other state,” Pinnell said.
To celebrate, AAA is hosting the National Route 66 Road Fest in June.
“No other state is going to beat Oklahoma when it comes to promoting Route 66,” Pinnell said.
Oklahoma Governor Signs Near-Total Ban On Abortion Into Law
CNN:
Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday signed a bill into law that makes performing an abortion illegal in the state, with an exception only in the case of a medical emergency.
“As governor, I represent all 4 million Oklahomans and they overwhelmingly support protecting life in the state of Oklahoma. We want Oklahoma to be the most pro-life state in the country. We want to outlaw abortion in the state of Oklahoma,” the governor said.
Oklahoma On Verge Of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
The state is on the verge of having legal recreational marijuana.
Right now there are two state questions that aim to make the legalization of recreational marijuana happen: State Question 820 and State Question 819.
State Question 820 would be a statutory amendment and it’s already been passed by the state supreme court.
And then there’s State Question 819 a constitutional amendment currently being held-up by the state supreme court.
Both of the groups behind these state questions want recreational marijuana but can’t agree on how to do it.
“We believe that peoples right and freedoms are not rights and freedoms unless they’re guaranteed in the constitution,” said Jed Green, the Director of Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action (ORCA).
Rights are inalienable and their existence does not depend upon their codification. However, it would be nice if the Oklahoma constitution respected our right to consume a flower that God made.
Dozens Of Oklahoma Veterans Fly To Washington D.C.
KJRH:
Dozens of veterans just arrived at Tulsa International Airport for their flight to Washington D.C.
It’s part of the Honor Flight Program, an organization that raises money to take veterans to visit memorials and monuments made in their honor. The Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight Program is sending 90 veterans to D.C. for free to show their appreciation for their sacrifice.
They arrived in D.C. Tuesday morning.
The veterans will tour the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Monument, Arlington Cemetery, and several others.
Monday night, they were honored for their service with a sendoff ceremony.
Victor Wheeler, President of the board for the Honor Flight, says so many vets weren’t received home the way they should. This program is his way of showing them their sacrifices are appreciated.
“There’s nothing quite like going with a veteran and seeing them with their other veteran friends that they’ve met on the trip and watching them reminisce and to take them to the memorials and the monuments in their honor,” says Wheeler. “It’s a life-changing experience for all the guardians and the veterans as well.”
Oklahoma Lawmakers Approve Near-Total Ban On Abortion
Lawmakers in Oklahoma on Tuesday approved a near-total ban on abortion, making it the latest Republican-led state to forge ahead with stringent abortion legislation as the Supreme Court weighs a case that could overturn Roe v. Wade later this year.
The measure, Senate Bill 612, would make performing an abortion “except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency” a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $100,000.
The Oklahoma House voted 70 to 14 to send the bill, which passed the Senate last year, to Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican whose office responded by noting that Mr. Stitt vowed in September to sign “every piece of pro-life legislation” that came to his desk.
If Mr. Stitt signs the bill, it would take effect on Aug. 26, according to the Senate clerk’s office.
Feds To Fund Start Of Arkansas River Deepening Work, ‘Three Rivers’ Project
KATV:
Funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has put the first significant funding in a decades-long effort to deepen the Arkansas River navigation channel to 12-feet. Much of the river system depth is now at nine feet.
On March 29, the U.S. Corps of Engineers published an addendum of projects funded through IIJA, which included $92.6 million to “initiate construction of the project.” All six members of Arkansas’ Congressional delegation voted against the infrastructure bill.
The Arkansas River system (McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation system, or MKARNS) is 445 miles long and stretches from the confluence of the Mississippi River to the Port of Catoosa near Tulsa, Okla. The controlled waterway has 18 locks and dams, with 13 in Arkansas and five in Oklahoma. The river also has five ports: Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Fort Smith, Muskogee, Okla., and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma.
A March 30 presentation by Greg Mattson, deputy chief of operations for the USACE Little Rock District, to the Arkansas Waterways Commission shows that that federal authorization of the channel was made in 2004, and the cost of that work is now estimated at $274.7 million.
Oklahoma Becomes Fourth State To Enact Anti-Trans Sports Ban This Year
CNN:
Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday signed legislation banning transgender women and girls from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender at public schools, public charter schools and public colleges in the state.
Oklahoma and Arizona, which enacted its own law later Wednesday, join three other GOP-led states that have established similar bans this year.
Massive New Wind Farm Goes Online In Oklahoma
One of the largest wind farms built in North America is now up and running in Oklahoma, providing wind power to customers in the state as well as to neighboring Arkansas and Louisiana.
American Electric Power (AEP), a Columbus-based power company, announced its Traverse Wind Energy Center began operating on March 21.
The Traverse center is expected to generate 3.8 million megawatt hours annually for AEP’s Public Service Company of Oklahoma and Southwestern Electric Power Company customers in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana — saving customers an estimated $3 billion in electricity costs over the next 30 years.
Severe Weather Timeline: When Will The Storms Reach Oklahoma?
KFOR:
The threat of severe weather returns to Oklahoma Tuesday afternoon.
There will be a LOW tornado threat with these storms.
The primary risk will be for large hail, damaging winds and flooding rainfall.
Storms will develop across Western Oklahoma Tuesday afternoon. The severe threat will begin around sunset (7-8pm).
The storms will move into the OKC Metro/I-35 Corridor around 9-10pm.
The storms will then race into Eastern Oklahoma and clear out by sunrise Wednesday morning (and yes, there will even be a chance of snow in the Panhandle).
Biden Administration Seeks To Dismiss Oklahoma Lawsuit Over National Guard Vaccine Mandate
The Biden administration is asking an Oklahoma federal court to dismiss the state’s lawsuit over the National Guard’s vaccine mandate.
In a motion filed late Friday, the government argued that the case should be dismissed “in its entirety” after U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot of the Western District of Oklahoma turned down the state’s motion for preliminary injunction against the mandate in late December, arguing then that the plaintiff’s claims were largely without merit.
The “fundamental conclusion” of Friot’s original ruling, the government argues, now requires dismissal of the case.
The Hill has reached out to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office for comment.
The motion follows a heated battle between the Pentagon and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) over the military’s vaccine mandate, which largely escalated late last year.
See also: Supreme Court Sides With Pentagon On Vaccine Mandate
Transgender Athlete Bill Heads To Oklahoma Governor For Signature
KCBY:
One day after the Oklahoma House passed its version of the Save Women’s Sports Act, a bill that would require student-athletes play on teams that match their biological sex at birth, the state Senate resurrected a similar bill from 2021.
SB 2, also known as the Save Women’s Sports Act, passed with its 2021 house amendments first thing Thursday morning by a vote of 37-7. It now goes to the governor’s desk for signature.
Oklahoma House Clears Near-Total Abortion Ban
The bill, which would incentivize private citizens to sue anyone suspected of helping a person get an abortion, would surpass Texas’ six-week abortion ban to become the most restrictive in the nation.
Tornadoes Tear Through Texas And Oklahoma Leaving Trail Of Destruction
More than a dozen people were injured on Monday when tornadoes tore through parts of Texas and Oklahoma, damaging a school, homes and businesses.
The same storm system was poised to move into Louisiana and Mississippi on Tuesday, carrying the risk of dangerous tornadoes and powerful winds.
In Texas on Monday, several tornadoes were reported along the Interstate-35 corridor, particularly in the Austin suburbs of Round Rock and Elgin and close to Dallas-Fort Worth. Unconfirmed tornadoes caused damage in the Lake Texoma area of northern Texas and southern Oklahoma.
“It Is In Oklahoma,” Doctors Paying Close Attention To Stealth Omicron Variant
KFOR:
In the U.N. health agency’s weekly report on the pandemic issued late Tuesday, WHO said there were more than 11 million new COVID-19 infections last week – about an 8% rise – and 43,000 new deaths. The number of COVID-19 deaths globally has been dropping for the past three weeks.
“COVID’s not gone,” said Dr. Dale Bratzler, OU’s Chief COVID Officer.
The biggest increase in cases were seen in the Western Pacific and Africa, where infections rose by 29% and 12% respectively. In Europe, cases inched up by about 2%.
The jump in cases is being blamed on the stealth omicron variant, which is even more contagious than the original omicron variant.
“It’s a subvariant of the original omicron. It’s even more contagious than omicron, but doesn’t appear to cause any more severe disease,” he said.
International Canoe Competition Moving From Moscow To OKC
KFOR:
On Thursday, the International Canoe Federation announced that the 2022 Canoe Sprint Super Cup and the 2022 ICF Stand Up Paddling World Cup will be relocated.
Previously, the events were set to be held in Moscow, Russia. Now, organizers say they will be relocated to Oklahoma City in August.
“When we were approached about stepping up to host the displaced events, it was a resounding yes from everyone involved,” said RIVERSPORT Foundation Board Chairman Michael Ming. “Everyone from the governor of the State of Oklahoma to David Holt, the mayor of Oklahoma City to our board members and staff wants to exemplify the Olympic ideal of using sport to build a better world.”
Organizers say the move comes after the International Olympic Committee directed that international competitions be moved out of Russia in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
Mix Of Stormy, Snowy Weather Expected Across Parts Of Oklahoma
Erratic weather patterns ushered in a frenetic springtime transition, as everything from heavy wind and hail to light rain and snow appeared in the forecast for different parts of Oklahoma overnight and into Friday morning.
An upper-level trough moved north from the Texas Panhandle and into southwestern Oklahoma Thursday afternoon, bringing colder and wetter weather after several days of warm temperatures. As the system moved into central Oklahoma, storms developed ahead of it, with meteorologists expecting high winds with possible hail in the Oklahoma City metro area.
The stormy prediction complicated an already-hectic forecast, with fire and wind advisories in southwestern Oklahoma on Thursday and snow projections for northwestern Oklahoma early Friday.
Daylight Saving Time Bill Pushed By Oklahoma Senators Passes In US Senate
KRMG:
The bill was reintroduced in 2021 by Oklahoma’s U.S. Senators James Lankford and Jim Inhofe along with other Republican and Democrat senators.
“This is one issue that I have been chipping away at for a few years, and an issue I have consistently heard from Oklahomans—they are ready to lock the clock,” said Lankford. “Today Oklahomans, parents, dog owners, and lovers of daylight are one step closer to not having to deal with springing forward or falling back,” said Lankford.
Extreme Fire Fanger Returns To Oklahoma
KFOR:
Look for clear skies and breezy winds Saturday night with lows in the middle 30s.
The weekend will continue to be warmer with a return to extreme fire danger Sunday. Expect winds to whip from the west and southwest from 25 to 40mph. In addition, very low humidity levels will combine to give us very high fire spread conditions, much like what we experienced last weekend.
A wind shift moves through Monday, bringing rain mostly to southeastern parts of the state. With warm temps continuing the rest of the week, our next chance for precip arrives Thursday night into Friday.