FEATURED

Daniel Ferguson

On the Waiting List, for Life

For some people, time spent on the waiting list to get aid for developmental disabilities can seem like a lifetime. For others, it practically is a lifetime.

Government

Oklahoma’s Ratio of Women in Legislature Among Nation’s Lowest
On the floor of the Oklahoma Senate.

Women make up a slight majority of Oklahomans, but that doesn’t translate into representation in the Legislature and Congress. Oklahoma has the fourth lowest percentage of female legislators in the nation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. There are four women among 48 Senate members, and 16 women among 101 House members. Altogether, women [...]

Immigration

Immigration Bill: No Federal Health Benefits for Up to a Decade

Undocumented immigrants given temporary legal status under a new immigration bill would be denied access to Medicaid and other subsidized insurance offered under the federal health-reform law. That would mean thousands of immigrants, while  waiting for up to 10 years to be fully legalized, would likely continue turning to Oklahoma hospitals, clinics and other providers [...]

Public Money

As Energy Booms, Thousands Fail to Claim Their Share of the Wealth
oilrigCrop3

The amount of money owed to Oklahoma mineral-rights owners who can’t be located has exploded in recent years as oil and gas production increased sharply across the state. Most owners will never know that they’re missing out on their share of the state’s oil and gas boom.

Poverty

Giving the Homeless Homes, No Strings Attached
Jeff Dillard was one of the first chronically homeless people housed under the "housing first" model in Oklahoma City. Shown with him are Kristina Trujillo, his case manager, and Boopsie the dog, whom he took in from the streets.

Oklahoma City has joined Tulsa in pursuit of a seemingly impossible goal: to eliminate chronic homelessness within two years. Both are using a strategy that breaks from conventional wisdom.

Recent News

Oklahoma Watch Wins First Place in Regional Awards

An Oklahoma Watch project on Hispanic immigration was awarded first place in general news reporting in the Great Plains Journalism Awards, in which publications and news sites from eight central U.S. states compete.

The Questioner

A Degree of Difference?

Q: Does it matter that Oklahoma has relatively few teachers with master’s degrees?

An Era of Disabilities
Disability claims

Q: Why are so many more people in Oklahoma claiming disability?

In Pursuit of Quick, High-Interest Loans

Q: Are Oklahomans falling for another version of predatory loans?

Data-Driven

Locating the Uninsured
Uninsured map 2013-04-30 at 1.21.25 PM

More than a fifth of Oklahomans under the age of 65 do not have health insurance, giving the state the sixth highest uninsured rate in the nation.

Mapping Obesity in Oklahoma
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Oklahoma's struggle with obesity is well-known.