Oklahoma
Governor Stitt joins Bible Reading Marathon at state Capitol
Organizers of a Bible Reading Marathon at the Capitol wanted elected leaders to take a turn reading the holy book, and their hopes were realized on Wednesday.
Gov. Kevin Stitt joined the marathon before it reached its conclusion, reading several chapters of Ecclesiastes while a crowd of about 40 people gathered on the Capitol’s south plaza.
The event began on March 9 as part of the Capitol Bible Reading Marathon ministry, an initiative of Seedline International, a Brazil, Indiana-based organization. The group has held the faith-themed effort in several states and Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, Coalgate preachers David and Carol Unsell, the marathon’s Oklahoma hosts and organizers, said they viewed the inaugural event as a success. They said the readers did not encounter any problems as they read the Bible, with no commentary added.
“People were coming through word-of-mouth — they just kept coming by ― from times like midnight to 2 in the morning, and everybody was so pleasant,” David Unsell said.
He said the goal of the event was to simply read the Bible at the Capitol, “let it go out and let him bless this place, this state, and everybody seemed to be really touched by it.”
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has participated in several Christian-themed events as governor
That Stitt decided to participate is not a departure from the norm. The governor has made public avowals of his Christian faith since he began his first term as governor. He has participated in the Christian-themed National Day of Prayer service at the state Capitol at least once. In the last year or so, however, Stitt has come under fire for his statements of faith, most notably in 2022 when he was captured on video claiming “every square inch” of Oklahoma for Jesus.
Wednesday, the governor took to the podium set up on the south plaza with little ceremony and began reading. He gave a simple farewell to those gathered before leaving the event.
“Thanks everybody for being out here. God bless y’all,” Stitt told the crowd.
About 150 people signed up to read the Bible in 15-minute segments before the marathon began. The Unsells predicted it would take roughly 360 people to read the sacred text from Genesis to Revelation if it were read in the 15-minute increments.
David Unsell said people read from the Book of Psalms and other parts of the Bible on Wednesday morning because the Bible had been read from cover to cover, night and day, by then. The closing ceremony featured a brief sermon by Joe Bavor, the marathon ministry’s national director, and the crowd was asked to read the last chapter of Revelation — which concludes the Bible ― together.
More: With the words ‘In the beginning …’ a group kicks off Bible Reading Marathon at state Capitol
The Rev Tim Morlan and his wife, Lori, said they heard about the marathon on a radio broadcast and ended up taking several reading stints on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, sometimes very early in the mornings.
“We kind of heard through the grapevine about this because we didn’t know much about it,” Tim Morlan said. “But then we were just intrigued and thought the Scripture tells us that we’re to devote ourselves to the public reading of Holy Scriptures. So, we thought, what a great time to do that in a public setting in front of the Capitol.”
Lori Morlan said she felt that she was “right there in Scripture” as she was reading the text.
“I’m super emotional over it,” she said. “It just was the most exciting, wonderful thing. What a privilege to be able to speak God’s Word in public, and so it was just an expression of my faith.”
Oklahoma
Plans for Oklahoma City’s Legends Tower still alive, but developer says demand is biggest hurdle
Plans for Oklahoma City’s proposed Legends Tower are still alive, but the developer says the biggest challenge may not be federal approval, it’s whether there’s enough demand to fill it.
Developer Scot Matteson told News 9 that while discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration are ongoing, his primary concern has shifted to the market.
“We’re excited to get going,” Matteson said.
The Boardwalk at Bricktown project has been years in the making, with progress slowed in part by uncertainty surrounding its centerpiece, a proposed 1,907-foot tower that would rank among the tallest buildings in the country.
In a 2024 report, the FAA called the massive structure a potential “hazard to air navigation.”
Matteson pushed back on those concerns, saying the site is outside protected airspace zones.
“We are not in the flight pattern,” he said. “We’re outside of that zone, just like Devon Tower is.”
Still, he said the tower’s future may ultimately depend less on federal approval and more on market realities.
“It does have a lot of residential units in it, for sale and for rent,” Matteson said. “We’ll just see how the market plays out before we start construction on that.”
For now, developers are moving forward with Phase 1 of the project, which does not include the tower. That phase is expected to feature an underground parking garage, approximately 150,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, apartments, and a dual-branded Hyatt hotel. All planned buildings in the first phase would stand under 500 feet tall. He’s hopeful for a phase 2.
“We just felt that there was market demand when we looked at it and we think that demand will keep growing,” he said. “The city, population and job growth are all trending in the right direction.”
Matteson said surrounding developments could help drive demand for the project, from the future Thunder arena and MAPS 4 soccer stadium to the convention center and Riversport facilities.
“I think it’s more of a sports and entertainment district now than it was before. We believe we’ll be able to have a lot of synergies within that district.”
Groundbreaking for phase 1 is expected later this summer. Matteson said the project could eventually get a new name as developers look at rebranding.
Boom News! | ’27 WR Malahn Green Commits to Oklahoma!
Posted on: June 14, 2026
The Sooners pick up a commitment from ’27 WR Malahn Green, as we have been expecting.
Malahn Green’s recruitment to Oklahoma happened in a hurry, but it is a good example of how quickly things can move when both sides feel the fit is right. The Sooners identified the St. Louis product as a priority target after evaluating him closely this spring and summer, extended an offer, got him back on campus, and quickly moved him to the top of the board following a pair of wide receiver departures in the 2027 class. Within days, Green went from a prospect with a growing offer list to a Sooners commitment.
Part of the reason Green remains somewhat under the radar nationally is because he did not play during his junior high school season. Missing that year limited his exposure on the camp and evaluation circuit and slowed down his recruiting momentum. As more schools were able to evaluate him in person this offseason, however, his stock began to rise.
At roughly 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, he is an explosive athlete with legitimate home-run speed. He is dangerous with the ball in his hands, can create after the catch, and has the type of sudden acceleration that allows him to turn short touches into long gains. Green projects as a player who can be moved around the formation, utilized on screens, jet sweeps, and manufactured touches while also stretching defenses vertically.
His biggest strengths are his burst, change of direction, and ability to make defenders miss in space. He is the kind of player who can flip field position with one touch and gives offensive coordinators flexibility in how they deploy him.
The areas for development are fairly typical for a player with his background. Because he missed his junior season, there is less game film available than many of his peers, and he will need continued refinement as a route runner. His smaller frame also means he will have to prove he can consistently win against bigger, more physical defensive backs and handle contested-catch situations. Improving the finer details of route pacing, releases against press coverage, and overall polish as a complete receiver will be important as he progresses toward college.
For Oklahoma, though, the upside is easy to see. Green brings a dimension of explosiveness to the Sooners’ receiver room, and his quick commitment gives Emmett Jones another prospect with nice upside as OU reloads the wide receiver position in the 2027 class following a couple of decommitments.
Kenny Gajewski picked up a transfer from Utah on Saturday, and so did Josh Holliday.
Right-handed pitcher Kaden Soder announced he has committed to Oklahoma State.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, Soder was a junior this past season. In 22 1/3 innings, Soder had a 4.84 ERA with a 3-0 record and a save. He struck out 28 while walking a dozen.
This season was his first playing at the Division-I level, as the Las Vegas native spent the previous two seasons at the College of Southern Nevada (JUCO). He had a 6-3 record in his time in JUCO with a 3.68 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings. He was named his conference’s pitcher of the year as a sophomore, earning first team honors for the conference and the region.
Prior to that, Soder spent the 2023 season at Oregon but didn’t play. That was the year before OSU pitching coach Blake Hawksworth got to Eugene, but there could be a connection there nonetheless.
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