Oklahoma
It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your water is? If not, the new Oklahoma Hydronet can help
Researchers at Oklahoma State University are developing a tool that could let you find out — the Oklahoma Hydronet.
One of those researchers is Tyson Ochsner, a physicist and hydrologist at OSU. The idea for the Hydronet arose as he worked with a farmer in Southwest Oklahoma to install soil moisture sensors for smart irrigation, only to have the crops fail anyway.
“There wasn’t enough water in the aquifer to irrigate the crop all the way to the end of the season,” Ochsner said. “But he didn’t know that in advance. We don’t have a system that a person can easily check and see how much water is currently available.”
Enter: the Oklahoma Hydronet. The newly announced system will track aquifer levels in real-time across the state.
Agencies like the U.S. Geological Survey already monitor aquifers, and its data have been useful for understanding long-term groundwater trends. But the information can’t always help people with day-to-day water use decisions.
“There’s a huge lag between when that data is collected and when it can be delivered to the public, and it’s just one observation per year,” Ochsner said. “Especially for the shallower aquifers, or the aquifers that respond more seasonally, we need real-time information.”
The Hydronet aims to provide that in a way that’s easily accessible to Oklahomans, like the irrigator Ochsner worked with in Southwest Oklahoma. But the system aims to do more than track aquifers.
“As we started to talk about that, we realized it’s not just groundwater,” Ochsner said. “We need better monitoring of our soil moisture and also our reservoirs.”
State and federal agencies already collect data on water levels in larger lakes. But Oklahoma is home to thousands of smaller reservoirs, many of them on private land. With cooperation from landowners and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Hydronet will keep track of water levels in many of those reservoirs. Researchers are particularly interested in seeing how those respond during hydrological extremes, like flooding and drought.
The Hydronet has funding for the next two years, but Ochsner hopes it will grow into a long-lived, world-class system. The Hydronet is working with and drawing inspiration from its weather-monitoring cousin, the Oklahoma Mesonet, which just celebrated its 30th birthday.
Ochsner calls the Mesonet “the envy of many states” and says he sees the Hydronet as a new opportunity for Oklahoma to lead.
“We’ll be adding these groundwater and surface water pieces and then integrating them together,” Ochsner said. “I’m not aware of any system like that that currently exists in any other state, nor in the world for that matter.”
He expects water data to go live in summer of 2025.
Oklahoma
The Spring adds immersive walkthrough to annual Encounter Hope gala in Sand Springs, Oklahoma
TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — A Tulsa-based nonprofit is adding an immersive, walkthrough experience to its annual fundraising gala, aiming to give attendees a closer look at what survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking face — and how support services can help.
The Spring, which provides services to people impacted by domestic violence and human trafficking, will feature the walkthrough as part of Encounter Hope, its annual gala set for April 9 at the Arvest Convention Center.
The experience is designed to guide guests through the story of an abuse survivor across four stages of interaction with The Spring: the inciting incident, the crisis call, time at the emergency crisis shelter, and moving into safety.
“The idea is really to put you in the shoes of the people that we serve every day,” Allison Wells,
The Spring’s events and environments coordinator, said. “It’s easy to throw out stats about violence and trafficking in Oklahoma, throw out our service numbers each year, but these are really peoples’ lives. We want to put our attendees in the mindset of one person, one story. What would you do if you were facing this?”
After the walkthrough, attendees will have the opportunity to assemble move-in kits for The Spring’s shelter guests and write personal notes of encouragement.
The program portion of the evening will include a panel discussion hosted by Karen Larsen, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who anchored Tulsa’s Channel 2 for almost 30 years.
“Tulsa is an incredibly charitable city, and we know that these kinds of gala events aren’t rare here,” Leslie Clingenpeel, The Spring’s CEO, said. “Our goal is to go beyond the model of these fundraising-only type events. More than anything, we want people to understand what we do, to know that we’re here, to know what our frontline advocates are doing every single day. Domestic violence and trafficking are hard to look away from once you’re aware of them. We want to build that awareness to the people of this city.”
Individual tickets and table packages are available for purchase.
Attendees are encouraged to register before April 1 because space is limited.
More details and purchasing information are available at www.thespringok.org/encounterhope.
The Spring is a Tulsa-based nonprofit offering services to those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking.
The organization provides emergency crisis shelter, transitional living, and non-residential services.
More information is available at www.thespringok.org.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State outlasts UCF in overtime, Houston next
The Oklahoma State Cowboys men’s basketball bounced back in a big way Tuesday night.
Anthony Roy scored 27 points and Kanye Clary added 23, including seven in overtime, as Oklahoma State defeated the UCF Knights men’s basketball 111-104 in Orlando.
The Cowboys controlled the extra period, finishing overtime on an 11-4 run and outscoring UCF 17-10.
Clary played a major role in closing it out. He hit a key 3-pointer and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in overtime to help seal the win.
The victory moves Oklahoma State to 18-12 overall and 6-11 in the Big 12, and gives the Cowboys two wins in their last three games after snapping a five-game losing streak. UCF, now 20-9 (9-8 Big 12), has dropped two straight.
Roy and Clary led a balanced offensive effort. Jaylen Curry and Christian Coleman each added 16 points, while the Cowboys shot 49% from the field (35-of-72) and 80% from the free throw line (32-of-40).
Themus Fulks led UCF with 22 points, while Riley Kugel added 18.
Late-game drama forces overtime
The final seconds of regulation were chaotic.
With 24 seconds remaining, Isaiah Coleman threw down a dunk to give Oklahoma State a 94-91 lead.
But UCF answered quickly when Chris Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, tying the game at 94-94.
Oklahoma State had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Jaylen Curry missed a shot, and John Bol blocked Roy’s attempt, sending the game to overtime.
Cowboys respond after tough loss
The Cowboys showed resilience after Saturday’s lopsided loss to Cincinnati.
The team traveled directly to Orlando following that defeat and was pushed through two intense practices by head coach Steve Lutz and the coaching staff.
The response was clear.
Led by Roy’s scoring and Clary’s clutch overtime performance, Oklahoma State delivered a gritty win and swept the season series against UCF
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon
YUKON, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma City Police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon Monday night.
The shooting happened near Northwest 10th Street and South Yukon Parkway near the border of Yukon and Oklahoma City.
Police are on the scene, and officials said the victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the hip.
OKCPD said they have at least one person in custody.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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