Oklahoma
LOFT releases report on Oklahoma State Department of Education spending investigation

OKLAHOMA CITY (KSWO) – The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) has released their investigative findings on disbursements made by the Oklahoma State Department of Investigation (OSDE).
The LOFT investigation did not find any OSDE actions that warranted a law enforcement criminal investigation, according to the LOFT report.
LOFT began their investigation after both legislators and school districts raised concerns of delays in districts receiving OSDE funds, as well as concerns of changing communications pertaining to funding.
While nothing was found which warranted a criminal investigation, LOFT gave recommendations to both OSDE and the Oklahoma Legislature to make sure a similar investigation is not needed in the future.
According to LOFT, the Legislature should:
- For new programs or legislature mandates, require the State Department of Education to publish an initial plan for implementation within 90 days of the program’s effective date.
- Specify in budget limit bills any funds that have the flexibility to be used by the State Department of Education to fund other specific statutory obligations.
- Clarify whether funding directives for “off formula” school districts apply only to those schools fully off the State Aid Funding formula or if it also applies to those schools partially off the formula.
- Authorize a grantmaking process for circumstances where a non-profit organization is best suited to facilitate a program’s objectives.
According to LOFT, OSDE should:
- Review all new legislation by July 1 of each year to identify an implementation strategy for new programs. The plan should include soliciting feedback from school districts, where appropriate, to identify potential problems with implementation.
- Increase written communications to school districts to include: 1. The total preliminary state allocation from the federal government compared to the prior year, to serve as an indicator of whether schools should anticipate a reduction or an increase. 2. Notification of whether districts should expect to receive per-district preliminary allocations and an anticipated timeline for when final figures will be available.
- Establish written policies and procedures for each division within the agency to ensure continuity of operations in the event of turnover. This should include an annual communication schedule.
- Prior to communicating a plan to districts for implementing a program, ensure alignment of all departments that will be involved in the program.
- Immediately seek written legal guidance when the agency identifies conflicts in statute.
Members of the Oklahoma House Democratic Caucus gave their thoughts in response to the LOFT findings.
“The continued lack of accountability from the Oklahoma State Department of Education further emphasizes the State Superintendent’s willful negligence. This puts our school districts and our kids squarely in second place to his own self interest,” Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa) said. “We have a state agency head unwilling to commit to improving service to schools. We have a state agency head unwilling to share how he plans to spend unused payroll dollars. The repeated calls by the public to ‘Do something about Supt. Ryan Walters,’ continue to go unanswered.”
“The State Superintendent says the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s objective is to ‘shrink government,’ but the objective should be establishing OSDE’s ability to effectively manage a multi-million-dollar state agency for a functional education system,” Rep. Meloyde Blancett (D-Tulsa) said. “I come from a business background, and if you had a CEO whose chief staff could not communicate effectively either internally or externally with primary stakeholders, they would be fired. My question is if OSDE is unable to effectively create a functional working relationship with school districts and the legislature, how can we possibly expect success to happen in schools for our kids?
Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters sent out the below X post in response to the LOFT report.
Complete waste of time and taxpayer dollars. Liberal teachers union lies fall apart. Let’s get back to educating our kids https://t.co/LclDOqg7jO
— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) October 29, 2024
Copyright 2024 KSWO. All rights reserved.

Oklahoma
Jackson Arnold Reveals Reason for Picking Auburn after Leaving Oklahoma

ATLANTA, Ga.- Former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold entered the transfer portal after the 2024 football season, after an up-and-down season in Norman. But what made the quarterback choose the Auburn Tigers?
“I think early on the coaches were immediately texting me as soon as I entered the portal or that day, opened up for the transfer portal,” Arnold said at SEC Media Days. “They were the first ones that texted me, communicated to me.
“Almost all of the offensive coaches texted me early on. Not only that, a day later I hopped on a zoom call with them all. They kind of laid everything out for me, showed me my fit in their offense, our offensive depth, depth in the team in general, not just offense.”
Arnold is a former five-star recruit and Gatorade National Player of the Year. Despite his struggles last season with Oklahoma, the 20-year-old was still going to have plenty of options in the transfer portal. The opportunity to take over a talented offense, paired with the Auburn defense, was a key selling point.
“They really prided [themselves] on their defense and a bunch of guys last year, and all the guys are coming back this year,” Arnold continued.
The Auburn defense was ranked 31st in total defense in the 2024 season according to NCAA.com.
Not only was Auburn in need of an experienced quarterback entering the 2025 season, but Arnold’s athleticism fit with what head coach Hugh Freeze likes to do with his offense.
“The biggest thing Coach Freeze sold me on with the scheme is, one, the RPO game, and, two, the deep shots,” said Arnold. “That’s something that I’ve been doing a lot since high school. And even my first couple of years in college was huge in the RPOs, huge in the deep shots.
“Coach Freeze isn’t scared to push the ball down the field, which I absolutely love. I thought with my experience running the RPO game, I think it meshed well with what Coach Freeze was wanting to do with his offense.”
Inconsistent quarterback play plagued the Tigers’ offense with turnovers last season. Auburn found themselves in very winnable games last season, including against the Oklahoma Sooners.
Winning deep in the fourth quarter, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne tried to force a ball to wide receiver Sam Jackson V, but instead threw a ball directly to a waiting Oklahoma linebacker who then returned it for a touchdown. Auburn went on to lose this game.
Auburn’s -9 turnover margin was tied for 119th in the country out of 133 teams. Freeze knew bringing in more quarterbacks could help get the Tiger offense over the hump. Freeze also brought in former Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels and five-star freshman quarterback Deuce Knight to reinforce the room and hopefully rid themselves of inconsistent quarterback play.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma sends aid to New Mexico, additional support to Texas to help with flood recovery
Oklahoma
Oklahoma livestock farmer killed by water buffaloes he purchased just one day before fatal attack

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A Jones, Oklahoma, farmer was attacked and killed by a pair of water buffaloes he acquired at a livestock auction just a day earlier, according to police.
The Jones Police Department said Monday that officers responded to an emergency call just after 10:30 p.m. on Friday, regarding an individual who was attacked by water buffalo at a farm.
When first responders arrived, they were unable to reach the victim, later identified as Bradley McMichael, because of the aggressive behavior of a water buffalo.
In order to allow safe access to McMichael, officials shot and killed one of the water buffalo.
HORRIFIED TOURISTS WATCH AS BISON BOILS TO DEATH IN YELLOWSTONE HOT SPRING
FILE – A farmer in Oklahoma sustained multiple lacerations to his body from water buffaloes he purchased a day before he was attacked by the animals on July 11, 2025. (Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The officers then gained entry to the scene and discovered that McMichaels had sustained multiple deep lacerations that proved to be fatal.
When investigators were processing the scene, a second water buffalo started to become more and more agitated and began to pose a threat to emergency personnel.
Police said the second animal was killed to ensure everyone on the scene was safe.
YELLOWSTONE TOURIST GORED BY BISON AFTER GROUP OF VISITORS APPROACHED IT TOO CLOSELY
A preliminary investigation determined that the two water buffaloes were responsible for the fatal injuries McMichael sustained.
Investigators also learned McMichael purchased the two water buffaloes at a livestock auction on July 10, just a day before he was killed.
‘UNHAPPY COW’ SENDS TEXAS RANCHER FLYING TO HOSPITAL IN AIRLIFT RESCUE AFTER UNEXPECTED ATTACK

FILE – An Oklahoma man was attacked by two newly acquired water buffaloes on his farm on July 11, 2025. (Michael Bahlo/picture alliance via Getty Image)
Detectives suspect McMichael became trapped inside the water buffalo enclosure while he was tending to his new animals.
Amy Smith, McMichael’s ex-wife, told television station KFOR his passion was caring for livestock.
“The cattle farming, that’s his thing,” Smith told the station. “He’s been here his whole life, and he’s done that his whole life.
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“So, he’s an experienced cattle handler and a farmer,” she added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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