Oklahoma

Oklahoma County helps 400 clear outstanding warrants at event

Published

2 years ago

January 7, 2024

Oklahoma County helps 400 clear outstanding warrants at event

Organizers of Oklahoma County’s latest warrant clearance event already are looking forward to the next one in February.

Bob Ravitz, Oklahoma County chief public defender, said county prosecutors, public defenders and court officers from the city of Oklahoma City served nearly 400 people, nearly doubling the number of those they helped during a similar October event.

Persons who showed up to the mid-December event sought to either clear outstanding warrants by getting back on court dockets issued after they missed hearings or by agreeing to pay off owed fines and fees through payment plans set up by court officials.

Josue, of Oklahoma City, came to the event to clear an outstanding warrant he faced after failing to pay a ticket he had been issued for driving a vehicle with a bad headlight that he said he quickly replaced after being stopped.

“Honestly, I don’t remember getting the ticket. It was from 2022, they said,” he explained as he waited in line to visit with someone to get the matter resolved.

He learned there was a warrant for his arrest after trying to get his license renewed.

While it was taking a little bit of his time to get the issue resolved, Josue wasn’t complaining.

“They are moving as fast as they can, given the numbers of people who showed up. It is definitely worth it,” he said, adding he also was appreciative participants were being treated to a free lunch from Big Truck Tacos. “This is nice. I appreciate it.”

Also waiting in line was Allena, a woman who came to the clearance event after hearing about it from a neighbor.

“I knew I had a traffic ticket I hadn’t taken care of, so I decided to come down here and see what they could do for me,” she said. “If it will keep me out of jail because I missed my court date, it will be worth it to me.”

Josue and Allena did not provide their last names.

Municipal, district judges join court clerks to deal with issue

December’s warrant clearance event involved judges from Oklahoma County District Court, a city of Oklahoma City court judge, clerks and other associated personnel.

“When people take accountability for their actions, I think that it encourages them to be able to successfully complete what they have in front of them,” said District Court Judge Amy Palumbo. “They will be able to focus on making healthy choices, maintaining gainful employment and being productive members of our community.”

District Court Judge Cindy Truong said she had been told more people are making rescheduled court dates after participating in warrant clearance events.

“I think it saves taxpayers money any time that we can get people in and clear a warrant without having them being arrested and held in the county jail,” Truong said. “When they are arrested, they can lose their job, lose custody of their kids and even face evictions.

“Being arrested costs them more money, too,” she added. “Everybody wins.”

The Dec. 15 event helped 397 people, with more than 200 of those waiting when doors to the building where the event was held were opened at 9 a.m., Ravitz said.

An additional six attorneys beyond the six public defenders and two assistant district attorneys already working the event were summoned from Oklahoma County’s courthouse later in the day to help handle the crowd, he said.

Beyond that, representatives of Oklahoma County’s Diversion Hub, The Education and Employment Ministry and other organizations that provide services to city and county residents also set up tables where clearance participants could learn more about what they offered.

“We are probably pushing 300 right now,” Ravitz said at 11 a.m., adding the turnout surprised him.

“We are really helping people. I saw one lady who was facing a prostitution charge, and they were able to work that case out with her,” Ravitz said. “She was crying, she was so happy.

“We are able to do a whole lot, for a whole lot of people.”

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma ranked in top 10 states attracting new residents, study says

Published

2 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma ranked in top 10 states attracting new residents, study says

Oklahoma is in the top 10 states receiving new residents in the nation in recent years, a new survey suggests.

StorageCafe conducted a recent study utilizing U.S. Census data showing Oklahoma welcomed over 25,000 new residents in 2023, with millennials being the largest-represented generation among those entering the Sooner State.

Here’s what the study had to say about migration into Oklahoma.

Oklahoma among top 10 states to move to

According to StorageCafe, Oklahoma welcomed 25,000 new residents in 2023 in net migration.

New residents in Oklahoma were largely made up of millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, at 27%.

Though Oklahomans and Texans don’t seem to be eye to eye in the football arena, Texas is “by far the largest source” of new Oklahoma residents.

Among the major reasons for the increase in migrants is likely Oklahoma’s affordability, with 36% of millennials buying a home within their first year in Oklahoma.

In addition, Oklahomans found major success in recruiting former California and Colorado residents to move to the state, rounding out the top 3 states bringing new residents.

What are the states attracting the most residents?

These states are the states with the highest migration numbers:

Texas (138,000)
Florida (137,000)
North Carolina (111,000)
South Carolina (72,000)
Georgia (62,000)
Arizona (57,000)
Indiana (32,000)
Colorado (31,000)
Tennessee (28,000)
Oklahoma (25,000)

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Oklahoma

Why Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Says John Mateer is ‘Focused’ Ahead of Spring Ball

Published

14 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Why Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Says John Mateer is ‘Focused’ Ahead of Spring Ball

NORMAN — High highs and low lows defined John Mateer’s first season at Oklahoma.

Mateer, who transferred to OU ahead of the 2025 season, led the Sooners to a 10-3 record and their first College Football Playoff appearance since 2019. He threw for 1,215 yards and logged 11 touchdowns in OU’s first four games, helping them win each of them.

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“His best football was as good as there is in college football,” OU coach Brent Venables said.

In the back half of the season, though, Mateer wasn’t as efficient. After returning from a hand injury that kept him out of the Kent State game, Mateer completed only 59.4 percent of his passes for 1,670 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions over the Sooners’ final eight contests.

Venables is well aware of the good and the bad from Mateer’s first season in Norman. And the coach is pleased with Mateer’s focus throughout the first few months of the offseason.

“He’s in the building every day with his coaches, and very focused in that space,” Mateer said. “And I’ll meet with him frequently as well, from a leadership standpoint.”

Mateer’s up-and-down campaign came after his superb season at Washington State in 2024. As the Cougars’ starter that year, he threw for 3,370 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The SEC, though, is much more challenging than the primarily-Mountain West schedule that Mateer faced at WSU.

Venables is confident that Mateer will be more consistent in his second season with the Sooners, thanks to one year in the conference under his belt and the reps against Oklahoma’s defense throughout its spring and fall camps.

“I try to give him a defensive lens with plays that we’ve made some different cut ups for him,” Venables said. “The more you know about the other side of the ball, like intimately, deeply, like you know it maybe better than your side of the ball you can just elevate your game to another level.”

Though Mateer’s production dipped late in the season, he was far from the only inconsistent player on OU’s offense.

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The Sooners scored more than 30 points in only one of their final eight games. Oklahoma also averaged just 316.3 yards per game during that stretch and rushed for only 3.4 yards per carry.

OU’s front office did plenty to reinforce the unit during the offseason.

The Sooners signed three wide receivers — Trell Harris, Parker Livingstone and Mackenzie Alleyne — from the transfer portal. Oklahoma also added multiple tight ends, offensive linemen and running backs from the portal. The Sooners will also have several true freshmen — like running backs DeZephen Walker and Jonathan Hatton Jr. and wide receiver Jayden Petit — who may contribute immediately.

Venables noted how Mateer has grown as a leader since the start of last season and that he is much more “relational” than he was previously.

Ultimately, the coach believes that Mateer is in a better position to be one of college football’s best quarterbacks in 2026.

“He cares about the freshman walk-on guy as much as the new right tackle, and those are some of the qualities that John has that make him very endearing to everybody in the building,” Venables said. “He’s a passionate and an enthusiastic guy too, but he’s never been an over-the-top fake kind of guy, and you can’t fabricate just being genuine and authentic. And so he’s very relational with the guys.”

Oklahoma will begin its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and His Likely Senate Appointee to Meet With Trump on Sunday

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and His Likely Senate Appointee to Meet With Trump on Sunday

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has chosen Alan Armstrong, an oil and gas executive, to finish out the remainder of Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s term, three sources told NOTUS.

The two men are expected to meet with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday to iron out the details of the appointment and discuss it further, two of the sources said.

The sources cautioned that the pick could change following that meeting.

In March 2021, Armstrong gave $5,800 to former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who voted to impeach Trump, according to FEC records. Sources said the donations are likely to be a topic of conversation at Mar-a-Lago.

Armstrong, who chairs the board of directors for the energy company Williams, was one of three main names Stitt presented in meetings he had in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. While multiple names were floated, Stitt was focused on three people: his senior advisor Dustin Hilliary, oil baron Harold Hamm and Armstrong.

Stitt is expected to announce the appointment shortly after Mullin is officially confirmed by the Senate as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, as early as Sunday.

Representatives for Armstrong and Stitt did not return a request for comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

In accordance with Oklahoma law, Armstrong will be required to sign a sworn affidavit saying he will not seek election to a full six-year Senate term and instead will only serve out the remainder of Mullin’s current term.

Rep. Kevin Hern has already essentially cleared the field in the race for the Senate seat.

This article has been updated with additional information.

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