At the Capitol, the state legislature is making the first move to bring business courts to the state.

Lawmakers say this will help with the backlog in county courts.

Oklahoma will become the 26th state to have business courts.

But this is just the first step – creating a task force to figure out what the court will look like here in the state.

This idea of a business court has been a big push from Governor Stitt – who deemed it one of his four priorities during budget negotiations last week.

He says this will help clear some backlog in county courts having a specific area to settle business disputes and commercial litigations between businesses.

With this being a new idea in the state, the actual legislation would create an 11-person task force to figure out exactly how to implement a business court. Then it would green-light the courts in Tulsa and Oklahoma County in 2026. 

“The need that it would provide would come out of the task force meetings they are very there’s a clear direction in this bill for them to come up with that plan but when you have contractual disputes many states have found wisdom in creating these courts,” said Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City).

The bill passed out of the senate with only four no votes, it will now move to the state house for consideration.

Josh Heupel is going to have quite the trip back to Oklahoma now that the Sooners are in the SEC.

Not only is Heupel a legend as a Sooner, he coached with them in 2004 as a GA and eventually as an assistant and offensive coordinator from 2006-14. With the Sooners now in the SEC and Tennessee looming on the schedule, Heupel will have all the feelings come back.

Oklahoma and Heupel pretty much go hand in hand, except when Tennessee has to play the Sooners.

“You know, for me, from my coaching career to playing career, you know a lot of great relationships, a lot of great memories,” Heupel said at the SEC Meetings.

“So many people that have been a huge part of helping me as a player, grow as man, helped me in this profession as well. So a lot of great memories, a lot of people that I still stay in touch with. Sister lives back there, dad lives back there as well. So it will be unique d to go back and play inside of that stadium, being on the other sideline.”

Tennessee hits the road to Norman, Oklahoma on September 21st as the Volunteers’ SEC opener. It’ll be quite the show.

There’s going to be a very high ceiling on the Tennessee Volunteers this season, with Andy Staples arguing that he thinks the Volunteers could make their first trip to the College Football Playoff in 2024. That’s in no small part due to a relatively manageable schedule compared to their peers. This is a big opportunity for Heupel.

“Very intriguing team,” Andy Staples said. “Tennessee is one of these. Ole Miss is one of these. I explain to people, as divisions go away in these various leagues, like the Big Ten and the SEC, schedule draw means a lot. Tennessee’s schedule draw is not Georgia‘s schedule draw, it’s not Florida‘s schedule draw. It is much closer to Ole Miss’ schedule draw. Therefore, I am making Tennessee’s ceiling a Playoff berth.”

Ultimately, Cody Bellaire agreed that a potential Playoff run is on the table for Tennessee. That’s largely because of what Nico Iamaleava and the rest of the offense is capable of doing in 2024.

“Yes, and you know what helps a Playoff run,” Bellaire said. “Having a generational quarterback. Nico Iamaleava has a chance to bring Tennessee back into the Playoff conversation and light up the scoreboard like we saw when Hendon Hooker was taking snaps for the Vols.

“He was the number one player in the country for On3 for a reason. He has elite arm talent. He’s a dynamic athlete. He’s got all the tools that Josh Heupel is looking for at the quarterback position.”

Seems like Heupel has the tools to get this team to the promised land. Maybe Oklahoma could spoil the party as well.

Across the nation families looking for a quick option to feed the family have seen prices rise as inflation has taken a bite out of the fast-food experience.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest reading from the so-called fast-food index saw annual inflation for the sector come in at 4.8%.

The BLS also found that prices in “limited-service restaurants” increased by 47% since 2014.

Fast food has become a staple of the American diet meaning that price increases at the drive-thru can make a major impact.

Between 2013 and 2016 36.6% of adults consumed fast food on a given day, according to a 2018 CDC study. Market research company Drive Research reported in 2023 that 65% of respondents ate fast food once a week.

A team of USA TODAY reporters surveyed combo meal prices from across the country for five major hamburger chains.

Here’s what we found.

How have fast-food prices increased in the past decade?

Carls Jr. Hardees experienced a more than double price increase between 2014 and 2024. Wendy’s followed, with a nearly double price increase during that same time period.

How do burger prices compare across the country? How much are burgers in Oklahoma City?

The USA TODAY team surveyed locations of McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Carls Jr./Hardees and Five Guys in 18 markets across the country. The team asked for the price of the restaurants signature combo with cheese, in a medium size before tax.

A Big Mac combo was most affordable in Houston, Texas where a medium sized meal rounded out to $7.89.

On the opposite side, Seattle residents will pay close to $15 for a Big Mac Combo.

In Oklahoma City, a medium sized Big Mac Combo costs a little over $9.

Wendy’s is one of the more affordable fast-food options in the U.S. In downtown Columbus, Ohio a Wendy’s Dave’s cheeseburger meal is $9.29 – the cheapest of the 18 cities USA TODAY reporters surveyed.

In Oklahoma City, a Wendy’s Dave’s cheeseburger meal is $9.89.

Out of the 15 plus cities surveyed, the most expensive combo was a cheeseburger, regular fries and drink from Five Guys in Chicago.

In Oklahoma City, this combo is about $20.50.

What was the average cost of each fast food restaurant’s signature meal?

When looking at 2014 prices – which were obtained through menus found on the website fastfoodmenuprices.com in the Internet Archive’s Wayback machine – we found that Carls Jr./Hardees had the cheapest signature meal a decade ago, with the quarter pound thick burger combo priced at $5.29 (the closest listed equivalent to the Famous Star combo). The website uses a singular data point while USA TODAY’s comparison is an average.