Oklahoma

Stitt order creates an advisory council to develop guidelines to prevent terrorism

Published

1 year ago

January 14, 2025

Stitt order creates an advisory council to develop guidelines to prevent terrorism

In the wake of the New Year’s Day terrorist attack on the famed Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Gov. Kevin Stitt has issued an executive order creating an advisory council of first responders and intelligence personnel in hopes of better protecting Oklahomans and state infrastructure from such an attack.

Stitt issued an executive order on Monday concerning the Secure Oklahoma NOW (Not on Our Watch) Initiative. He said Oklahoma Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Tipton would lead the advisory council.

In one of the largest domestic terrorist attacks in U.S. history, 168 people and three unborn children died as a result of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, something Stitt noted.

“Sadly, Oklahomans are familiar with the devastating impact terrorists can have on our communities,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to stay vigilant and prepared. The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety will bring together experts from law enforcement, emergency management, and public safety to develop a comprehensive guide to protect our high-value targets and major events, ensuring we are always one step ahead.”

In addition to Tipton, the advisory council will feature the state’s secretary of public safety, Tricia Everest, who will supervise the initiative. Other members will be a sheriff from a county with a population above 500,000, a sheriff from a county with a population below 500,000, a police chief from a town or city with more than 100,000 residents, a police chief from a town or city with fewer than 100,000 residents, a chief from a university police department and a representative from the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security.

The only two counties with a population of more than 500,000 are Oklahoma and Tulsa counties. Only four Oklahoma cities — Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman and Broken Arrow — have a population above 100,000.

The 12-person council also will include the president of the Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association or their designee, the director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management or their designee, the director of the Oklahoma Counter Terrorism Intelligence Center or their designee and one at-large member appointed by the governor.

The council will create and publish a written guide of minimum security and safety protocols for use by public and private stakeholders responsible for managing large-scale events. According to Stitt’s order, the guide should reflect best practices and emerging strategies in public safety.

The first meeting of the council must be by Feb. 27, according to the order, and the first edition of the guide is scheduled to be published and submitted by May 30, with updates to be made annually.

“In our world today, it’s more important than ever to make sure our law enforcement is prepared for any situation,” Everest said. “We have been able to mitigate multiple threats with our effective partnerships between local, state and federal law enforcement. I appreciate the governor’s efforts to streamline those partnerships and ensure Oklahomans are safe regardless of the situation.”

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

Published

11 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

Big night in downtown OKC as the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Denver Nugget and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back on the floor.

Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.

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Oklahoma

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Published

24 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.

Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.

Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.

Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.

For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.

“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.

Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.

The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.

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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.

Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.

“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.

Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.

The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).

OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.

For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.

“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”

On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason.

The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.

“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”

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

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Oklahoma

Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament.

A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match.

For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task.

“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.”

Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line.

Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books.

Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title.

An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction.

“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.”

A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December.

It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way.

“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.”

Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over.

“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.”

This article will be updated.

Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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