StateImpact Oklahoma

This comes after the agency's board requested clarity on the executive order driving the policy.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission deliberated Wednesday on Oklahoma Gas & Electric's case that would increase rates for customers before new projects are complete.

Alongside the passage of billions of dollars in Medicaid spending reductions over a decade, Oklahoma is also vying for an opportunity available to all 50 states to fund sustainable rural health care initiatives.

Workers with the Environmental Protection Agency's Region 6, which includes Oklahoma, have been impacted by furloughs. The local union reports a lack of transparency during the shutdown.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services will begin furloughs starting Sunday, affecting about 2,300 employees.

"Country Doctor," a documentary now streaming on HBO Max, highlights the crises rural hospitals face amid provider shortages and a lack of resources.

The law asks facilities to include a simple description of the service, its billing code, discounted cash price and negotiated insurance rates on their website

The state Department of Wildlife Conservation updates its action plan every 10 years to remain eligible for federal wildlife grants. The latest document will list creatures rarely seen but vital to the animal food web.

The letter demands answers from the agency on "failures within the managed Medicaid care system."

The ground-dwelling bird's preferred grassland habitat overlaps with agricultural and energy-rich regions, putting the species' future in the hands of private landowners. In the second installment of a two-part series, StateImpact's Chloe Bennett-Steele reports on continued conservation efforts for the species.