Latest Oklahoma Headlines

All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Oklahoma City Homeowners Blame City for Flood Damage

Jun 22 2011 // Homeowners in a northwest Oklahoma City neighborhood that had severe flooding in June 2010 say the city is to blame for the flooding. The city denies the claim. At least 17 households filed flood damage claims with the...

Oklahoma Unemployment Dips to 5.3%

Jun 20 2011 // Oklahoma’s unemployment rate declined in the month of May. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported that unemployment in Oklahoma fell from 5.6 percent in April to 5.3 percent last month. According to...

Timely Workers’ Comp Reforms

Jun 20 2011 // Prices for workers’ compensation insurance are inching up after decreasing and then flat-lining for the past few years, according to Towers Watson. The global professional services firm’s most recent Commercial...

Storm Fraud

Jun 20 2011 // Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt filed felony fraud charges against an Oklahoma construction contractor who homeowners said accepted payment for roof repair without performing the work. Six counts of violating the...

Timely Workers’ Comp Reforms

Jun 20 2011 // Prices for workers’ compensation insurance are inching up after decreasing and then flat-lining for the past few years, according to Towers Watson. The global professional services firm’s most recent Commercial...

Storm Shelters

Jun 20 2011 // Rep. Pat Ownbey of Ardmore says Oklahomans were reminded how vulnerable they can be when several tornadoes ripped through the state in May. Ownbey says lawmakers should take a look at incentives for having storm shelters...

Washington Court: OK to Terminate Employee for Medical Marijuana Use

Jun 16 2011 // A Washington Supreme Court has ruled that it is OK for an employer to terminate an employee for violating its no drug policy, even though the employee is in compliance with the state’s medical marijuana...

Central Oklahoma Chapter of CPCU Society Installs New Officers

Jun 14 2011 // The Central Oklahoma Chapter of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) Society recently installed new officers for 2011-2012. The officers for this term are President David Wilhite, project manager for Farmers...

SIAA Adds 33 Members in May; 4 Are South Central Agencies

Jun 13 2011 // New Hampshire-based Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance (SIAA) announced it signed 33 new members in May. Of these, 24 are liberated “captive agents” new to the independent agency system – bringing new...

Oklahoma Commissioner Questions Legality of Driving Record Fee

Jun 10 2011 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak has requested that the state’s attorney general determine whether a 2010 bill increasing the costs of driving records was properly enacted by the Legislature. The bill...

Oklahoma Contractor Charged With Fraud After Tornadoes

Jun 9 2011 // An Oklahoma construction contractor has been charged with taking payments to repair roofs damaged by recent tornadoes and strong storms, then failing to perform the work. Six felony counts of violating the Oklahoma...

Agency Says Oklahoma Paying Less for Insurance

Jun 6 2011 // The amount the state of Oklahoma pays in liability and property insurance premiums is going down. Department of Central Services Director John Richard announced this week the state has received a $7.8 million credit in...

Insurance Lawsuit Settlement Sends $51M to Oklahoma

Jun 6 2011 // The Oklahoma Insurance Department is processing claims from a $51 million settlement of a lawsuit against an insurance company that went under. The Oklahoman reports that money from the settlement will be sent to doctors...

Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Reform Measure Signed Into Law

Jun 6 2011 // Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin in late May signed a bill overhauling the state’s workers’ compensation system. The 200-page measure – Senate Bill 878 – had bi-partisan support and emerged just three days...

May 24 Oklahoma Tornado Upgraded to EF-5

Jun 3 2011 // The National Weather Service has upgraded a tornado that tore through central Oklahoma on May 24 to EF-5, the highest rating given to tornadoes. The weather service in Norman said the tornado that started in Binger and...

Above Average Number of Tornadoes in Oklahoma This Year

Jun 2 2011 // A meteorologist with the federal government’s Storm Prediction Center said on May 31 that Oklahoma has seen a greater than average number of tornadoes so far in 2011. Preliminary data from the agency show 63 reports...

Supreme Court Rules Former AG Ashcroft Not Liable for Damages

Jun 2 2011 // The Supreme Court this week threw out damage claims against former Attorney General John Ashcroft over an American Muslim’s arrest, but four justices said the case raises serious questions about post-9/11 detentions...

Storm Scientists Assess Year’s Series of Deadly Tornadoes

May 31 2011 // Storm science has greatly improved tornado warnings in recent years. But if that’s led anyone into a sense of security, that feeling has taken a beating in recent weeks. Super Outbreak 2011, on April 25-28, killed...

Okla. Regulator Warns Residents About Risks of Leaving Children in Vehicles

May 27 2011 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak warned the state’s residents on Thursday about the fatal dangers of leaving unattended children inside vehicles. Doak said, “2010 was a record year for hyperthermia...

14 Killed as Tornadoes Carve Path Through Midwest

May 26 2011 // A violent storm system rumbled through the central U.S. on Wednesday, spawning tornadoes that turned homes into splintered wreckage, killing at least 14 people over two days and hampering rescue efforts in a city slammed...