(The Center Square) – Oklahoma's beer industry was a robust economic contributor to the state during the pandemic, bringing in $2.9 billion even though nationally the industry suffered in 2020.

With things looking up in the industry, it looks as though the upward trend will continue as the economy continues to recover.

"As we approach post-pandemic life, good news for our breweries means more business coming back, but also the ability to hire and keep staff who can ultimately help our breweries with the shift of slow business to more constant business," Karlie Hart, executive director of Oklahoma Craft Brewers Association, told The Center Square. "Business has come back rather quickly so our breweries are not only struggling with keeping up with the demand but also finding front-of-the-house staff to take care of customers."

The industry is responsible for more than 8,000 jobs and $270 million in wages in the state.

“A strong Oklahoma beer industry is vital to the Oklahoma economy,” Lisette Barnes, president of the Oklahoma Beer Alliance, told KOKH. “The beer industry supports thousands of jobs, wages and benefits for Oklahomans in different industries like agriculture, manufacturing, trucking, tourism and more. The more we can work together to build a strong beer industry, the better for the state's economy.”

Brewing jobs have increased more than 6% since 2018. Each new brewing job adds 30 jobs to the overall economy through wholesaling, retailing, manufacturing, and agriculture, according to industry estimates.

One boost to the industry is the "cocktail-to-go" law that allows restaurants and bars to sell drinks on the go if they are in tamper-proof containers. Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 2122 in May. The act will be repealed in one year if there is no further legislative action.

Oklahoma has 67 craft breweries, producing more than 76,000 barrels of craft beer each year, according to the Brewers Association.

(The Center Square) – Turkey numbers are falling across Oklahoma, and that may bring dramatic changes to hunting season.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation recently found the population in southwest Oklahoma is reduced as much as 70% to 80% from three to four years ago. In northwest Oklahoma, the population is down by 50%; in central and northeast Oklahoma, 20% to 25%.

Micah Holmes, assistant chief of communication and education division at Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, told The Center Square that turkey population numbers are affected by a complex set of factors, but most notably by the quality of habitat and weather fluctuations.

"Reproductive success has the biggest impact on a growing or shrinking turkey population, and biologists in Oklahoma and across the United States are studying all the different factors with a goal to understand what changes land managers and hunters can make to ensure populations continue to thrive," Holmes said.

The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission will meet June 28 to decide on any turkey hunting changes, including modifications to turkey hunting season dates and bag limits. At this meeting, commissioners will look into the available data, including population trends and harvest numbers, as well as review the more than 5,000 public comments submitted about the proposed changes.

Proposed changes include reducing a hunter's season bag limit from three toms to one. Another proposal is to start the spring hunting season 10 days later. Rifle hunting in the fall season would be prohibited; only shotguns and archery would be permitted.

Survey results and public comments reveal that most hunters are in favor of the proposed changes and protections.

"Providing turkey and other wildlife populations with healthy habitat that provides the needs for all of a turkey's life phases is the best thing we can do to see these populations continue to thrive," Holmes said. "Biologists are studying and collaborating with each other to better understand these unique birds and the land management and hunting decisions that we can make to provide them the best chance to grow their populations."

(The Center Square) – Oklahoma City scored well in a new study by WalletHub that ranks the best and worst run cities in the country.

The state capital and home to more than 643,000 residents came in at No. 13. Tulsa, Oklahoma, came in at No. 39.

In determining its rankings, WalletHub looked at 150 of the most populous cities in the country across six categories: financial stability, education, health, safety, economy and infrastructure and pollution.

They then evaluated those areas using 38 metrics to calculate an overall “Quality of City Services” score based on each city’s weighted score across all metrics. The “Quality of City Services” was then divided by each city’s “Total Budget per Capita” to construct a “Score per Dollar Spent” to determine the final rank.

Lincoln ended up No. 88 overall for its “Quality of City Services,” ranking and No. 8 for “Total Budget per Capita.”

“In addition to representing the residents, local leaders must balance the public’s diverse interests with the city’s limited resources,” said Adam McCann, author of the study. “That often means not everyone’s needs can or will be met. Leaders must carefully consider which services are most essential, which agencies’ budgets to cut or boost and whether and how much to raise taxes, among other decisions.”

Oklahoma City received its highest metric ranking for financial stability, coming in at No. 8. That was scored based on a city’s bond rating and outstanding long-term debt per capita. Oklahoma City is rated AAA by Standard and Poor’s and Aaa by Moody’s, both of which are the highest grades given by the ratings agencies.

Among the other metrics WalletHub looked at were a hospital beds per capita, average daily COVID-19 deaths per capita and quality of the local public hospital system. Oklahoma City ranked No. 34 overall for the health metric.

John Winter, an economics professor at Iowa State University, told WalletHub that as more people get vaccinated and the coronavirus pandemic fades, city leaders will have to turn their attention more to other issues.

“Housing affordability is a major problem in many cities, and the primary cause is insufficient housing supply,” he said. “Cities need to allow and encourage new high-density housing developments.”

Winter said crime is also another factor to be addressed.

“Crime rates tend to be persistent and only change slowly over time until a major event happens that causes a spike,” he said. “Cities need better policing and that includes convincing law-abiding citizens that the police are on their side and not out to get them.”

(The Center Square) – Two additional candidates have filed to run for Oklahoma governor in the 2022 election, bringing the current field to five.

Incumbent Republican Kevin Stitt, who won a first term in 2018 with 54.3% of the vote, is being challenged by Paul Tay, an independent from Tulsa; Natalie Bruno, a Libertarian from Edmond; Connie Johnson, a Democrat from Oklahoma City; and Ervin Yen, a Republican from Oklahoma City.

Johnson and Yen are former state senators. Bruno and Tay recently filed paperwork with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.

The general election will be held Nov. 8, 2022.

About one in every five American workers whose job could be performed remotely worked from home before the COVID-19 pandemic. That share jumped to nearly three in four following the abrupt closure of offices nationwide, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2020. For millions of Americans, the shift to remote work is now permanent, and the new dynamic means they are no longer tied to a specific city for their job and can choose a place to live based on other factors, including quality of life -- which varies considerably in the United States.

Affordability, access to public spaces and services, the presence of entertainment and cultural amenities, crime rates, and socioeconomic conditions are just a few of the factors that can influence quality of life in a given city or town.

24/7 Wall St. created a weighted index of 25 measures in four main categories - economy, affordability, quality of life, and community - using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, and other sources to identify the best city to live in each state. We considered all boroughs, census designated places, cities, towns, and villages with at least 8,000 residents.

Bixby, Oklahoma, located just south of Tulsa, ranks as the best place to live in the state. Quality of life in the area is supported by a network of trails, several parks, a playground, and a high per capita concentration of restaurants, bars, recreation centers and gyms, sports teams and clubs, and movie theaters. The local job market is also strong, with a five-year average unemployment rate of just 2.9%, well below the comparable 5.1% average statewide.

As is often the case in communities with such favorable conditions, Bixby is growing rapidly. The local population expanded by 18.1% over the last five years, more than six times Oklahoma's 3.0% five-year population growth.

Our index is composed of data across four categories: affordability, economy, quality of life, and community. Data is all for the most recent year available and came from the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, The Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other sources. This is the best city to live in every state.

PlacePopulationMedian home value ($)Median household income ($)5-yr. avg. unemployment (%)Alabama: Hoover85,175291,00089,4523.3Alaska: Juneau32,227345,90088,3904.6Arizona: Paradise Valley14,3621,516,200211,3932.1Arkansas: Lowell9,175157,60068,4381.0California: Burlingame30,5761,901,900128,4474.7Colorado: Durango18,588463,70066,1604.8Connecticut: Darien21,7421,471,700232,5234.9Delaware: Smyrna11,484206,40067,2775.4Florida: Key Biscayne12,9151,211,000151,3105.3Georgia: Sandy Springs107,072471,80078,6133.0Hawaii: Urban Honolulu348,985683,00071,4653.7Idaho: Meridian101,905274,90071,3893.7Illinois: Winnetka12,4281,091,700250,000+2.4Indiana: Carmel97,464333,200112,7652.5Iowa: North Liberty18,829220,80083,9491.1Kansas: Leawood34,670463,200157,5152.7Kentucky: Fort Mitchell8,257272,20067,7450.5Louisiana: Harahan9,304240,30066,7413.6Maine: Portland66,595289,00060,4672.8Maryland: Takoma Park17,672583,80084,5915.6Massachusetts: Brookline59,180933,200117,3262.8Michigan: Royal Oak59,195224,60081,6653.2Minnesota: Edina51,746476,300104,2443.1Mississippi: Byram11,578141,70066,6412.2Missouri: Ladue8,601831,800214,8751.3Montana: Belgrade8,685243,20059,1462.9Nebraska: Papillion20,423189,90080,6192.5Nevada: Reno246,500335,00058,7905.4New Hampshire: Portsmouth21,775425,60083,9232.1New Jersey: Hoboken53,193720,700147,6203.0New Mexico: Corrales8,588447,60085,5802.8New York: Rye15,8201,392,100192,6884.1North Carolina: Davidson12,735448,300124,8532.8North Dakota: West Fargo35,397241,00085,1201.5Ohio: Bay Village15,325247,900103,5821.3Oklahoma: Bixby`223,90083,1192.9Oregon: Sherwood19,625405,900103,5121.8Pennsylvania: Wyomissing10,473245,60081,1784.3Rhode Island: Newport24,663448,80067,1025.2South Carolina: Mount Pleasant86,982461,000103,2322.1South Dakota: Brandon9,934225,20087,2501.6Tennessee: Brentwood42,407655,400168,6882.6Texas: Highland Park9,1681,508,900211,1361.4Utah: South Jordan71,198405,400104,5971.6Vermont: South Burlington19,162307,50073,0653.7Virginia: Vienna16,489743,500161,1962.4Washington: Mercer Island25,6751,218,200147,5664.0West Virginia: Weirton18,67094,80049,4966.6Wisconsin: Middleton19,487336,90076,0112.5Wyoming: Cheyenne63,607214,30064,5985.4

The percentage of children and adolescents who are not just overweight but obese has more than tripled since the 1970s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By 2018, nearly one in five children between the age of 2 and 19 were obese.

Childhood obesity is defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex.

Of the 42 states for which there is data on adolescent obesity, Oklahoma is the state with the 8th largest share of high school students who are obese at 17.6%. In comparison, about one in seven, or 15.5%, of high schoolers nationwide are considered obese.

Additionally, 18.1% of students in ninth to 12th grade are overweight, the 4th highest share in the country and compared to 16.1% across the U.S.

Poverty is a potential factor contributing to a higher obesity rate among younger people. Healthier foods that tend to be lower in calories and more nutritious are relatively more expensive and may be less affordable to low-income households. About 19.9% of children under 18 in Oklahoma live in poverty, the 8th highest share in the country. The U.S. child poverty is 16.8%.

Oklahoma has the second highest rate of residents with limited access to healthy foods at 8.6% compared to 5.9% of people across the country as a whole.

Health experts have pointed to several lifestyle factors that are likely contributing to the excess weight problem among Americans, among them a sedentary lifestyle. About 47.9% of communities in Oklahoma are built in a way that promotes physical activity -- which means having plenty of sidewalks, trails, bike lanes, and walking paths. This is the 3rd lowest share in the country. Across the U.S., 74.9% of communities are built in such a way.

About 64.4% of children between 2 and 19 years old in the state have easy access to parks and playgrounds, the 10th lowest in the U.S. and compared to 76.5% of 2- to 19-year-olds in the country as a whole.

Of the 37 states for which data on physical activity among children is available, Oklahoma has the 13th highest share of children who exercise five or more days a week at 48.1%. Nationwide, 46.5% are physically active that often.

To determine the states where children in high school -- ninth to 12th graders -- are struggling with obesity, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2019 data from the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. We ranked the states based on the reported youth obesity rate as of 2019, the latest year for which data is available. These are the states with the highest rates of obesity among high schoolers.

StateHigh schoolers who are obeseHigh schoolers who are overwightFamilies with limited access to healthy foodsChildren with easy access to park/playgroundPoverty rate (under 18)Mississippi23.4%18.0%10.7%46.4%28.1%West Virginia22.9%16.5%6.6%56.7%20.1%Arkansas22.1%19.8%8.7%55.1%22.1%Tennessee20.9%18.3%8.5%58.1%19.7%Missouri18.4%16.1%6.8%71.2%17.1%Kentucky18.4%17.8%5.6%58.8%21.7%Georgia18.3%18.1%9.0%68.0%18.7%Oklahoma17.6%18.1%8.6%64.4%19.9%Alabama17.2%20.1%7.9%53.1%21.4%Iowa17.0%15.9%5.6%77.1%13.0%Texas16.9%17.8%8.7%74.2%19.2%South Carolina16.6%16.3%9.1%56.3%19.7%Louisiana16.5%17.8%9.5%59.0%27.0%Hawaii16.4%14.4%6.9%87.2%12.4%California15.9%15.2%3.3%87.5%15.6%North Carolina15.4%16.0%6.7%56.7%19.5%Pennsylvania15.4%14.5%4.6%81.8%16.9%Michigan15.3%16.1%6.3%76.6%17.6%New Mexico15.2%15.8%14.0%70.9%24.9%Illinois15.2%15.5%4.5%89.2%15.7%Kansas15.1%15.7%8.3%77.3%14.7%Maine14.9%14.8%3.8%70.2%13.8%Virginia14.8%15.8%4.3%69.8%13.4%Alaska14.8%15.0%9.2%73.0%13.0%Wisconsin14.5%14.6%4.8%78.9%13.5%Connecticut14.4%14.9%4.3%76.2%14.1%Rhode Island14.3%14.6%4.7%83.9%14.0%South Dakota14.1%15.6%10.5%79.8%15.0%North Dakota14.0%16.5%7.0%81.8%10.2%Florida14.0%16.1%7.2%73.4%17.7%New York13.4%16.3%2.3%88.6%18.1%Arizona13.3%17.4%7.5%81.9%19.1%Nebraska13.3%12.8%5.6%84.5%11.0%Vermont13.1%13.7%3.3%73.0%10.2%Maryland12.8%15.7%3.4%82.7%12.0%New Hampshire12.7%14.0%5.0%69.2%7.1%Nevada12.3%16.7%5.4%80.1%16.9%Idaho12.1%12.4%7.1%72.8%13.2%New Jersey11.9%14.7%3.6%88.9%12.3%Montana11.5%13.0%8.3%73.3%14.9%Colorado10.3%11.7%5.5%87.9%10.9%Utah9.8%12.3%5.8%89.7%9.9%

(The Center Square) – The Oklahoma State Department of Education has found that millions of dollars meant to feed hungry children during the pandemic were instead diverted to various institutions for personal or private use.

The investigation shows that $1.6 million in fraudulent claims were submitted by various organizations in their child and adult day care center food service programs.

"Our team in Child Nutrition reviews and verifies reimbursement claims as part of their routine work," Carrie Burkhart, executive director of communications for Oklahoma State Department of Education, told The Center Square. "In these particular instances, reviewers noticed red flags in the documentation submitted with the claim."

Burkhart gave an example of how easy it is for fraudulent orders to slip through the cracks.

"For example, online grocery orders were placed," Burkhart said. "An email with the food items listed is then received by the entity placing the order. The organization then cancels the order but uses the original order email which was submitted as proof of food being purchased per federal requirements. The original email has the order number and the verbiage 'in-process' rather than 'picked up'.

Child Nutrition reviewers would then call the store to verify the order and find a discrepancy, she said.

“We found that those orders were canceled, which means that the food was never purchased by the entity, but meals that needed this order's food to meet program requirements were claimed and reimbursed," she said.

To prevent similar situations from happening in the future, Burkhart said reviews were conducted, fiscal action assessed and recovery of funds occurred and continues to be in process, including through the utilization of formal legal collection procedures. In addition, the OSDE has successfully terminated the organizations from participating in future nutrition programs.

Some of the additional site regulations and accountability measures the OSDE has put in place include VCA (Financially Viable and have Administrative Capability and Program Accountability) approval, validating all high-risk claims, site approval and agreements - requiring OSDE approval to add a feeding program to the site and a written site agreement, training, frequent reviews and identity checks.

(The Center Square) – Twenty-two Republican-led states filed a brief in support of a district court ruling handed down by federal Judge Roger Benitez, who ruled that an assault weapons ban California had in place for three decades was unconstitutional.

The states, led by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, argue in a June 15 filing that the Ninth Circuit should uphold Benitez’s decision. Earlier this month, Benitez issued an injunction and gave California 30 days to file an appeal, which it did. Gov. Gavin Newsom says the ban has “saved lives.”

Brnovich argues that Arizona and other states have found “that modern rifles are common to the point of ubiquity among law-abiding gun owners and their use promotes public safety.”

Describing “modern rifles” as “assault rifles” is a misnomer, they add, because they are “most often used by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes like personal protection or target and sport shooting.”

Because these firearms are commonly used, the ban “strikes at the core of the Second Amendment,” the filing says.

The attorneys general also dispute a claim California makes in its appeal that the rifles it banned are used for illegal activities and that residents can use other means for self-defense. The attorneys general say this argument has already been rejected in a previous court ruling. They also point out that California’s appeal doesn’t dispute that thousands of Californians own rifles for home defense or sporting, and that they have been used to stop mass shootings.

Enacted in 1989, California’s Assault Weapons Control Act banned many popular semiautomatic pistols and rifles. Lawmakers amended the law in 2000, which prompted another legal challenge to the state's magazine capacity restrictions. Benitez also heard that case and decided in favor of the plaintiffs.

While gun control advocates point to AR-15-type weapons being used in mass shootings, most gun deaths in California and nationwide are suicides and perpetrated with handguns, which aren’t affected by AWCA beyond their magazine capacity, plaintiffs argue.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, California has seen 10,180 deaths since 2013.

States who joined Arizona include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The U.S. economy reported its worst quarterly decline in modern history during the COVID-19 pandemic, with gross domestic product shrinking at an annual rate of 31.4% in the second quarter. The economy bounced back in the third quarter, but efforts to contain the virus's spread throughout 2020 still resulted in a 3.5% annual economic contraction in the United States.

Arriving on the heels of a historic period of growth, COVID-19 brought about a decline in gross domestic product in every state in the country. However, no two state economies are alike, and partially as a result, some states were hit far harder than others.

Oklahoma is one of only three states to report a decline in economic output of over 6% in 2020. Oklahoma's GDP fell 6.1%, from $197.9 billion in 2019 to $185.9 billion in 2020. In most of the country, sectors related to travel and tourism reported the largest declines in 2020. In Oklahoma, however, the resource extraction sector contracted the most.

Oklahoma is the fourth largest oil-producing state, and during the pandemic, demand for fossil fuels plummeted and oil prices cratered. Output in Oklahoma's mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector fell by 22.5% in 2020. Meanwhile, retail trade and information were the only sectors in the state to report growth last year, expanding by 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively.

States are ranked based on the percentage change in real GDP from 2019 to 2020. Data on GDP and industry-specific real GDP came from the BEA. Data on average annual employment and the seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate each came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

RankStateChange in GDP, 2020 (%)April 2021 unemployment (%)Change in nonfarm employment, 2020 (%)1Hawaii-8.08.5-9.42Wyoming-7.05.4-4.13Oklahoma-6.14.3-4.94New York-5.98.2-10.35West Virginia-5.55.8-6.66Louisiana-5.57.3-1.87Vermont-5.42.9-9.38Michigan-5.44.9-5.89Alaska-4.96.7-8.710Tennessee-4.95.0-17.511New Hampshire-4.72.8-6.712Nevada-4.68.0-10.413Rhode Island-4.56.3-8.814Wisconsin-4.53.9-6.315Pennsylvania-4.47.41.916Maine-4.14.8-6.417Connecticut-4.18.1-7.718New Jersey-4.17.5-8.419South Carolina-4.15.0-5.120Illinois-4.07.1-7.121Ohio-4.04.7-6.122Delaware-3.96.4-6.023Massachusetts-3.86.5-9.024Minnesota-3.74.1-6.925Kentucky-3.74.7-5.626Missouri-3.64.1-4.827North Dakota-3.54.2-6.728Texas-3.56.7-4.329New Mexico-3.18.2-6.730Indiana-3.13.9-5.531Montana-3.03.7-3.132Kansas-3.03.5-4.633Florida-2.94.8-5.234Oregon-2.86.0-6.635Mississippi-2.86.2-4.336California-2.88.3-7.437Alabama-2.73.6-4.338Maryland-2.66.2-6.839Arkansas-2.64.4-3.040Georgia-2.54.3-4.641North Carolina-2.55.0-4.342Virginia-2.54.7-5.043Iowa-2.33.8-5.144Nebraska-2.12.8-3.645South Dakota-1.72.8-3.446Colorado-1.56.4-5.247Idaho-1.13.1-0.748Arizona-0.96.7-3.149Washington-0.75.5-5.350Utah-0.12.8-1.6

(The Center Square) – A federal judge in Louisiana has halted the Biden administration’s moratorium on new oil and gas leases for federal lands.

The Tuesday decision marks a setback for President Joe Biden’s aggressive agenda to curb climate change by focusing on green energy and overturn the former Trump administration’s regulatory rollbacks.

Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana granted a preliminary injunction in the case, stating the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) is “restrained from implementing the Pause of new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters.”

Biden signed the order halting new oil and gas leases on Jan. 27, pledging that his administration would “reset” the federal program.

"We are reviewing the judge’s opinion and will comply with the decision," a DOI spokesperson told The Center Square in an email. "The Interior Department continues to work on an interim report that will include initial findings on the state of the federal conventional energy programs, as well as outline next steps and recommendations for the Department and Congress to improve stewardship of public lands and waters, create jobs, and build a just and equitable energy future."

Thirteen states, led by Louisiana, sued the administration in March over the order, arguing it violated federal law.

“This is a victory not only for the rule of law, but also for the thousands of workers who produce affordable energy for Americans,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a statement.

“The President’s Executive Order abandons middle-class jobs, cripples our economy, and hits everyday Americans where it hurts the most – their pocketbooks,” he continued. “What’s more: it attacks Louisiana’s coast by reducing the revenue and royalties used for coastal restoration and hurricane protection."

Louisiana is joined in the lawsuit by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

The Biden administration is also facing lawsuits over the order from Wyoming, as well as industry groups.