Opinion

Growing up in the bustling suburbs outside of Washington, D.C., accessing the internet was something I took for granted. I lived through the evolution of scratchy dial-up internet to today’s lightning-fast fiber broadband. I never thought about internet access or access in other parts of the country. It wasn’t until I embarked on my journey at USTelecom a year and a half ago that I began to learn about the challenges of deploying broadband in rural communities.

Footnotes

We’ve officially wrapped up the first month of the legislative session. The past week was focused heavily on committee work as we reached our first deadline of the year. With the next deadline in mid-March, we still have plenty of work ahead as we’ll spend the next two weeks considering bills on the Senate floor. Those that pass will be sent across the rotunda to start the process over as they’re considered by House Committees.

President Biden’s “Free College” Scam

Combatting the Biden Administration’s Inflation Crisis

Footnotes

Education is a top legislative priority year after year, and a consistent topic of discussion at the State Capitol. It’s always a pleasure to welcome some of our state’s finest educational institutions to the Senate and my office. On Higher Education Day, we welcomed students and staff from East Central University and had the opportunity to hear about their continued efforts to improve higher education and workforce development in our state. ECU is truly an asset to our community, and it was a pleasure to visit with them.

In January of 2021, President Biden assumed the presidency with an aggressive immigration agenda. In just his first 100 days in office, he took 94 executive actions, including removing Title 42 and Remain in Mexico, halting border wall construction, and reinstating Catch-and-Release, in an attempt to make it easier for immigrants to illegally enter and stay in our nation.

This week’s Indian Pioneer Paper was recorded by W.P.A fieldwriter John F. Daugherty on May 26, 1937.

STILLWATER, Okla. – The Oklahoma Pecan Management Program offered through Oklahoma State University Extension will host a free pecan workshop on Feb. 22 to help growers with pest management. The event will also offer producers five continuing education units for a private pesticide applicator license.

Winter made a striking return to Oklahoma in January, surprising a state that had just experienced its fourth-warmest December on record. This frosty resurgence brought with it a myriad of wintry phenomena, including freezing fog, freezing rain, snowstorms, a blizzard warning, an ice storm warning, and the lengthiest stretch of sub-freezing temperatures since the infamous Arctic air outbreak of February 2021. Following a seasonably mild first week, Arctic air surged southward in multiple waves. The initial wave blanketed northern Oklahoma with snow on January 8-9, accompanied by a blizzard warning in the Panhandle. Snow accumulations were generally modest, though the western Panhandle saw over 6 inches, coupled with wind gusts exceeding 60 mph. This led to near-zero visibility and whiteout conditions, resulting in road closures. Subsequent blasts of frigid Arctic air infiltrated the state starting late on the 11th, persisting until the morning of the 17th, holding much of Oklahoma in a deep freeze for over 100 hours. Some northern regions endured over 100 hours below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, a clear indicator of the polar origin of the air mass. Mercury readings plummeted to as low as minus 15 degrees, marking the coldest recorded temperature in the state since February 26, 2021, when Nowata recorded minus 22 degrees. Additionally, light snowfall graced northern and eastern Oklahoma on the 15th.

I was born in 1863 in Old Doxtol in the Choctaw Nation. Father was John Kemp and mother was Melina Kemp.