EOY: Several stories from 2025 will linger into 2026

When I came to NonDoc from The Norman Transcript, the assignment of covering a proposed new arena for the University of Oklahoma’s athletic teams followed me. At this point, it feels like it may follow me to the grave.

OU wants to build a new arena for its basketball and gymnastics programs, but a variety of pressures forced the university to seek a creative financing plan. As a result, OU partnered with the City of Norman and Cleveland County to create two tax increment finance districts — an area where collected tax revenue is directed to benefit a specific development — to make it happen. Approved by a divided Norman City Council, the TIF districts would finance the arena and its parking garage, and as part of its terms, private developers have promised to build an “entertainment district” surrounding the arena with retail and office space, along with the addition of new single- and multi-unit homes.

Proponents of the development tout the new economic and housing opportunities for the city, but the project has been unpopular with many in Norman, which is occasionally referred to by some residents as the “City of ‘No.’” Detractors criticize the city’s up-to-$600 million contribution and the 25-year duration of the TIF, arguing that taking 100 percent of sales and property taxes from an up-and-coming area will prove to be a poor financial practice.

As a result, critics created a petition that garnered 10,689 signatures to put the TIF to a public vote, but Cleveland County District Judge Jeff Virgin ruled the proposed ballot question’s gist was “insufficient.” Petitioners appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which has taken up the case on its fast-track docket, but it has yet to respond to a request from the appellants to present oral arguments, and there are no hearings related to the case on the Supreme Court’s calendar.

In the meantime, the land for the planned entertainment district sits vacant, as the developers won’t break ground until the Supreme Court deems the referendum officially dead.

— Andrea Hancock

It can be tough to keep track of the problems facing Oklahoma’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, but rest assured, we’ll be doing our best in 2026.

First, there’s a consent decree settling a class action lawsuit against the state, which alleged unconstitutional delays in mental health competency restoration services. ODMHSAS is responsible for determining whether pre-trial defendants who may be mentally ill are competent to stand trial, and if they are not, the agency’s Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita is charged with treating them to restore competency.

Under terms of the consent decree, ODMHSAS is charged with improving care access, treatment timelines and competency restoration outcomes for those deemed mentally incompetent. ODMHSAS interim Commissioner Gregory Slavonic, a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, has called “resolving the consent decree” his top priority, but reports from independent court consultants charged with the agency’s progress criticized the early efforts he inherited this summer.

ODMHSAS must also redraw catchment areas for its Tulsa-area certified community behavioral health centers, after one such CCBHC, Family and Children’s Services, alleged other CCBHCs were granted preferential treatment by a previous ODMHSAS administration led by former Commissioner Carrie Slatton-Hodges. In 2023, FCS filed a protest after two other CCBHCs, Grand Mental Health and CREOKS, were granted expanded catchment areas. Earlier this year, the state’s Office of Management and Enterprise Services determined reissuing the catchment areas would be preferable to extended litigation, according to an ODMHSAS spokesperson.

And looming above every other issue is the agency’s overall fiscal picture. This year, the Legislature bailed out the agency, which had been paying previous years’ contracts with the current year’s budget. Fallout from revelations regarding financial mismanagement within ODMHSAS resulted in the Legislature terminating former Commissioner Allie Friesen and creating a new law to monitor the agency’s budget. With Slavonic on board and not compelled to honor Friesen’s pledge not to reduce services in the state until the Legislature returns in February for another potential supplemental appropriation, hundreds of contracts were terminated this fall, shocking care providers around the state and setting up interesting decisions for 2026.

Be sure to keep an eye out for future coverage of the troubled agency, including updates on a new hospital in southwest Oklahoma City.

— Andrea Hancock

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For an anecdotal example epitomizing many of the problems in Oklahoma’s mental health system, consider the case of Ross Norwood, an Edmond resident shot in the chest by EPD Sgt. Nathan Fountain in September 2024 after he had ripped the carpet out of his home, piled it on his porch and set it ablaze just before midnight.

Fountain said he believed the two grill lighters Norwood used to start the fire were knives, and a grand jury recommended no charge against the officer. But the fact multiple 911 calls involving Norwood’s mental health yielded no intervention prior to the incident highlights a national conversation at the local level. Now, Norwood remains charged with arson and another crime, and he lingered in the troubled Oklahoma County Jail for months despite a determination that his mental health disorders made him incompetent to stand trial.

Norwood’s shooting — which he survived — came two months before Oklahoma leaders announced the settlement of the class-action lawsuit that alleged “unconstitutional delays of mental health competency restoration services” for pre-trial defendants with mental health diagnoses. With Norwood’s case underscoring so many of elements of Oklahoma’s public safety and mental health systems, I’ve made it a point to check his status from time to time.

While he is still listed as a resident of the Oklahoma County Jail, defense attorney Clay Curtis said his client was finally transferred to the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita this summer. On Dec. 17, a court minute notes that Norwood remains in Vinita and that his preliminary hearing conference was continued to Jan. 21.

When I originally interviewed Curtis about his client’s September 2024 incident, he offered an assessment that speaks to a few stories we will continue following in 2026.

“Sadly, in my opinion, no one is getting adequate mental health care in the Oklahoma County Jail,” he said.

— Blake Douglas

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Already a multi-year metaphorical migraine, the process of replacing the troubled Oklahoma County Jail isn’t slated to end soon. In soap opera terms, think Guiding Light. Were it a movie, it would combine all Lord of the Rings and Avatar films into an endless reel of celluloid that could wrap the earth three times.

Since joining NonDoc in 2019, I’ve been covering the Oklahoma County Jail’s drama every step of the way. While my job entails responsible and fair reporting, it doesn’t mean I’m an observer without an opinion. From the sidelines, I can confirm the entire situation looks like one big mess with an array of potentially bad outcomes.

Opened in 1991, the current facility remains troubled by logistics and design problems, a chronic lack of sufficient staffing, and concerns from the public about the high incidence of deaths and injuries. Understandably, county officials have been seeking a replacement. In 2022, voters approved a $260 million bond that was meant to provide most — but not all — of the funding for a new jail. That project has now ballooned to carry a price tag of more than $700 million. The county lacks that kind of money, so commissioners have discussed proposing a sales tax election in April or the fall of 2026. If that were to fail, officials could be stuck building only part of the new jail — an outcome that would carry many complications.

For instance, arrestees would be taken to the first proposed phase of the new facility at 1901 E. Grand Boulevard. With the county’s new behavioral health center also slated for that site, arrestees would be booked there before being transferred downtown to the current jail for detention. Under one proposal, meals would be cooked at the new facility and also taken downtown to feed detainees. The idea leans heavily on logistical coordination, a breeding ground for potential problems, and it feels half-baked. It would also likely blow up the jail trust’s transportation budget. The proposed new jail sits about 15 minutes from the old one, necessitating many trips each day to accomplish tasks that are presently done entirely in one location.

The possibility of voters rejecting a new sales tax is very real. Any new tax always faces an uphill battle, and taxation for a jail that residents already thought they were funding with a property tax extension three years ago could be hard to market. Some believe sales taxes are regressive, and others don’t trust the government, in any form, with their money. Either way, I suspect the idea is unlikely to be popular, even if it passes because the public recognizes it as a necessity. If the sales tax election does fail, only so much can be done with the present jail to address detainee deaths, chronic understaffing and poor design elements.

The U.S. Department of Justice has threatened to take over the Oklahoma County Jail in the past, and while the present incarnation of the federal agency seems less likely to do that than the prior administration, it could still happen. Those costs would be passed along to county taxpayers one way or another.

As a result, 2026 will be high stakes for everyone involved. While there will be doubtless plot twists along the way, the next 12 months are almost certain to provide some sort of resolution to the long-running saga that many people are tired of watching, while also not being able to look away.

— Matt Patterson

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As a public agency that managers millions of dollars provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, you’re supposed to complete and release an annual audit.

The obligation sounds fairly straightforward — the sort of thing you must do, unlike flipping your mattress or cleaning out the refrigerator regularly.

But like a stack of sauce packets from the Obama administration, the Tulsa Housing Authority’s four years of incomplete audits appear primed to burst in 2026. In January, Mayor Monroe Nichols has the chance to replace up to four of THA’s five board members, and the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency has rung its alarm bells.

“The old adage, where there’s smoke, there’s fire?” an OHFA leader said of THA during a tense meeting in November. “We saw smoke in some of their audits. We’re just afraid there’s a fire.”

That makes at least two of us, and it underscores why some combination of NonDoc’s journalists will be attending the THA’s board meetings in 2026 and following up with THA consumers who reach out to our newsroom each time we publish a story about the agency.

— Tres Savage

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Being a Choctaw Nation citizen living within the reservation means starting a fishing trip the same way I start a court story — by researching the law. One day, I’m legally fishing under tribal authority, the next day, I’m apparently a criminal in the eyes of the state.

Like that famous tune The Song That Doesn’t End from Lamb Chop’s Play-Along, a lawsuit filed by tribal nations against Gov. Kevin Stitt and other state officials over hunting and fishing rights seems destined to continue through 2026, Stitt’s last full year in office.

The lawsuit, filed by the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Cherokee nations, seeks to block Oklahoma from enforcing its hunting and fishing laws against tribal citizens within reservation boundaries. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, the suit argues the state is unlawfully intruding on treaty-protected rights and tribal sovereignty.

In the filing, the tribes ask the court to affirm that their citizens have federally protected rights to hunt, fish and gather on their own reservations under tribal law. They also seek an order preventing state officials from citing, prosecuting or otherwise interfering with those activities. The defendants include Stitt, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation director Wade Free and other agency officials, along with special prosecutor Russell Cochran, who was appointed by the governor to handle wildlife cases involving tribal citizens.

The case also lands amid internal conflict within ODWC, which has received conflicting guidance from the governor and Attorney General Gentner Drummond. The AG urged the agency to rescind its enforcement directive, warning that officers could face personal liability. ODWC has discussed hiring outside counsel, and Drummond issued an opinion on the matter.

Both Stitt and Drummond believe the law is on their side.

This and other tribal issues will certainly remain a hot-button topic throughout 2026 and the upcoming gubernatorial election, where candidates other than Drummond will need to reveal their positions sooner than later.

— Derrick James

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Renewed attention on cockfighting in Oklahoma will also make headlines in the new year, and living in southeast Oklahoma, I’m the NonDoc reporter who drew the short straw, or maybe the sharp spur, to pick up the beat for 2026.

Following the January 2025 arrests of two Texas men in southern Oklahoma, Animal Wellness Action advocate Kevin Chambers urged prosecutors to enforce existing laws more aggressively, noting strong bipartisan public opposition to cockfighting.

“Every weekend, Saturday and Sunday, there’s a cockfight going on some place,” Chambers said. “And there’s a lot of (cockfighting) pits in southern Oklahoma, so they were most likely coming and going to a cockfight. It’s really hard to know where they’re doing it at, because they move the pits around.”

This year also saw the state’s Ethics Commission order the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission PAC to be dissolved. And Anthony DeVore, the now former president of the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, seemed to be caught on camera attending a cockfight in McIntosh County. Charged with a misdemeanor in June, DeVore is set to dispose of his case to start the new year — just in time for his announced candidacy for House District 19.

— Derrick James

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Our editor in chief likes to quote a law professor who told a gathering of journalists something along the lines of, “The McGirt decision is so exciting. You’re going to be covering this for the next 30 years!”

Every time Tres tells that story, I’m reminded of something I heard in law school after that ship got stuck in the Suez Canal: “Some law clerk is going to spend the rest of their career on this boat’s litigation.”

It’s hard to believe I’ve been covering Indian law for NonDoc for two years now, but by that professor’s measure, we appear to have only about 25 years of McGirt-related coverage left! So, without further ado, here’s a list of my “boat litigation” heading into 2026:

• The U.S. Supreme Court must decide whether to take up the appeal of Alicia Stroble, the Muscogee National Council secretary, in her challenge to the applicability of state income tax in Indian County;
• The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals must decide whether Indians have fewer civil rights protections owing to cross-deputization agreements;
• Litigation remains unresolved in the U.S. Northern District of Oklahoma over the City of Tulsa and the Muscogee Nation’s proposed settlement agreement. (A separate lawsuit filed by Gov. Kevin Stitt with the state Supreme Court was stayed Dec. 15 pending the federal court’s ruling);
• Litigation is ongoing in the U.S. Western District of Oklahoma over the City of Hinton’s attempts to cut water services to a Delaware Nation casino;
• Litigation remains unresolved in the U.S. Eastern District of Oklahoma over the City of Henryetta’s prosecution of tribal citizens;
• Litigation is lingering in both the Northern and Eastern District over District Attorneys Matt Ballard and Carol Iski’s prosecution of tribal citizens for crimes committed in Indian Country;
• Litigation is lingering in the Northern District over Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler’s prosecution of tribal citizens for crimes committed in Indian Country;
• Litigation remains stalled in the Eastern District over the Muscogee Nation’s prosecution of a non-Indian Okmulgee County jailer;
• The Muscogee Nation Supreme Court will oversee the implementation of its Freedmen ruling; and
• Jimcy McGirt still awaits federal sentencing after pleading guilty to failing to register as a sex offender in the Eastern District in June.

— Tristan Loveless

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Psychologists say the space you live in reflects your mental state. The same could be said of the Oklahoma County Courthouse as it undergoes renovations and has a layout that leaves journalists like me scrambling to get to hearings on time. The structural chaos is mirrored by frustrations from victims awaiting justice and those watching pending cases that seem to carry a lack of urgency.

As I prepared to take over the Edmond Civic Reporting Project for NonDoc, the Oklahoma County Courthouse was not top of mind for me. I have since discovered two cases with Edmond ties that highlight concerning delays in the justice system.

An Edmond mother, Brittany Gordon, was charged with driving under the influence and child endangerment despite the results of her urinalysis and blood test showing no alcohol in her system. Gordon’s preliminary hearing was delayed for 16 months until the charges were dismissed after a prosecutor said Edmond Police Department officers needed as witnesses were not available for a long-delayed preliminary hearing. District Attorney Vicki Behenna’s office said the decision was simply “procedural” because the court had previously indicated that no additional continuances would be granted, but the entire dynamic is complicated by Gordon’s pending federal lawsuit about how EPD Sgt. Nathan Fountain — yes, you saw his name in another blurb — struck her and caused a broken leg inside the Oklahoma County Jail.

In a second case, another prosecutor in Behenna’s office said new charges are coming against Melvin Platt, a convicted sex offender who led a police chase three weeks after being released on parole. While it was filed in November 2024, Behenna’s motion to revoke Platt’s suspended sentence has been delayed until Jan. 5. It’s unclear when the additional charges discussed in court earlier this month might be filed, but our team will be watching this case and others as they linger into 2026.

— Faithanna Olsson

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A fourth NonDoc education reporter will cover the criminal case against the founders of Oklahoma’s largest charter school.

As the 2026 legislative session gets underway, I’ll be splitting my time between tracking policy proposals and finding parking at the Oklahoma County Courthouse. The lengthy preliminary hearing in the state’s case against Epic Charter School founders David Chaney and Ben Harris, and former chief financial officer Josh Brock, is set to resume Feb. 25. The hearing began in March 2023.

The trio was criminally charged in June 2022 for what is alleged to be the largest embezzlement scheme in state history. According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the scheme cost the state $22 million. Brock agreed to testify for prosecutors in exchange for consideration on his charges.

When the hearing begins, it will be with a new judge presiding. District Judge Susan Stallings recused herself from the case Nov. 25 after learning that Harris’ defense attorney, Joe White, is the campaign committee chairman for Warren Plunk, who is seeking to unseat her in the 2026 election cycle. While Plunk had not filed a campaign committee at the time of Stallings’ recusal, he did so Dec. 22.

White’s move was not the first time Stallings’ oversight of the case has been questioned. In May 2023, Brock’s attorney, Irven Box, filed a motion to remove Stallings from the case before White cross-examined Brock. The motion was later withdrawn, but it contributed to the delay of the case.

With the pre-Thanksgiving hearing unfolding as a “shitshow,” according to Box, I can only imagine what might happen with the case in 2026.

— Kevin Eagleson

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