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CLICK HERE to listen to Radio Oklahoma's Dale Forbis on paid maternity leave. The Oklahoma Senate has approved legislation granting six weeks of paid maternity leave for full-time female state employees. The author of the bill, Republican State Senator Jessica Garvin, said the bill is a good way to retain state workers. Employee turnover is estimated to cost Oklahoma 110 million dollars each year. “When we are able to hire, recruit and retain high-quality employees in state agencies, that helps with government efficiency," Garvin said. The state of Oklahoma has almost 19,000 female employees, and just under 13,000 are of childbearing age.

CLICK HERE to hear details from Radio Oklahoma's Bob Sands. The old saying, "You can run, but you cannot hide," has proven true again in Edmond. Details are provided by Radio Oklahoma’s Bob Sands. Last week, a motorcyclist taunted police at a traffic stop after he was weaving in and out of traffic on I-35 at a high rate of speed. The motorcyclist, Andrew Arnold, took off back into traffic and disappeared from sight. To his misfortune, he was tracked down by the same policemen and now faces a host of charges.

CLICK HERE for details from Radio Oklahoma's Michael Dean. The Tulsa World reported that the police department is handling fewer complaints filed by community members and internally. Since 2019, there has been a yearly decrease in overall complaints as well as those initiated by citizens.

CLICK HERE to listen to comments from Charles McCall regarding Oklahoma's constitutional session. House Speaker Charles McCall said lawmakers will be wrapping up all of the state’s business by the constitutional deadline Friday at 5 p.m. “We will be finalized Friday this week,” McCall said. “We will end our constitutional session on-time.”

CLICK HERE to listen to Ken Johnson's update on the new youth crisis unit in McAlester. A new crisis unit for youth has been opened in southeastern Oklahoma, and more facilities are planned. State Representative Randy Randleman of Eufaula said the McAlester Crisis Unit did not cost much because an existing facility was used. “We actually worked it in with some of their urgent care, so it really didn’t cost that much because the building was already there,” Randleman said. The next project is set to be an adolescent hospital to be located in McAlester.

CLICK HERE to listen to Dale Forbis give an update on the state budget. A budget for state government has officially been introduced in the legislature. Radio Oklahoma’s Dale Forbis provides details. As more than 900 million dollars will be saved for unexpected needs, Representative Kevin Wallace told other members of the committee working on the budget that this will give them some “wiggle-room.” “…that will be available for supplementals, or you know, heaven forbid, if the economy does turn...,” Wallace said. The state has several billion dollars sitting in this “rainy-day” fund, but the committee is leaving room for an economic downturn without touching those dollars.

CLICK HERE to listen to Radio Oklahoma's Michael Dean with details on the letter to EPA. U.S. Senator James Lankford and 82 of his colleagues recently sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency. Radio Oklahoma’s Michael Dean provides details below. “The letter urges the EPA to withdraw portions of a proposal that would place more stringent vapor emission requirements on small bulk gasoline plants,” Dean said. “They say if finalized, that rule could drive up compliance costs, impact regular service, and during emergencies, choke off supplies to entire communities.”

CLICK HERE to listen to Ken Johnson's update on the latest mural at the Capitol. Crowds gathered on the State Capitol’s ground floor on Monday to see the latest mural being mounted at the Rotunda. Artist Lucas Simmons explains what is pictured in his large painting. “A group of people hauling hay in the background, and then in the foreground, you have various other industries that are directly or tangentially tied to the agricultural industries,” Simmons said. Two murals are on the walls now, with two more to come that are set to be finished within a year. Simmons said he starts with sketches and eventually comes up with a compositional idea. "I take a lot of photos, and I use those photos to inform better drawings, and then I do a final drawing and use that as my reference for the painting," Simmons said.

CLICK HERE to listen to Ken Johnson's update, featuring comments from Chuck Hall. The Oklahoma Senate has been holding discussions to make sure plans for a statewide electrical vehicle charging network can be utilized by anyone. Amendments to Senate Bill 502 were approved on a 35-to-9 vote Monday. Senator Chuck Hall is one of the sponsors. “Almost four months ago now, we began to talk about the build-out of the EV charging network,” Hall said. “We had a bill running that we wanted to work with all parties…”

Photo credit: News on 6 CLICK HERE to listen to the update from Ken Johnson on the Wynnewood Refinery fire. Tuesday morning, fire crews responded to a fire at the Wynnewood Refining near State Highway 77. An investigation is now underway, as the cause of the fire has been isolated. Two people have been hospitalized.

CLICK HERE to listen to Ken Johnson's update on Todd Lamb as the new president of UCO. With the University of Central Oklahoma hiring former Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb as its next president, there is some backlash, mainly from one of UCO’s top donors, Paycom CEO, Chad Richison. Richison recently sent a letter to the University’s governing board asking why “a career politician got the job with no higher education or management experience.”

CLICK HERE to listen to Ken Johnson's update on Bartlesville city pools. The city of Bartlesville has announced that city pools will not be opening on time to start the summer season because of the city's low water supply.