FILED
The Heat Advisory Runs Through Tonight. Here Are the Numbers Behind Oklahoma's 110-Degree Week, and Where to Cool Off.7:00 AM CTFifteen Oklahoma Counties Have Now Banned Outdoor Burning, and the List Is Still Growing.7:00 AM CTEarly Voting in the Superintendent Runoff Starts Aug. 20. Here Is Every Date and Deadline Left.7:00 AM CTStarting Dec. 31, SoonerCare Will Check 330,000 Oklahomans' Eligibility Twice a Year. The Time to Get Ready Is Now.7:00 AM CTYour District's Phone Ban Was Supposed to Be Optional This Fall. In May It Became Permanent.7:00 AM CTThe Heat Advisory Runs Through Tonight. Here Are the Numbers Behind Oklahoma's 110-Degree Week, and Where to Cool Off.7:00 AM CTFifteen Oklahoma Counties Have Now Banned Outdoor Burning, and the List Is Still Growing.7:00 AM CTEarly Voting in the Superintendent Runoff Starts Aug. 20. Here Is Every Date and Deadline Left.7:00 AM CTStarting Dec. 31, SoonerCare Will Check 330,000 Oklahomans' Eligibility Twice a Year. The Time to Get Ready Is Now.7:00 AM CTYour District's Phone Ban Was Supposed to Be Optional This Fall. In May It Became Permanent.7:00 AM CT
MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2026READER-FUNDED · NO ADVERTISERS
A weathered newsroom desk with a telephone, Rolodex, spiral notebook and a spiked stack of pages beneath a wall map of Oklahoma counties

THE IMPRINT · EST 2026

About The Colony

An independent Oklahoma press. Investigative reporting, podcasting, and live programming — funded by readers, not advertisers.

The Colony OK was founded in 2026 to do the kind of long-form, accountability journalism that legacy press in Oklahoma had stopped doing — not for ideological reasons, but because the business model no longer supported it. Our answer: skip the advertisers. Charge readers a fair price. Hire reporters who can actually report.

Our Standards

Every story is filed by a named journalist. Every source is verified. Every public-records request, donor disclosure, or court filing we cite is linked or available on request. We correct errors prominently, never quietly.

Our Funding

Membership ($4.99/month) covers ~70% of editorial operations. The remainder comes from a founders' donor list — disclosed at the bottom of this page. We do not accept gifts, junkets, or undisclosed retainers.

Our Beat

Oklahoma politics, culture, the economy, and the institutions — state, local, and federal — that shape life here. We cover statewide elections like they matter, because they do.

The Team

Our journalists: Marven Goodman, Katy Smith, Everett Piper, and Jake Merrick. Founding publisher: Jake Merrick. Operations: JAM Media.