Graycen Wheeler
Water ReporterGraycen Wheeler is a reporter covering water issues at KOSU. She joined KOSU in June 2022 as a corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative that places emerging journalists in newsrooms across the country.
Wheeler grew up in Norman and attended the University of Oklahoma, where she studied biochemistry. She started writing and podcasting about science news while she was a graduate researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder. Wheeler realized that becoming a journalist would allow her to combine her love for her local community with the puzzle-solving penchant that had drawn her to science. So, after earning her doctorate in biochemistry, she completed a master’s in science journalism at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
While in Santa Cruz, Wheeler wrote about science and technology for outlets including Science, Symmetry Magazine and Mongabay. She also covered local news, particularly housing and environmental issues, for the Monterey Herald, San Jose Mercury News and Santa Cruz Local.
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An underground pipeline has leaked at least 42,000 gallons of crude oil into a creek in Payne County since it ruptured on July 8. -
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has issued an emergency order against Garrison Shann for installing unlicensed and hazardous septic systems in northern Oklahoma.
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Black Mesa State Park in the panhandle is without water while its well undergoes repairs. But even through this summer’s heat, drought and water problems, your state parks are doing fine, Oklahoma.
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Oklahoma has received thousands of applications for pandemic relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, including more than 700 requests for funds to improve or repair water infrastructure.
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If you go to an Oklahoma lake, keep an eye out for water that looks like it has paint floating on the surface. It could mean there’s an algae bloom that could be harmful to your health.
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The City of Norman is asking its residents to conserve water after a pump that carries water from Lake Thunderbird stopped working.
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The EPA regulates public water systems, but many people drinking from private wells don’t know much about their water. This summer, the Oklahoma Water Resources Center has partnered with OSU’s Rural Renewal Initiative to test wells in three counties in the southwest corner of the state.
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Oklahoma voters widdled down candidates for federal, statewide and legislative offices on Tuesday.
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Some people near Sardis Lake in southeast Oklahoma ran out of water last week while waiting on repairs to their water treatment system. The water is back on, but the area is on a boil order without a definite end date.
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The reporters — Xcaret Nuñez and Graycen Wheeler — come to KOSU as corps members for Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities.
