Oklahoma State University

Contractors could soon manage the Oklahoma Public Health Laboratory, Interim Commissioner of Health Lance Frye told employees this week.

Oklahoma farmers are expecting fewer pecans this season due to weather conditions.

Oklahoma typically averages 17 million pounds of pecans each year, and ranks top three in the country for native pecan production, according to a report from Oklahoma State University.

Oklahoma's Regents for Higher Education are asking for a funding increase. But even if they get it, the state’s public colleges still won’t be funded as well as they were a decade ago.

Tree clean-up is on the minds of many Oklahomans following an early-season ice storm that affected a large portion of the state.

Keith Reed, the horticulture educator for Oklahoma State University Payne County Extension Office, said when this storm was being talked about last week, the first thought was that all the leaves were still on the trees.

“Timing really hurt us one this one,” Reed said. “The trees didn’t have a chance.”

Burns Hargis, the president of Oklahoma State University, announced his retirement Friday after more than 12 years as president.

The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University both announced changes on Tuesday to their academic calendars in an effort to avoid another possible surge in COVID-19 cases due to student travel.

As workplaces and schools go online to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many people are relying on a strong internet connection. But in some states, less than 50% of rural households have access to broadband, according to data from the Federal Communications Commission.

First restaurants and school cafeterias closed, then COVID-19 outbreaks at meat-packing plants slowed processing. In the spring, shoppers started seeing signs declaring limits on the amount of fresh meat they could buy in one trip. Prices for some products crept up.

The COVID-19 mortality rate continues to be higher in rural parts of the state than urban areas, according to analysis of state data by the Oklahoma State University Center for Rural Health. Rural areas make up 34% of Oklahoma’s population but account for 36% of all COVID-19 deaths in the state since April.

As of Sept. 11, the cumulative mortality is about 24 per 100,000 people in rural areas. This is slightly higher than urban areas.