The first Voices of Oklahoma blog has launched! Okie Notes features brief news and links on all things Oklahoma. Read it for a quick digest of interesting items that may not be covered in our full-length stories…

by Callie Campbell

Oklahoma is one of the most car-dependent states in the U.S. In times of prosperity fueled by a booming oil and gas industry, we built highways, bought cars, and neglected mass transit. Last year, Tulsa and Oklahoma City were ranked dead last in public transit use out of the 50 largest American cities.

Now a combination of rising gas prices, environmental concerns, and the financial crisis are causing Oklahomans to give public transportation another look…

by Gene Perry

The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival can make you believe in ghosts. He may have died more than 40 years ago, but last week Woody Guthrie haunted Okemah, OK, the town where he was born…

by Gene Perry

It was a typically muggy summer day in Newcastle, OK, but nobody was slowing down at Mindy’s Memory Primate Sanctuary. Not with yard work to do, cages to clean, fences to repair, and hungry primates to feed…

by Casey Holcomb

Norman residents have shown they care what happens to their trash. Seventy-two percent of Normanites voted for curbside recycling, and the percentage of participating households has been unusually high since the program began last year. However, a large gap remains in the waste being recycled in Norman…

Brandt Park (more commonly referred to as the duck pond) is located one block east of the OU campus on Lindsey St. All photos are by Ajit Bhand.