The Frontier
@readfrontier.bsky.social
Oklahoma's best independent nonprofit journalism. To donate --> www.readfrontier.org/donate Sign up for our newsletter --> https://www.readfrontier.org/newsletters/
Outside groups that sometimes try to hide their financial backers are spending millions on political ads. @readfrontier.bsky.social's new database lets voters track Super PACs and dark money groups. Learn more: readfrontier.org/political-ads
Who bought that ad? We’re following the money in Oklahoma elections
Outside groups that sometimes try to hide their financial backers are spending millions on political ads.
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Who bought that ad? We’re following the money in Oklahoma elections. Outside groups that sometimes try to hide their financial backers are spending millions on political ads.
Who bought that ad? We’re following the money in Oklahoma elections
Outside groups that sometimes try to hide their financial backers are spending millions on political ads.
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“Are they allowed to lie?” We asked readers what they wanted to know about campaign ads.
The Frontier answers your questions about political advertising
“Are they allowed to lie?” We asked readers what they wanted to know about campaign ads.
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The review comes after a Frontier investigation found seven preventable deaths at the facility. The Tulsa Police Department previously investigated the deaths and said it found no criminal wrongdoing.
Tulsa DA asks OSBI to investigate seven deaths at city jail
The review comes after a Frontier investigation found seven preventable deaths at the facility. The Tulsa Police Department previously investigated the deaths and said it found no criminal wrongdoing.
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After Tulsa announced the closure of its city jail, we’re continuing to report on how police respond to mental health calls. Tell us about your experience.
Help us investigate how Tulsa police respond to people in mental health crises
After Tulsa announced the closure of its city jail, we’re continuing to report on how police respond to mental health calls. Tell us about your experience.
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The biggest stories in Oklahoma deserve more than a headline. Join Watchdogs, The Frontier's free newsletter, for investigative reporting, reporter notes and behind-the-scenes updates from Oklahoma's independent newsroom. Sign up free: www.readfrontier.org/newsletters/
In a buried report, oil regulators pinpointed nearly 600 wells operating illegally, threatening Oklahoma’s drinking water. Then there were 1,400+ wells that had operated for decades without any limits at all — grandfathered in from an earlier era. Published in March w/ @propublica.org
Oklahoma Ignored Records Revealing 600 Illegally Operating Injection Wells
Oklahoma took on an ambitious project to catalog all of the state’s injection wells, which shoot toxic waste generated by oil drilling back into the ground. Despite records showing risk of drinking wa...
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Tulsa is shutting down its city jail after a Frontier investigation found 7 deaths in 3 years at the small municipal lockup. The announcement comes after The Frontier uncovered seven deaths in three years at the jail, including a man detention officers left alone in a restraint device.
An investigation by The Frontier found seven people have died of preventable causes in the 70-bed Tulsa Municipal Jail over the last three years. Now, the jail is being shut down. Follow The Frontier’s continuing investigation at readfrontier.org.
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols says the city will close its jail. The announcement comes one day after @readfrontier.bsky.social published video and reporting on a man who died in a restraint device there. www.readfrontier.org/stories/tuls...
Tulsa mayor orders closure of city jail after Frontier investigation
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols ordered the immediate closure of the Tulsa Municipal Jail after The Frontier's investigation into the death of Justin Benner.
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The announcement comes after The Frontier uncovered seven deaths in three years at the jail, including a man detention officers left alone in a restraint device.
Tulsa mayor orders closure of city jail after Frontier investigation
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols ordered the immediate closure of the Tulsa Municipal Jail after The Frontier's investigation into the death of Justin Benner.
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NEW: Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols has ordered the closure of the city's municipal lockup following our investigation into the death of Justin Benner. More to come soon.
We spent months working to put this story together. It documents the final hour of a man Tulsa police took to jail instead of a hospital. This is one story in our ongoing investigation into deaths inside the Tulsa municipal jail.
Tulsa police took him to the city jail instead of a hospital. Video shows he was dead within an hour.
Justin Benner pleaded for help as detention officers wrestled him into a full-body restraint device and left him alone in a cell.
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Tulsa police took him to the city jail instead of a hospital. Less than an hour later, he was dead. Newly obtained surveillance video and records reveal what happened to Justin Benner inside Tulsa's municipal lockup. A Frontier analysis found seven people have died there since 2023.
Body camera and jail video shows arrest of Justin Benner before his death at Tulsa Municipal Jail
YouTube video by Watch Frontier
youtube.com
A man died at the Tulsa city jail after detention officers placed him in a full-body restraint device. The video is hard to watch, but we at @readfrontier.bsky.social hope it will shed light on conditions at the jail, where at least seven have died since 2023. www.readfrontier.org/stories/tuls...
Tulsa police took him to the city jail instead of a hospital. Video shows he was dead within an hour.
Justin Benner pleaded for help as detention officers wrestled him into a full-body restraint device and left him alone in a cell.
readfrontier.org
I got into journalism on accident over 20 years ago. A random compliment from a random teacher put me on this path and changed my life. This story, published today and written by Garrett Yalch, makes me proud to have spent 2 decades doing this.
Tulsa police took him to the city jail instead of a hospital. Video shows he was dead within an hour.
Justin Benner pleaded for help as detention officers wrestled him into a full-body restraint device and left him alone in a cell.
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After telling neighbors that Benner would get treatment and be “fine,” a Tulsa police officer enters his vehicle and drives away to the sounds of heavy metal. Benner was dead in an isolation cell an hour later.
Body camera footage shows final arrest of Justin Benner before his death at Tulsa Municipal Jail
YouTube video by Watch Frontier
youtube.com
Benner groaned and begged “help me” as three detention officers wrestled him into the restraint device. At one point, a detention officer knelt on his back. Video obtained by @readfrontier.bsky.social shows Benner's arrest and death inside Tulsa's municipal jail.
Tulsa police took him to the city jail instead of a hospital. Video shows he was dead within an hour.
Justin Benner pleaded for help as detention officers wrestled him into a full-body restraint device and left him alone in a cell.
readfrontier.org
More than a year after it was due, the state’s plan to provide court-ordered treatment for Oklahoma defendants found incompetent to stand trial has been approved by the consultants overseeing a high-profile consent decree. via @kosuradio.bsky.social
Oklahoma’s plan to comply with mental health consent decree is approved one year after deadline
More than a year after it was due, the state’s plan to provide court-ordered treatment for Oklahoma defendants found incompetent to stand trial has been approved by the consultants overseeing a high-p...
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The lawsuit stems from the February 2025 death of Brian Bonner, a 38-year-old man who died from a treatable throat infection after spending three days in the city jail. Bonner is one of at least seven people who have died at the facility since January 2023, an investigation by The Frontier found.
Lawsuit over Tulsa city jail death alleges officials ignored years of warnings about medical care
The estate of a man who died of a treatable throat infection at the jail alleges officials failed to provide adequate medical care despite a pattern of inmate deaths.
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Lawsuit over Tulsa city jail death alleges officials ignored years of warnings about medical care
Lawsuit over Tulsa city jail death alleges officials ignored years of warnings about medical care
The estate of a man who died of a treatable throat infection at the jail alleges officials failed to provide adequate medical care despite a pattern of inmate deaths.
readfrontier.org
Oklahoma approved oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of a public water well, without making the company prove this would not pollute the city’s water. The site has repeatedly failed tests since, indicating a potential wastewater leak. Published w/ @propublica.org
To protect its drinking water, this city has to appeal to the oil regulators that put it at risk
Oklahoma restricts oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells. Regulators have let companies do it anyway. But in the city of Enid, officials are pushing back against one ...
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The estate of a man who died of a treatable throat infection at the jail alleges officials failed to provide adequate medical care despite a pattern of inmate deaths.
Lawsuit over Tulsa city jail death alleges officials ignored years of warnings about medical care
The estate of a man who died of a treatable throat infection at the jail alleges officials failed to provide adequate medical care despite a pattern of inmate deaths.
readfrontier.org
Family members of Olimpia Fisher urged the board to deny mercy, while Cuesta-Rodriguez told members he doesn’t deserve clemency ahead of his scheduled Aug. 13 execution.
Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez clemency denied by Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board
Family members of Olimpia Fisher urged the board to deny mercy, while Cuesta-Rodriguez told members he doesn't deserve clemency ahead of his scheduled Aug. 13 execution.
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Oklahoma County bail hearings don't meet constitutional standards. My latest for @readfrontier.bsky.social in collab w/ @kosuradio.bsky.social with contributions from @theappeal.org www.readfrontier.org/stories/just...
Justice in less than a minute? Oklahoma County bail hearings don’t meet constitutional standards, attorneys say.
Public defenders say judges routinely fail to consider whether defendants can afford bail, leaving poor and homeless people jailed on low-level charges. Other counties have already faced civil rights ...
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Oklahoma approved oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of a public water well, without making the company prove this would not pollute the city’s water. The site has repeatedly failed tests since, indicating a potential wastewater leak. with @readfrontier.bsky.social
To Protect Its Drinking Water, This City Has to Appeal to the Oil Regulators That Put It at Risk
Oklahoma restricts oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells. Regulators have let companies do it anyway. But in the city of Enid, officials are pushing back against one ...
propublica.org
Justice in less than a minute? Oklahoma County bail hearings don’t meet constitutional standards, attorneys say.
Justice in less than a minute? Oklahoma County bail hearings don’t meet constitutional standards, attorneys say.
Public defenders say judges routinely fail to consider whether defendants can afford bail, leaving poor and homeless people jailed on low-level charges. Other counties have already faced civil rights ...
readfrontier.org
Public defenders say judges routinely fail to consider whether defendants can afford bail, leaving poor and homeless people jailed on low-level charges. Other counties have already faced civil rights lawsuits.
Justice in less than a minute? Oklahoma County bail hearings don’t meet constitutional standards, attorneys say.
Public defenders say judges routinely fail to consider whether defendants can afford bail, leaving poor and homeless people jailed on low-level charges. Other counties have already faced civil rights ...
readfrontier.org
In Oklahoma, Human Coalition lobbied to boost funding for the state’s Choosing Childbirth program by about sixfold, from $3 million to $18 million in 2024, Lauren Enriquez, a spokesperson for the nonprofit, said in a statement. www.readfrontier.org/stories/reje...
Rejected for Oklahoma funding, an anti-abortion group helped rewrite state law
The Texas-based nonprofit Human Coalition lobbies for anti-abortion programs and gets millions of dollars in funding from other states.
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Rejected for Oklahoma funding, an anti-abortion group helped rewrite state law.
Rejected for Oklahoma funding, an anti-abortion group helped rewrite state law
The Texas-based nonprofit Human Coalition lobbies for anti-abortion programs and gets millions of dollars in funding from other states.
readfrontier.org