Business Briefs (Week of Jan. 28)
Monday, January 31, 2022
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Looking for business briefs? This week's roundup (for the week of Jan. 28) from The Journal Record.
Oklahoma team to be in new bull riding league
Oklahoma sports fans will have a new team to rally around when the Professional Bull Riders launches a new league featuring top bull riders later this year. The Oklahoma Freedom will be one of eight teams in the PBR Team Series. The team will be based at the Paycom Center and operated by Prodigal Sports.
Mack leaving CareerTech for MidAmerica Industrial Park
Oklahoma CareerTech State Director Marcie Mack has announced plans to leave and to become manager of talent development with MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor. Mack, a CareerTech veteran of nearly 30 years who has held the system’s top post for the past seven, informed the CareerTech board on Jan. 20 of her decision to leave effective March 1. According to a release, the board will consider appointing an interim director at that time.
Culture wars a big focus of upcoming legislative session
Oklahoma lawmakers filed a number of bills for the upcoming session that herald the U.S. Constitution while – or even as grounds for – defying federal law and resisting the federal government. Lawmakers met the Jan. 20 deadline to file bills for the upcoming legislative session, which begins Feb. 7, with more than 2,200 new measures. While many focus on business and issues unique to Oklahoma, several bills grapple with issues of faith, culture and values currently debated on the national stage.
Minimum-wage increase subject of two bills
On Jan. 1, 2022, the minimum wage increased in 21 states nationwide. Oklahoma was not one of those states. But two state lawmakers are trying again this year to give Oklahoma’s minimum wage a bit of a boost. Senate Bill 332 by state Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, would increase Oklahoma’s minimum wage a little bit each year until reaching $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2027. After that, Oklahoma’s minimum wage would increase automatically in keeping with increases in the Consumer Price Index. SB 1232 by state Sen. George Young, D-Oklahoma City, would increase Oklahoma’s minimum wage to $12 an hour with an increase of 50 cents every year for the next six years. Oklahoma adheres to the federal minimum wage, which Congress set at $7.25 per hour back in 2009 and has not altered since then.
Inventory of homes for sale shows decline in OKC, nationwide
Sales of previously occupied homes fell nationwide in December for the first time in four months as many would-be buyers apparently were frustrated by a lack of available properties on the market. Numbers of houses for sale dipped to their lowest levels in more than two decades, according to the National Association of Realtors. Oklahoma City managed to buck the trend as far as sales completed during the month. In the metro, sales closed in December numbered 2,535. That compared to 2,363 sales recorded closed during the month of November, according to the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of Realtors. However, numbers of homes listed for sale in the OKC metro did show a decline.
Chesapeake makes big investment in Marcellus locations
Chesapeake Energy Corp. announced a $2 billion purchase that executives said would make the company “better, not just bigger.” In exchange for $2 billion in cash and 9.44 million common shares, Chesapeake acquired from Chief E&D Holdings LP and affiliates of Tug Hill Inc. “high quality producing assets and an inventory of premium drilling locations in the prolific Marcellus Shale in Northeast Pennsylvania.” Chesapeake also announced it had sold off its Powder River Basin assets in Wyoming to Continental Resources Inc., also based in Oklahoma City, for about $450 million in cash.
Cherokee Nation offers film incentive program
Cherokee Nation officials announced a new film incentive program that will provide up to $1 million annually for productions filmed within the tribe’s 14-county reservation. The Cherokee Nation Film Incentive will support the industry while addressing the need for diversity and inclusion and accurate representation of Native identity within productions, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said.
ClearSign Technologies moves headquarters to Tulsa
ClearSign Technologies Corp., a provider of industrial combustion and sensing technologies designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions, has moved its headquarters to Tulsa from Seattle. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce awarded ClearSign an incentive through the Oklahoma 21st Century Quality Jobs Act program.
Mayoral candidates question need for MAPS projects
The three challengers seeking to replace Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt in the Feb. 8 municipal election pointed to problems with city spending, the county jail and homelessness during a debate Tuesday night. Candidates Carol Hefner, Jimmy Lawson and Frank Urbanic also criticized Holt for choosing to skip the debate, which was presented by NonDoc Media partnering with several other media and civic organizations.
Nordam opens aircraft component repair facility in Taiwan
Tulsa-based Nordam recently opened its new Nordam Asia Ltd. facility at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan. Nordam’s new Asia Ltd. aircraft component repair facility represents a joint venture with China Airlines, flag carrier of Taiwan.
Divided court rules Morgan can practice law
Former state Sen. Mike Morgan can practice law in Oklahoma again after having served his time in prison for bribery, thanks to a narrow majority vote of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In their conflicting opinions, the justices espoused very different attitudes regarding corruption and redemption within the Oklahoma Legislature.
Medical school addressing need for rural physicians
As the inaugural class at the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation prepares to start clinical rotations this July, Dr. Natasha Bray, interim dean for OSU-COM’s Cherokee Nation Campus, is excited to see the results of years of planning. The class of 2024 is 22% Native American and 40% represent rural Oklahomans, and the class of 2025 is 24.5% Native American and 50.9% rural Oklahoman, which is in line with the program’s mission.
Merger creates largest tribally owned bank in the U.S.
When First National Bank & Trust, owned by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, entered into an agreement to acquire MidWest Community Financial Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary, The First State Bank, in June, the deal made First National Bank & Trust the largest tribally owned bank in the United States. Now, several months into the acquisition, which represented Oklahoma’s largest merger-and-acquisition transaction in banking since 2016, First National is already anticipating that it will become a “billion-dollar bank” within the next 24 months.
Rental prices on rise in OKC, across nation
People who rent paid an average of 15.7% more for places to live in Oklahoma City in 2021 than they had to pay in 2020, as the median price for a rental in the city rose to $949, according to realtor.com. In Oklahoma City, the median price paid for a studio apartment rose to $785. The median paid for a one-bedroom apartment rose to $896, and the median commanded for a two-bedroom rental property rose to $1,008 a month in 2021, the online real estate marketing company said.
Stillwater, OSU partner to keep commercial service at airport
The city of Stillwater and Oklahoma State University are looking to pool money in coming years to assure continuation of commercial air service at the Stillwater airport. According to local officials, the city and university plan to enter into a memorandum of understanding to secure minimum revenue guarantees sought by American Airlines, the commercial provider at Stillwater Regional Airport. The carrier, sapped financially by effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, has defined new financial requirements not only for the Stillwater airport but for other regional airports as well.
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