Business Briefs (Week of Nov. 10)
Monday, November 13, 2023
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Looking for business briefs? This week's roundup (for the week ending November 10)
Bradshaw ranch near Thackerville changes hands
NFL legend, television football commentator and entertainer Terry Bradshaw and his wife have sold their nearly 800-acre ranch near Thackerville in southern Oklahoma. New owners intend to maintain the property as a working ranch and will use it to raise world-class quarter horses. According to a news release from Icon Global Group, the expansive property sold recently after being listed for $22.5 million.
Oklahoma makes top 10 for net migration
In 2022, roughly 117,800 new people moved to Oklahoma, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, far outpacing the 85,000 who left. In fact, a recent study showed that Oklahoma ranks in the top 10 of states receiving the most out-of-state migration. Real estate availability and median home price appear to be the drivers of what makes Oklahoma so attractive to newcomers.
Governor rolls out his plan for sports betting
Gov. Kevin Stitt has announced his plan to bring sports betting to Oklahoma. The governor said in a statement that his plan would allow Oklahomans to place in-person bets at gaming sites operated by federally recognized tribes, while also allowing people to place bets on mobile devices utilizing a sportsbook licensed by the state. The governor’s plan met with some surprise expressed by lawmakers and others.
New VA clinic to open in 2024 at Vinita Health Center
The Cherokee Nation and Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System have announced an agreement that will provide a VA clinic for area veterans inside the tribe’s Vinita Health Center. The tribe is providing 1,300 square feet of leased space for the VA clinic, which is set to open in 2024 and serve both Native and non-Native veterans in the region, according to a news release.
Lawmakers eye bills targeting edible cannabis
Oklahoma legislators heard from medical professionals and health agency leadership to learn more about an increase in accidental edible consumption by children and help determine what actions the Legislature can take to prevent those cases. State Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay, called for the interim study, which analyzed cannabis ingestion by children and youth, which has increased each year since the state’s medical marijuana program began in 2018.
New Metro Tech training space to help meet workforce demand
Metro Technology Centers celebrated 120,000 square feet of new training space in high-demand industry sectors recently at its South Bryant Campus, 4901 S. Bryant Ave. Four newly constructed training facilities at the campus will help meet workforce demands in Oklahoma City by providing broader offerings and accommodating more students, Metro Tech Superintendent Aaron Collins said.
Norman fraud case ends in lengthy federal prison term
A sprawling scheme perpetrated at a Norman car dealership to scam customers and banks involved in vehicle purchases has resulted in the former owner of the business being sentenced to prison. Additionally, two former senior executives at the business, Big Red Dealerships, doing business as Big Red Sports/Imports, Big Red Kia, Norman Yamaha, Norman Mitsubishi and Mayes Kia, are awaiting sentencing. The dealership’s owner, Bobby Chris Mayes, 51, of Norman, has been sentenced to serve nearly 11 years in federal prison on convictions of wire fraud conspiracy, forgery, aggravated identity theft and obstruction of justice.
Legislators, tribal leaders vow to work together on compacts
The speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, leaders of tribal nations and their counsel expressed their unified stance during a special committee meeting that future negotiations on compacts should be viewed collaboratively as opposed to an adversarial approach. In the first leg of a two-day House Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations meeting, state representatives heard from four tribal leaders about their desire to come to an agreement on compacts and discussed how the Legislature can ratify them.
Council OKs purchase of land for park
The Oklahoma City Council approved spending $350,000 to buy land for a park in the Capitol View neighborhood. The park is the final piece of a five-year targeted revitalization of the area. Capitol View is one of the city’s Strong Neighborhoods Initiative areas targeted for home repairs, sidewalks, tree plantings and improved public spaces. SNI projects are intended to be a catalyst for private investment in places that have seen disinvestment. The full block purchased for the park is the former Dewey Elementary School site, 3500 N. Lindsay Ave.
State revenues show effect of declining oil, gas production
Declines in drilling and production of oil and gas in Oklahoma continued to take a toll on the state’s bottom line in October. According to the latest report on tax collections, revenue totals for the 12-month period that ended in October fell short of totals reported in the 12-month period that ended in October 2022 by $167 million, representing about a 1% decline. Total collections of $17.07 billion for the period compared to total collections of $17.23 billion in the 12 months preceding October of 2022, Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ reported. Affected by reduced oil and gas revenues, October marked the first time since March 2021 that receipts to the treasury fell below the prior year’s 12-month revenue total.
CEOs expect short, shallow recession, survey says
People who have been waiting for a recession may not have to wait much longer, retired University of Oklahoma business professor Robert Dauffenbach said during the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s annual State of the Economy forum. Keynote speaker Dana Peterson, chief economist of The Conference Board, predicted a slight recession in the first half of 2024 before the economy starts to climb out of it in the second half. The Conference Board found through a survey that 60% of corporate CEOs expect that short and shallow recession in the next 12 to 18 months, while a small number are prepared for worse.
Company invests $30M in Muskogee plant expansion
A North Carolina company has invested $30 million to expand a plant it operates in Muskogee and plans eventually to hire 30-40 additional workers there. The company, CaptiveAire, manufactures commercial kitchen ventilation systems but has plans to begin manufacturing commercial HVAC equipment as well.
Adaptive-reuse trend converts office space
Oklahoma’s largest metros are no exception to a nationwide trend of office space repurposing. However, they’re experiencing it to a much lesser degree than other major downtowns. As work-from-home and hybrid models remain strong, lower office space use is resulting in commercial real estate players repurposing buildings in downtown Oklahoma City and Tulsa, an optimization strategy called adaptive reuse.
New urbanism reshapes housing in Oklahoma
City planners, architects and developers agree what’s old is new again as the new urbanism movement grows across the country and in Oklahoma. New urbanism is a return to a development approach based on how cities and towns were built for centuries before the post-WWII urban sprawl with low-density, single-family houses spiraling outward from the urban center, which left residents dependent on automobiles even for short trips.
Colleges, career techs to help workers affected by plant closure
Some colleges and career technology centers in southern Oklahoma are planning ahead to help employees of a Michelin tire plant that has been slated for closure in 2025. The plant, the largest employer in the town of Ardmore, has employed near 1,400 people for many years. Recent news that Michelin has planned to end production of tires there came as a devastating blow to the Carter County community and region.
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