The Stillwegian

The Stillwegian The Stillwegian is your local source for stories that matter in Stillwater and Payne County.

Covering government, sports, and community life with accuracy, care, and a hometown touch.

📸 The Stillwegian is expanding its sports coverage — and it starts with a new face behind the camera.Bryson Thadhani, a ...
09/10/2026

📸 The Stillwegian is expanding its sports coverage — and it starts with a new face behind the camera.

Bryson Thadhani, a senior at Oklahoma State studying sports media, has joined The Stillwegian as its newest sports photographer. Thadhani spent time as co-editor-in-chief at The O'Colly, and his eye for visual storytelling is what convinced Chris Peters to bring him on board.

Thadhani's arrival means The Stillwegian is covering Cowboy football for the first time. He'll be shooting from the sidelines at OSU home games, with galleries running alongside game coverage all season.

"I enjoy finding photographs that reflect the full atmosphere of a game," Thadhani said of his approach behind the lens.

Follow along starting Saturday when Oklahoma State hosts Oregon at Boone Pickens Stadium Saturday at 11 a.m.

Read the full introduction and see the latest scores from OSU and Stillwater Varsity sports 👇
https://www.thestillwegian.news/new-lens-on-cowboy-football-meet-bryson-thadhani/

A youth shelter director told a Stillwater audience last week that teenagers are refusing safe housing — sometimes choos...
09/09/2026

A youth shelter director told a Stillwater audience last week that teenagers are refusing safe housing — sometimes choosing to live on the street — rather than give up access to their cellphones.

"It might be what they're used to as their safety net, their safe line," said Janet Fultz, executive director of Payne County Youth Services, describing why a phone matters so much to a young person in crisis.

Fultz also described a teenager who had built an entire multi-generational family inside an AI chatbot, and had stopped asking any trusted adult for guidance.

The panel of doctors, psychologists and youth-services professionals covered screen time limits by age, eye health and whether point-and-reward classroom software trains children toward compulsive use. Across every topic, they kept returning to the same idea: a caring adult is what a screen cannot replace.

Read the full story 👇
https://www.thestillwegian.news/health-experts-talk-screens-ai-chatbots-at-stillwater-parent-forum/

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach Oklahoma's mental health lifeline, staffed 24/7.

Stillwater Public Schools cut off student access to Google's Gemini chatbot and NotebookLM this year, citing its own int...
09/08/2026

Stillwater Public Schools cut off student access to Google's Gemini chatbot and NotebookLM this year, citing its own interpretation of a new state law. Junior high and high school students had access last year through the district's Google Workspace for Education account.

The district hasn't cut AI entirely, though. Amira, an AI-powered reading tool that listens to students read aloud and offers real-time tutoring, remains in use districtwide — and drew a visit from a U.S. Department of Education official earlier this year, who toured Sangre Ridge Elementary to see it in action.

The same law behind the district's decision to cut off Gemini, Senate Bill 1734, requires SPS to adopt a formal AI policy by the 2027-28 school year.

Superintendent Tyler Bridges told parents at a recent panel that drafting is already underway. Asked if parents would help shape it, he said: "They will be."

Read the full story👇
https://www.thestillwegian.news/stillwater-schools-cut-student-access-to-gemini-ai-citing-new-state-law/

🎸 Three generations of Stillwater's Red Dirt scene share one stage this Friday, and it's free.Red Dirt Roots Fest kicks...
09/08/2026

🎸 Three generations of Stillwater's Red Dirt scene share one stage this Friday, and it's free.

Red Dirt Roots Fest kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Block 34 on the Kicker Soundstage, opening with The Smokin' Oaks, followed by the Red Dirt Rangers at 7:30 p.m. and the Mike McClure Band closing things out at 8:45 p.m. No gates, no tickets — just bring a lawn chair or blanket and grab something from the food trucks and craft b**r options on site.

The festival is centered around honoring four memorialized musicians credited with starting the Red Dirt scene here decades ago. Organizer John Cooper, of the Red Dirt Rangers, put it this way: "Red Dirt is a scene more than musical style. It's all for one and one for all."

Once the main show wraps, the night continues with an after-party at Velvet Fudge featuring Maddox Ross and Dylan Moss and The Middle Class.

Full story on what connects Stillwater's Red Dirt past, present and future 👇
https://www.thestillwegian.news/red-dirt-rangers-mike-mcclure-band-and-the-smokin-oaks-play-block-34-friday/

New Payne County District Attorney Jeremiah Gregory wants prosecutors and investigators from another state to conduct an...
09/02/2026

New Payne County District Attorney Jeremiah Gregory wants prosecutors and investigators from another state to conduct an independent review of the county justice system — his answer to residents who have twice tried to convene a grand jury to investigate the office under his predecessor.

Gregory, who took office July 31, wants the state's next attorney general to bring in outside prosecutors, house them in Stillwater and route the work through the Multicounty Grand Jury.

Once they arrived, he said, he would step aside entirely: "You will not see me tamper with it. You will not see me comment. I will not intervene."

The group behind the most recent petition, Parents for Payne County, said it welcomes the help but does not see it as a replacement for the citizen process it is still pursuing.

"I would welcome this process as a supplement, not a replacement to the citizens process," petitioner Will Allen said.

Both petitions were dismissed on procedure, the most recent over how many signatures Oklahoma law requires. A judge set the number at 828 and convened a grand jury in June, then vacated the order days later under a higher standard.

Read the full story 👇
https://www.thestillwegian.news/new-da-wants-out-of-state-prosecutors-to-review-payne-county-justice-system/

🏈 Friday nights are back in Stillwater, and the Pioneers made their return count.Stillwater opened the season with a 23-...
08/31/2026

🏈 Friday nights are back in Stillwater, and the Pioneers made their return count.

Stillwater opened the season with a 23-3 win over Fayetteville, Arkansas, and the defense set the tone before the offense ever took the field. Senior Dian Fix returned an interception for a touchdown on the game's second play, and the unit never let up, forcing four interceptions and seven sacks while holding the visitors to a single field goal.

Parker Peterson led the way with four tackles for loss and two sacks, Jakoby Petree added two sacks and Dax Renollet came down with two interceptions. On offense, Peyton Campbell caught six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, Jaedan Adams ran for 77 yards and Zack Gabbert connected on a 26-yard field goal. Quarterback Satank Taptto threw for 170 yards and a score.

The home opener brought out the best of a Pioneer Stadium crowd, from a packed, cowboy-themed student section to halftime performances by the cheer and pom squads.

The schedule offers no breather. No. 11 Stillwater travels to top-ranked Bixby on Friday, Sept. 4, in one of the state's marquee early-season matchups.

Read the full recap and more photos 👇
https://www.thestillwegian.news/pioneer-defense-smothers-fayetteville-in-23-3-opener/

Payne County voters rejected both state questions Tuesday — and on one of them, the county broke with the state.State Qu...
08/27/2026

Payne County voters rejected both state questions Tuesday — and on one of them, the county broke with the state.

State Question 846, which puts Oklahoma's voter ID requirement into the state constitution, passed statewide with 54.61 percent of the vote. It failed in Payne County, 53.21 percent to 46.79 percent. Only three other counties voted it down: Oklahoma, Tulsa and Cleveland.

State Question 844 failed everywhere. It lost in all 77 counties, and Payne County's 19.60 percent yes vote was the sixth-lowest in Oklahoma.

The county also split with itself on voter ID. House District 34, covering the core of Stillwater, voted no. Every other legislative district in the county voted yes.

We've broken out each question with the statewide vote, the Payne County vote and our reader poll side by side, plus what local officials told us before the election.

Go deeper👇
https://www.thestillwegian.news/payne-county-was-one-of-four-to-reject-sq-846-and-among-the-strongest-no-votes-on-sq-844/

Results are pending certification by the Oklahoma State Election Board.

🐾 A pet 'potty' area with turf and its own fire hydrant is one of the last things travelers expect to see at an airport,...
08/22/2026

🐾 A pet 'potty' area with turf and its own fire hydrant is one of the last things travelers expect to see at an airport, but it's part of what greets them inside Stillwater Regional Airport's new terminal.

The $30 million building celebrated its grand opening Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, tripling the size of its 1952 predecessor and adding a second gate, expanded seating, a family restroom and a wellness room. The service animal relief area was not optional.

"It is an FAA requirement now to add nursing rooms and relief areas for service animals, but it's open for any animal use," airport director Kellie Reed said.

City and state leaders framed the project as more than a passenger convenience. Mayor Will Joyce called it economic development infrastructure for Stillwater and the surrounding region.

The full story also covers the terminal's growth plan, the economic case behind the $30 million investment, and a decades-old war dog with a surprising tie to the airport's newest amenity. 👇

https://www.thestillwegian.news/stillwater-regional-airport-opens-new-30-million-terminal/

🗳️ Payne County got $5,666 last year. One county got $35 million.Oklahoma voters decide State Question 844 on Aug. 25, a...
08/20/2026

🗳️ Payne County got $5,666 last year. One county got $35 million.

Oklahoma voters decide State Question 844 on Aug. 25, and early voting is open now. The measure would let the Legislature change how much the state repays local schools, counties and other entities for property taxes that manufacturers do not pay.

We reviewed 14 years of Oklahoma Tax Commission records to see what that program has delivered here. Five Payne County companies have claimed the exemption since 2012, drawing a combined $6.6 million.

Google is the program's biggest beneficiary, but only in Pryor. Lawmakers cut data centers from the exemption in 2021 while grandfathering Google's existing Mayes County facilities through 2036. Stillwater's under-construction Google campus sits outside the program entirely.

Lawmakers have not written a new formula. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert told NonDoc that reimbursement "back at 80 percent instead of 100" would still leave local governments collecting more than they did when the land was pasture.

Early voting runs today and tomorrow, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Payne County Adminstration building and the Cushing Chamber of Commerce. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

📷 Google's data center in Pryor, OK.

🗳 Your elected officials and your neighbors don't see these two state questions the same way.We asked every elected offi...
08/19/2026

🗳 Your elected officials and your neighbors don't see these two state questions the same way.

We asked every elected official and candidate we cover how they will vote on State Questions 844 and 846, and gave them 300 words to explain why.

On SQ 844, Payne County Assessor Jason Gomez warned that "flexibility for the state can mean uncertainty for local communities." Payne County Treasurer Lee Denney, one of the two voting yes, said it "spreads the reimbursement distribution out so no county receives a larger proportion over other counties."

On SQ 846, state Sen. Chuck Hall said the measure "simply puts the requirement for identification in our state constitution." Stillwater Vice Mayor Amy Dzialowski, voting no, said she does "not believe that every election policy belongs in the constitution."

Then we asked our readers. More than 160 people voted in an anonymous poll and on one of the two questions, they landed nowhere near their officials.

Early voting opens Thursday.
Aug. 20-21 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Aug. 22 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day Aug. 25.

Address

901 S. Main Street , Suite 50
Stillwater, OK
74074

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Stillwegian posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category