From Pryor to Stillwater to Muskogee, Oklahoma is courting massive data centers.
But keeping those servers cool requires huge amounts of water.
Our latest reporting found Google’s Pryor facility alone used over 1.1 billion gallons in one year.
What happens as more projects come online?
“We’ll be one of the largest customers of the city water so we believe (the) city can make revenue from our operations to cover the (water line) extension cost,” the CEO of a mid-sized crypto mining firm wrote to Muskogee city officials.
The facility used ~150mm gallons last yr.
This winter storm is giving off 2021 vibes. Stay safe out there. If you’re from small town #Oklahoma you know there’s was a time where there was a church and dispensary on about every street corner at one point. Anyway, here’s a story from from the 2021 storm: www.readfrontier.org/stories/with...
Read our story - A fragile aquifer, a proposed mine and a fight over Oklahoma’s water - at the link in the comments.
From the state’s ‘Behind the Meter’ power law to promises about electric bills and transparency, The Frontier reviewed the facts behind recent statements on data center development.
I interviewed @cliftonhowze.bsky.social about his story for @readfrontier.bsky.social about the proliferation of data centers popping up across Oklahoma.
Great stuff in here from @cliftonhowze.bsky.social consistently one of the state’s best journalists
Months of delays by Oklahoma land commissioners in approving a commercial lease for a Lawton-area data center led the developer to withdraw, costing the state potential education revenue.
oklahomawatch.org/2025/12/09/s... (via @oklahomawatch.bsky.social) #okgov #okleg #data #electricity #oilandgas
Did no one even ask if TSET could have helped cover the gap in building the originally envisioned new state mental health center instead of simply going with a smaller operation that won't get the job done? www.oklahoman.com/story/news/p...
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State officials are negotiating a deal to cover the cost of rent and other services for people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City, a move that contrasts sharply with the approach taken in Tulsa.
CoreCivic, a private company that owns five other facilities in Oklahoma, announced in early October that it was awarded a new five-year contract with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement and the state Department of Corrections to resume operations at its 2,160-bed facility in Watonga.
Tomorrow’s your chance to attend for free a panel discussion exploring how energy industry practices impact our groundwater.
Come early, grab a snack, hear what the reporters uncovered—and bring a friend. Because when we stay informed together, we’re stronger.
www.eventbrite.com/e/overpressu...
The reopening of a private prison in a small Oklahoma town will bring hundreds of jobs, even as CoreCivic faces national scrutiny for alleged mistreatment and isolation of immigration detainees.
It’s the second time Gov. Kevin Stitt has commuted a death row prisoner’s sentence to life in prison without parole.
He thinks the trooper he killed is still alive — Oklahoma can’t execute him unless he understands his crime.
Police credit Flock cameras with reducing violent crime. But after millions spent, the data tells a murkier story — and the system may violate the law.
Tribal nations, including the Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole are deploying funds to ensure their citizens don’t go hungry — and urging state leaders to do the same.
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At one point, a local resident sent state regulators photos of animals that the resident said had wandered onto his land, covered in oil.
But the smell from the out-of-state waste was “above and beyond anything that was imaginable,” he said.
Join nonprofit newsrooms The Frontier and ProPublica to discuss how oil and gas extraction is contaminating Oklahoma’s groundwater. The event is free - sign up at the link below.
Salt water laced with cancer-causing chemicals, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling, is spewing from old wells. Experts warn of a pollution crisis spreading underground and threatening Oklahoma’s drinking water.
“A handshake instead of a hammer.” Toxic Wastewater From Oil Fields Keeps Pouring Out of the Ground. Oklahoma Regulators Failed to Stop It.
@nickbowlin.bsky.social @readfrontier.bsky.social
Most youth who lack permanent housing in the state don’t fit the federal housing department’s definitions of homelessness and often don’t qualify for services.
A deal between the City of Tulsa and the Muscogee Nation doesn’t apply to Freedmen descendants who don’t have documentation of a degree of Indian blood. @cliftonhowze.bsky.social and Allison Herrera find out why.
www.readfrontier.org/stories/desp...
Two legislators behind a controversial bill that would have limited the locations of homeless shelters will hold a hearing at the Oklahoma Capitol on creating new regulations.
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New story from Kayla Branch:
A federal policy allows employers to pay workers with disabilities below minimum wage. Some states have already moved away from the practice.
