Congress has allowed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which significantly lowered premiums for millions, to expire on December 31, 2025. There is no stopgap and no extension. While Washington ...

With the new year comes a new face to the Checotah Chamber of Commerce Mrs. Haley Howell. Haley is married to Dustin Howell, Associate Director of Public Works, and together they stay busy working and...

OKLAHOMA CITY – A new law modernizing Oklahoma’s election calendar will affect elections beginning Jan. 1, 2026, bringing greater clarity, consistency and efficiency to when elections are held across ...

For the second year in a row, Monty and Spring Morrow took a few kids to do some volunteer work during the holiday season. They took their daughter, Alyssa Johnson, Kenadee Dobbs, Riley and Peyton How...

If you are 60 years of age or older and need access to services such as meals (home delivered or congregate), homemaker services, nutrition counselling, legal help, caregiver services, or transportati...

A federal judge on Dec. 19 ordered some of the nation’s largest poultry companies to pay for the cleanup of the Illinois River watershed and limit the amount of bird waste that can be applied to land ...

Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, will try again to extend Oklahoma’s eviction timeline after Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed a similar measure last legislative session. Kirt hopes to lessen the burden on cou...

As the Legislature enacted tougher sentencing laws, Oklahoma’s prison population increased for a third consecutive year in 2025. The Department of Corrections reported a population of 23,498 on Dec. 2...

OKLAHOMA CITY – JANUARY 5, 2026 – Registration is now open for the Oklahoma Hall of Fame’s annual Oklahoma Scholarship Competition. This competition offers high school students across the state the op...

McIntosh GOP is hitting the ground running -- we are looking forward to a great 2026 and hope that all of you will share in that vision with us. To kick the year off right, we will host Ne-Anne Clinto...

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board can’t sidestep the Department of Corrections in determining medical parole eligibility, the attorney general’s office decided last month. The Parole Board voted 4-...

EDMOND - The University of Central Oklahoma Foundation has opened its scholarship application portal for the 2026-27 academic year, providing current and incoming students the opportunity to apply for...

If moisture and cold weather topped your December weather Christmas list, you likely didn’t enjoy the lump of coal Mother Nature delivered instead. December 2025 finished as Oklahoma’s second driest a...

The Killingsworths boasts of three generations of Freemasonry and were more than proud when their third family member, Tylor Killingsworth, made Worshipful Master this past month. Andy Killingsworth w...

As we look back on 2025, our hearts are full of gratitude for the opportunity to tell the stories of McIntosh County. Each week, it has been our privilege to shine a light on the people who make this ...

Dallas Allen Steele, 38, Checotah, has pled guilty to robbery with a weapon and possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction. On Dec. 10, Associate District Judge Brendon Bridges sentenced...

What began as a routine cleanup turned into a meaningful reunion when Greg Campbell discovered a longlost high school yearbook and set out to return it to its rightful owner. While cleaning up a house...

Bear Arms Manufacturing opened their doors in December with the Checotah Chamber of Commerce hosting a ribbon-cutting on Dec. 22. The business, located at 301 W. Gentry, is owned and operated by Barre...

Families gathered at Kiwanis Park on Thursday, Dec. 18, to celebrate the holiday season with festive cheer and a cup of Christmas cheer. The Eufaula Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Hot Chocolate...

A 57-year-old Checotah man died in a single- vehicle accident in Muskogee on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Kenneth S. Fuget was killed when he was traveling north on S. 105th St. E. at about 4:30 a.m. when his ve...